Videos perform better than static photo posts, says Instagram's Mosseri

At WAVES Summit, Instagram head Adam Mosseri says videos outperform static content on average while emphasising India's role in driving platform trends and engagement

Adam Mosseri, Head of Instagram, said that videos tend to perform better than static photos, even as the platform does not prioritise any specific content format or suppress others.

 

“On average, [Reels] get more likes, more sends and more watch time and therefore it will do better in ranking and just with reach. But that’s not true for all creators. Some creators have great success in posting photos or static,” said Mosseri.

 

He was speaking at the World Audio Visual Entertainment Summit (WAVES) event in Mumbai.

 

“What we're always trying to do is help people connect with content that they're interested in. If you do that well, they will be happy, people who create that content will be happy and our business will be better. So, we don’t try and boost one type of content or suppress another,” he said.

 

Mosseri explained that while videos performed better on average, the platform has observed patterns when it comes to social media consumption across formats such as static photos and Reels.

 

He elaborated that the Indian market for Instagram records better engagement relative to the rest of the world. He added that more countries would benefit from content that can breach language-related and cultural barriers.

 

“We see a higher amount of sharing, amount of time spent per person, engagement and creativity relative to the rest of the world. India is an amazing group of diverse cultures and languages. More countries can benefit from thinking about how they can create content that can reach across not only linguistic barriers, but also cultural barriers,” he said.

 

Mosseri noted that this trend relating to language and culture is observed in India across different states and languages.

 

For creators, he suggested that having clarity about individual goals is important.

 

“Yes, you [creators] want to reach a lot of people, but to what end? Are you trying to explain something or trying to evangelise a cause, build a community, sell a product, get a brand deal?” he said.

 

Once those things are in place, Mosseri added, “Then you have to come up with content that aligns with that goal, but also that resonates with an audience. And so my goal is to just explain what Instagram is doing. Why are we doing it? How am I thinking about it? And so the content I do try to align with that goal, but also be engaging,” he added.

 

Mosseri also said that India is Instagram's biggest market. He attributed Instagram’s transition from a photo-sharing to a video-first platform to Indian users. “The country is not just adopting trends, but it’s setting them,” he said.