Instagram rolls out limited Features test to US creators: what it means for Dubai brands

Instagram has started rolling out new long-form video options, and the first trial reached US creators this week. As Social Media Today reports, Instagram chief Adam Mosseri and Vice President of Product Tessa Lyons previewed the new posting options on Monday. The main option is Features, which brings the ability to post uploads up to an hour and a half long. Instagram said the goal is to give accounts more ways to build their community while keeping people in the app for longer.

None of this is currently live in the UAE, so below is the news in brief and what a Dubai business should do about it.

What Instagram is testing

The announcement Instagram released on Monday covers three new options and one change to its TV app. Each one sits at a different stage, so it helps to take them one at a time.

Features: uploads up to an hour and a half long

Features is the biggest change, giving people room for long pieces inside the app, and Instagram named podcasts, vlogs and interviews as examples. According to the press release, the company has already been testing Features in Brazil. The US rollout covers select creators from 26 October, with plans to expand in the coming months.

Instagram also says Features should bring new revenue and partnership options for the people who use it. That point matters for brands, and we come back to it further down.

Clips as Reels: short clips that lead to the full piece

Clips as Reels is the second option. An account can link up to eight short clips back to one longer video post, so each clip sends viewers to the full piece. Instagram began trials with Brazilian creators earlier this year. It will start rolling the option out to US-based creators this week.

Series: short clips grouped by theme

Series will enable creators to tag Reels into a dedicated set. That helps connect episodic content to one theme or story, which Instagram hopes will lead to longer and more engaged watching. The company has been testing Series since June. It's also working on an expanded global rollout, which makes Series the only one of the three with a stated plan to go worldwide.

Phone controls for the big screen

Finally, Instagram announced that users will soon be able to use their phones as remote controls for its connected TV app. The updated app launched in December, and familiar phone controls should make moving around it much easier.

Why Instagram wants longer viewing sessions

The publication's reading is that Instagram is responding to YouTube and TikTok. Both have seen success with longer uploads and with content that suits connected TV. The article cites Nielsen data showing YouTube is now the biggest streaming content provider in the US by a wide margin. TikTok, for its part, has leaned into microdramas and livestreams.

Attention drives ad revenue across big tech, so losing it to rivals is costly for any platform. For Meta, the company behind Instagram and Facebook, that shift in habits is a potential threat to Instagram's place in people's day. The article suggests this is also why Instagram is leaning into big-screen watching, which gives its creators more ways to make money.

Instagram has tried long-form before

This isn't Instagram's first attempt to introduce long-form viewing. It once launched IGTV, a separate app for long-form video that was meant to help creators earn and to grow viewing time. It didn't catch on, and Instagram later shut it down. That history isn't a good sign, though the report allows that habits may have changed enough for a second attempt to work.

Pay is the other gap, since YouTube shares ad revenue with the people whose uploads carry the ads. Analysis by VidIQ found that IG pays close to nothing on views alone unless a brand deal is attached. The report calls that a serious obstacle to Instagram's long-form push.

What this means for businesses in the UAE

At the moment, nothing changes for most businesses in the UAE. Features and the clip-linking option have only rolled out to select creators in two markets, and Instagram hasn't named others. Series is the exception, with a global rollout in progress. Treat this news as advance notice rather than a reason to rebuild your strategy overnight.

The direction is still worth acting on, because Instagram is building tools for longer watching. Accounts with long material ready will be in a better position when they arrive. Your feed and Instagram Stories keep working as they do today, and so do your ads. The Stories feature isn't part of this update at all.

The pay gap is also an opportunity for brands. If view-based pay on Instagram is close to zero without a brand deal, people who post long pieces will look to sponsors to fund them. A Dubai brand that already works with creators is well placed to sponsor a long interview or vlog once Features opens in the UAE.

If you already sponsor people with influence in your sector, ask which of them plan to make long pieces. That way a sponsored interview or vlog is ready to brief when the option arrives. Seeing how US creators use Features in the meantime should show which kinds of pieces hold attention.

Where the rest of Meta fits in

The announcement covers Instagram only and says nothing about Facebook or its News Feed. Still, most Dubai brands run Facebook and Instagram ads from the same Meta account, so a shift in one app affects the budget for both. If Facebook users in your audience start viewing content from the Instagram feed on TV, your creative mix may need to change. For now, a single post plan across both apps still works.

What a Dubai business should do now

1. List the long-form material you already have. Webinars, product deep dives, recorded talks, events and interviews could all become Features uploads if the option reaches your account. Pick the pieces that still hold up and keep their full-length source files.

2. Cut short clips with a longer piece in mind. Clips as Reels links up to eight clips to one longer post, so plan short cuts that each come from the same full recording. Sharing a new post or story that points to it helps too. If you edit in a third-party app rather than Instagram's native tools, export and keep a full-length master as well.

3. Group your short clips by topic now, so they're ready to be tagged once Series reaches your account. Series is not live for everyone, but you can already plan episodes around one theme. A weekly treatment explainer for a clinic or a project walk-through for a developer would both fit.

4. Keep the rest of your content plan running. Instagram's long-form tools are still on trial, so keep cutting the same footage for YouTube, TikTok and X, formerly Twitter. Don't let one test hold up the work that already brings results.

5. Write captions for long pieces before you film them. Add a clear cover image and captions that say what an interview covers, so people know what they're starting. In the UAE, that often means writing them in both Arabic and English.

6. Don't move ad budget yet, as paid campaigns stay the dependable part of your Instagram activity while these options are on trial. Keep an eye on the rollout. When Features reaches the UAE, run a quick test of one long post against your usual content before making any budget decision.

What to measure once long-form arrives

An hour-long upload changes what a good result looks like, and raw views in your insights say little about a long post. Watch time, completion and click-throughs from a short clip to the full piece tell you far more. Track those figures from the first new post, so you have a baseline before the option settles.

Comments are useful feedback, so gather the questions people leave on a long interview and use them to inform the next episode of a Series.

Long pieces also have to earn their place against cheaper short posts. If an hour-long interview brings the same enquiries as a handful of short clips, the short clips win on cost. That comparison only works when viewing data and lead data sit in one place.

The Adnika Dashboard: one live view of a client's ads, analytics and CRM data, with AI recommendations reviewed by the strategist. For a client whose Instagram we run, long-form watch time would appear next to paid results from Meta and the enquiries logged in the CRM. You'd see whether longer pieces bring leads, not only views.

Want help planning long-form content for Instagram in the UAE? Our social media agency in Dubai team can build the content plan and the reporting that goes with it.