Instagram’s 90-Minute Video Turns Reels Into a Funnel

Instagram is taking its clearest step yet into YouTube territory. In an October 26 announcement video, head of Instagram Adam Mosseri and VP of product Tessa Lyons introduced Features, a new long-form, horizontal video format that lets creators publish up to 90 minutes at a time.

The launch is a shift from the app’s short-form centre of gravity. Until now, the ceiling for vertical video on Instagram Reels was 20 minutes. Mosseri expects Features to begin rolling out in a limited capacity this month and then widen to more users.

Long-form arrives, but it is not meant to replace Reels

Mosseri has spent years resisting long-form video on Instagram. After 18 years at Facebook, he took over Instagram in 2018 and kept the platform focused on short, vertical clips. The condition for changing that, he says, is a symbiotic relationship between Features and the existing Reels format.

That relationship is built into the product. Creators can attach up to eight Reels that link directly to a Feature, so a short clip becomes an entrance ramp to the full video rather than a standalone teaser that sends viewers elsewhere.

Why this changes the discovery game

For marketers, this is more than a format update. It formalises a behaviour many creators were already improvising: using Reels to promote longer videos posted on other platforms. Instagram is now giving them a way to keep the audience inside its own ecosystem.

The psychological mechanic is a low-commitment first step. A 30-second Reel asks very little of a viewer; it just has to be entertaining enough to earn the next click. The 90-minute Feature is the high-commitment destination. By linking the two, Instagram is turning a quick, passive scroll into a deeper, intentional viewing session.

Brands should read this as a funnel, not a storage upgrade:

• Reels become trailers that create an open loop—curiosity the full video has to resolve.
• Up to eight linked clips mean one long video can be tuned for multiple interest groups and entry points.
• The long cut can hold brand story, education, interviews or episodic content that short formats cannot carry comfortably.

What to do before you hit upload

Do not simply chop a long video into clips and post them. Treat each Reel as a separate hook: one question, one emotional beat or one promise that the Feature pays off later. That respects how attention actually works on the platform—the first few seconds are for pattern interruption, while the long format earns time only after curiosity has already been triggered.

The rollout is still limited, and adoption will take time. But the strategic signal is clear: Instagram wants to own both ends of the attention spectrum, from the casual scroll to the deliberate 90-minute session.

Source: Fast Company