Beautiful Virgin Islands

Wednesday, Aug 27, 2025

Instagram is realizing it's not so easy to knock off TikTok

Instagram is realizing it's not so easy to knock off TikTok

It took less than six months for Instagram's Snapchat clone to catch up to its rival's audience size and be credited with stunting Snapchat's user growth just as the company prepared to make its Wall Street debut in 2017.

But Instagram and its parent company Facebook (FB) are having a harder time doing the same to TikTok.

Instagram launched Reels, a short-form video product, in the United States on August 5, days after former President Donald Trump announced plans to ban Chinese-owned TikTok in the country, sending panicked users scrambling to find alternatives.

Six months later, it isn't taking off in the way the company had hoped. TikTok has outlasted the Trump administration and continues to be popular, with roughly 100 million users in the US, a significant impact on American pop culture and a loyal mix of influencers who don't seem to be going anywhere.

Unlike with Stories at this point in its history, Instagram has not released any metrics about Reels so far.

"TikTok is light years ahead of Reels," said Evan Asano, CEO of influencer marketing agency Mediakix, referring to TikTok's powerful content recommendation system and the fact that the app is far more focused than Instagram's, which has a growing list of competing video offerings.

Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, recently admitted Reels had work to do and hinted at a need for Instagram to simplify or consolidate its various video product offerings.

"I'm not yet happy with it," Mosseri said in a Verge interview last month about Reels. "We're growing both in terms of how much people are sharing and how much people are consuming, but we have a long way to go."

Facebook has come under scrutiny from regulators and critics for its aggressive approach to acquiring or cloning rivals to maintain its dominance in the social media market. But Instagram's early struggles to take on TikTok is a reminder that a number of Facebook's copycat products have flopped or come up short. Building a clone is easy; creating a vibrant community is not, even for the social media giant.

Instagram has made some tweaks to the product since launch, including giving Reels its own dedicated tab on the Instagram home screen and adding more editing tools. But Instagram Reels largely remains a home for TikToks' greatest hits, with many people reposting popular TikTok videos with the platform's trademark watermark to Reels. It's common to scroll through Reels videos and see one TikTok video after another.

Instagram redesigned its home screen to include a dedicated button for Reels.


"Everyone will always tell me 'I'm going to go film TikToks,' but they never say 'We're going to film Reels,'" said Parker Pannell, a 17-year-old with 2.4 million TikTok followers who thinks of posting to Reels as an afterthought. "TikTok creates the trends, they build up new creators, people build their most loyal followings [there]. People are so indulged in this environment of TikTok, they're not ready to transition to another platform like Reels."

It's not the first time Instagram has struggled to gain traction with video. In 2018, it rolled out a new long-form video feature and standalone app called IGTV, in a bid to better compete with YouTube, but it had trouble taking off. Instagram eventually removed the IGTV button from the top of people's feeds because hardly anyone was clicking on it. Now IGTV videos are part of the main feed.

With Reels, Instagram has tried to replicate much of what makes TikTok popular, including editing effects and the ability to add music or a background sound. But what's harder to emulate is TikTok's powerful "For You Page" and its algorithm, which serves up videos tailored to each user's interests.

"I would never count Instagram out in any way. They are usually laser focused on how to stay on top of the competition," said Karyn Spencer, CMO of influencer agency Whalar and the former head of creators at shuttered short-form video platform Vine. "At the same time, I don't think any of us experience the same type of algorithm on Instagram that we currently experience on TikTok."

The slower start with Reels may also highlight a broader issue with Instagram. "Doing the simple thing first" was long a mantra for the company, but some social media experts say the app has increasingly become more complicated and confusing as more and more features are rolled out. And it's difficult not to feel Facebook's influence, especially since Instagram's founders left in 2018.

TikTok's simplicity gives it a "big advantage," said Mediakix's Asano, adding that Instagram now has shopping capabilities, Stories, Reels and other video formats, which he feels end up competing with each other.

"Pretty soon you end up with a monster that nobody can understand," he said.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Manhunt in Australia: Armed Anti-Government Suspect Kills Police Officers Sent to Arrest Him
China Launches World’s Most Powerful Neutrino Detector
How Beijing-Linked Networks Shape Elections in New York City
Ukrainian Refugee Iryna Zarutska Fled War To US, Stabbed To Death
Elon Musk Sues Apple and OpenAI Over Alleged App Store Monopoly
2 Australian Police Shot Dead In Encounter In Rural Victoria State
Vietnam Evacuates Hundreds of Thousands as Typhoon Kajiki Strikes; China’s Sanya Shuts Down
UK Government Delays Decision on China’s Proposed London Embassy Amid Concerns Over Redacted Plans
A 150-Year Tradition to Be Abolished? Uproar Over the Popular Central Park Attraction
A new faith called Robotheism claims artificial intelligence isn’t just smart but actually God itself
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner Purchases Third Property Amid Housing Tax Reforms Debate
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Italian Facebook Group Sharing Intimate Images Without Consent Shut Down Amid Police Investigation
Dutch Foreign Minister Resigns Amid Deadlock Over Israel Sanctions
Trump and Allies Send Messages of Support to Ukraine on Independence Day Amid Ongoing Conflict
China Reels as Telegram Chat Group Shares Hidden-Camera Footage of Women and Children
Sam Nicoresti becomes first transgender comedian to win Edinburgh Comedy Award
Builders uncover historic human remains in Lancashire house renovation
Australia Wants to Tax Your Empty Bedrooms
MotoGP Cameraman Narrowly Avoids Pedro Acosta Crash at Hungarian Grand Prix
FBI Investigates John Bolton Over Classified Documents in High-Profile Raids
Report reveals OpenAI pitched national ChatGPT Plus subscription to UK ministers
Labour set to freeze income tax thresholds in long-term 'stealth' tax raid
Coca‑Cola explores sale of Costa coffee chain
Trial hears dog walker was chased and fatally stabbed by trio
Restaurateur resigns from government hospitality council over tax criticism
Spanish City funfair shut after serious ride injury
Suspected arson at Ilford restaurant leaves three in critical condition
Tottenham beat Manchester City to go top of Premier League
Bank holiday heatwave to hit 30°C before remnants of Hurricane Erin arrive
UK to deploy immigration advisers to West Africa to block fake visas
Nurse who raped woman continued working for a year despite police alert
Drought forces closures of England’s canal routes, canceling boat holidays
Sweet tooth scents: food-inspired perfumes surge as weight-loss drugs suppress appetites
Experts warn Britain dangerously reliant on imported food
Family of Notting Hill Carnival murder victim call event unmanageable
Bunkers, Billions and Apocalypse: The Secret Compounds of Zuckerberg and the Tech Giants
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
×