A reel is a short vertical video, and the same recording can become a post on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube Shorts. What the platforms themselves point to is not the camera but the first few seconds, the sound and whether the file is your own rather than a copy with another app’s logo on it.

This guide is for businesses in Sweden and is based on the platforms’ own help pages and newsrooms. Where they contradict each other, we say so. How reels fit with the rest of your visibility is covered in Social media for local businesses.

As of 24 October 2026. Platform details change often, so everything is dated. Sources are listed at the end.

How long should a reel be in 2026?

As long as the content needs, and no more than three minutes if it is to reach people who don’t follow you. Instagram’s Help Center says reels over three minutes won’t be recommended to new audiences. YouTube Shorts can be at most three minutes, and Facebook and TikTok set no right length.

The sources disagree on how long an Instagram reel can be: up to 20 minutes in the English Help Center, three in the Swedish version and 15 in Meta’s ads guide. The three-minute limit for new viewers appears in both language versions. Until January 2025 the limit for recommendations was 90 seconds, according to Instagram.

ChannelHow long the video can beGood to know
Instagram Reels3, 15 or 20 minutes depending on the sourceOver 3 minutes is not recommended to new audiences
FacebookAny length and orientationAll videos are shared as reels since 2025
TikTokNo right length, according to TikTokHook ideally within the first 5 seconds
YouTube ShortsUp to 3 minutesSquare or vertical video becomes a Short

How long can a reel be on Facebook? In June 2025, Meta wrote that reels on Facebook would have no length or format restrictions, and Facebook’s Help Center says all videos except stories and live videos are shared as reels regardless of length or orientation. We have not found a length limit for recommendations.

Our view: a result, a before and after or today’s lunch rarely needs more than 15–30 seconds, while an answer to a common question can take a minute or two. Cut anything that doesn’t move the story forward. Instagram lists watching to the end as one of its signals for Reels, so a short video people finish does more than a long one they leave.

Format, resolution and safe zones

Film vertically in 9:16 and deliver at least 1080 × 1920 pixels. That is our recommendation, because it meets the requirements of all four channels in the sources we have read:

  • Instagram accepts aspect ratios between 1.91:1 and 9:16, at least 30 frames per second and at least 720 pixels. Turn on Upload at highest quality under Media quality. For Reels video ads, Meta’s ads guide recommends 1,440 × 2,560 pixels.
  • Facebook accepts any orientation, but Reels plays in a vertical full-screen feed according to Meta’s ads guide, so we choose 9:16 here too.
  • TikTok recommends 9:16 at 720p or higher for ads. Its Creator Academy says horizontal video in full-screen mode also works.
  • YouTube treats a square or vertical video of up to three minutes as a Short, while 16:9 stays a regular video.

Safe zones: keep the important parts away from the edges

The edges are covered by the app’s buttons, the profile name and the caption. Meta’s ads guide for Reels suggests leaving at least 14 percent at the top, 35 percent at the bottom and 6 percent on each side free of text, logos and other key elements: roughly 270, 670 and 65 pixels at 1080 × 1920, by our calculation. The figures apply to ads, but ads appear between regular reels with the same buttons, so our view is that they are a good guide for regular posts too. TikTok advises keeping the image centred and clear of the buttons. YouTube gives no equivalent figure in the help pages we have read.

The cover. Instagram recommends 420 × 654 pixels, a 1:1.55 ratio, and says you can’t edit the cover after uploading. Choose it before you share. Sizes for still images are in Image sizes for social media.

The first few seconds: hook, text and sound

TikTok advises creators to include something that sparks interest, ideally within the first five seconds, and for ads to introduce what the video is about within three seconds and put the hook within six. According to Instagram’s 2023 explainer, Instagram predicts for each reel whether you will share it, watch it to the end, like it or go to the audio page.

Three hooks that work in most businesses:

  • The result first: the finished haircut, the repaired bike, the cake with its decoration. Then how it was done.
  • A question customers ask: “How long does gel polish last?”, answered by the person who knows.
  • The unexpected: a close-up detail nobody outside the business usually sees.

TikTok also advises a story with a beginning, a middle and an end. That works even in 20 seconds: the problem, the work, the result.

Text on screen. TikTok cites its own survey in which over 30 percent said they watch with the sound off and rely on captions, without saying when or where. Put a short headline on screen in the first seconds and use captions, which Instagram and TikTok both offer, but check them, as automatic captions can get Swedish wrong. Let text support the image: Instagram shows reels that are mostly text to fewer people.

Sound. Instagram also shows muted reels to fewer people. TikTok says videos with background music get on average 98.31 percent more views, but gives no year, country or basis. Sound matters. For a business, the question is which sound you may use.

According to Instagram and TikTok, the music in their regular libraries is intended for personal use, not marketing. Meta and TikTok have their own libraries that businesses may use.

  • Instagram. According to its Help Center, the licensed music library is intended for personal, non-commercial use, and some business accounts and post types don’t get access to it. Instead there is Meta’s Sound Collection, with royalty-free tracks and sounds that may be used commercially, including in ads. You find it under Audio in the Reels camera.
  • Facebook. Sound Collection tracks are labelled as licence-free in the audio library (Licensfritt in the Swedish interface), and according to Meta they are not muted for copyright reasons. Meta describes licensed music as an option for creators where revenue may be shared with the rights holder, and its ads guide says Reels ads should not contain licensed music. Our view is that licence-free tracks or your own sound are the safe choice when a reel markets the business.
  • TikTok. Businesses may not use TikTok’s general music library for commercial purposes, and verified business accounts only see the Commercial Music Library, whose tracks are pre-cleared for commercial use. The rule follows the purpose, so posting from a personal account does not help. More in TikTok for business.
  • YouTube Shorts. A Short longer than one minute with an active copyright claim of any kind is blocked worldwide. It can’t be played, isn’t recommended and earns nothing until the claim is resolved. The channel is not penalised.

Add music in each app. Meta describes Sound Collection as safe in Reels and Instagram Stories and licence-free for use on Facebook, and the Commercial Music Library applies to TikTok. We have found nothing saying a track may travel from one library to another platform, so edit your master file without music. Your own sound works everywhere: voices, tools and the sounds of the business. Turn off the music in the shop while filming, or the track ends up in the video.

One video, four channels: Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube Shorts

Start where your customers are. According to Svenskarna och internet 2026, the Swedish Internet Foundation’s annual survey, 46 percent of internet users in Sweden aged 8 and over use Instagram every day and 45 percent Facebook, while 15 percent use TikTok daily. YouTube has the most users over the past year, 77 percent, but 32 percent use it every day. Which channel suits which customers is covered in Which social media should your business choose?

How one recording becomes four posts:

  1. Film once, vertically, at 1080 × 1920 pixels or more, with text and faces inside the safe zones.
  2. Edit a master file without music or logo. Hook first. On-screen text and captions can stay.
  3. Keep the original on your phone or in your editing app, not a download from one of the platforms.
  4. Upload to each app separately and add sound, cover and caption there.
  5. Write the caption for the channel: what you do and where.
  6. Label what sells. The Swedish Consumer Agency (Konsumentverket) says advertising posts on social media should be clearly labelled with the word reklam (advertising), including a business’s own posts about its products.

It takes a little longer than re-posting a downloaded video, but every channel gets its own file in full quality without anyone else’s logo.

Five-step diagram showing how one recording becomes four posts on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube Shorts: film vertically in 9:16 at 1080 × 1920 pixels or more with text and faces at least 14 percent from the top and 35 percent from the bottom, edit a master file with the hook first and without music or an app logo, keep the original on your phone or in your editing app instead of downloading the finished video from a platform, upload to each app separately and keep the video to three minutes or less to reach new viewers, and add sound and caption in each channel using your own sound, Meta's Sound Collection or TikTok's Commercial Music Library, with the Swedish word reklam (advertising) when the video sells.
Film once, upload four times. Each channel gets the original file, and the music is added in the app where it is licensed. The margins are Meta’s suggestion for Reels ads, which we use as a guide. As of 24 October 2026.

How to make a reel on Instagram

According to Instagram’s Help Center for the app:

  1. From your feed, tap Create at the bottom, then REEL.
  2. Pick the video from your camera roll in the bottom left. To film in the app, tap Camera and hold Record.
  3. Tap Next and add Audio and Text. Under Edit video you’ll find the timeline where you move text and replace music.
  4. Tap Next, choose Edit cover, write the caption and add a location. This is also where you can share the reel to Facebook.
  5. Tap Share.

If your phone is set to Swedish, the buttons are called Skapa, REEL, Nästa and Dela. Don’t post the same reel on Instagram again later, because Instagram shows reels that have already been posted there to fewer people. Profile, hashtags and the path to booking are in Instagram for business.

How to make a reel on Facebook

Every video you publish on Facebook becomes a reel. Share it from Instagram in the last step above, or upload it from your Page on your phone or in Meta Business Suite on a computer, where you can also pick sound from the audio library. Publish publicly: Meta says a public reel gets added reach, while a private one is only seen by the audience you chose. The Page itself is covered in Facebook for business.

TikTok

Upload the master file and add sound from the Commercial Music Library or your own audio. When the video promotes the business, turn on the commercial content setting and write Reklam first in the caption. TikTok recommends two or three relevant hashtags, and suggests saving a copy before posting: on the Post screen, tap More options and turn on Save to device. That copy may contain music that only applies on TikTok, so use the master file elsewhere.

YouTube Shorts

Upload through the YouTube app or YouTube Studio, and only use music you have the right to use. Whether YouTube suits your business is covered in YouTube and Pinterest for business.

The time of day probably matters less for reels than for regular posts. That, and how often to post, is in The best time to post and how often.

The watermark that lowers your reach

An easy mistake is to download the finished video from one app and post it in another with that app’s logo still on it. Instagram says explicitly that watermarked reels are shown to fewer people. Here is what the platforms say:

PlatformWhat it saysWatermarks?
Instagram (May 2023)Watermarked and low-resolution reels are shown to fewer people. Reposts of reels already on Instagram are less likely to be recommended.Yes
TikTok (Sept 2026)Content with someone else’s visible watermark or superimposed logo, and content largely repurposed without creative edits, counts as unoriginal and may be removed from the For You feed.Yes
Facebook (March 2026)Unoriginal content is deprioritised, such as other people’s posts and minor changes like borders or a different speed. Accounts that mostly post such content may stop being recommended.Not mentioned
YouTube (Oct 2026)Shorts prioritise original content, and content re-uploaded from other creators without adding anything gets less reach.Not mentioned

The rules mainly target other people’s material. We have not found any platform that says it is wrong to post your own video in several channels. What can hold your own video back is the watermark, and on Instagram posting the same reel again. How the platforms otherwise choose what to show is covered in How the algorithms work.

Export clean. In January 2025, Instagram wrote that its editing app Edits would let you export without a watermark, and according to Meta in January 2026, nearly 10 percent of daily Reels views came from content made in Edits (whole platform, not Sweden). Whatever app you use, check that no logo or end card has come along in the export.

Trial reels: test on new viewers first

With trial reels, you show a reel first to people who don’t follow you. Your followers won’t see it in their feed or in Reels, and it doesn’t appear on your profile until you share it to everyone. According to Instagram’s Help Center:

  1. Create a new reel. A trial reel may get limited reach if Instagram detects you have shared the same content before.
  2. Tap Trial before sharing, then Next and Share.
  3. Read the insights, which arrive within 24 hours.
  4. Share to everyone if it performs well: tap View insights on the reel, then Share to everyone. You can also let Instagram share it automatically if it performs well soon after posting.

The English Help Center requires a public account with at least 200 followers for professional accounts, or 1,000 for personal ones, that is eligible for recommendations (see Account Status). The Swedish version only says you need a professional account. According to Instagram, trial reels are evaluated separately and don’t affect your standard reels.

Our view: test a new kind of video or a new hook before your followers see it. The test shows how people who don’t follow you react, not whether they live nearby. You measure whether a video brings customers another way, for example by asking new customers how they found you.

If you want to pay for wider reach, you can boost a reel. How that works is covered in Boosting posts and on our page about advertising on Instagram (in Swedish).

Simply filmed but well planned: equipment and apps that are enough

A phone is enough for most reels. TikTok says both professional equipment and phones can make excellent videos, and advises advertisers to feature people such as employees or customers in a style that isn’t overly polished. That doesn’t make professional video wrong: a planned shoot lifts a campaign, an ad or your website, and its raw footage can yield many short clips.

This goes a long way, in our view:

  • A tripod or holder, so the image stays still and your hands are free.
  • A small clip-on microphone when someone talks. Sound is harder to rescue afterwards than the image.
  • Daylight from a window, facing the person rather than behind them.
  • Vertical, 1080p or 4K, at least 30 frames per second. Wipe the lens before you start.

Apps for making reels: Instagram’s and TikTok’s own editors have a timeline, text, sound and captions. Edits is Instagram’s stand-alone editing app. When a master file is going to several channels, stand-alone apps such as CapCut or your phone’s built-in editor also work. Check the export whatever app you use.

People on camera. Everyone who appears in a reel that markets the business, customers and staff alike, needs to have said yes. Sweden’s Names and Images in Advertising Act (lagen om namn och bild i reklam) prohibits businesses from using another person’s name or image in marketing without their consent (section 1). Ask before filming and keep a written yes. How that works in practice is shown in TikTok ideas for salons.

Checklist before you post

When you want someone else to film

Filming, editing and captioning every week takes time that would otherwise go to customers. You can do it yourselves, hire a videographer for individual shoots, or have someone handle the whole chain every month. What the options typically cost is compared in What does social media help cost?

If you hire someone for a shoot, ask for:

  • Vertical 9:16 delivery, not a horizontal film cropped afterwards.
  • The raw files and a master without music, so sound can be added in each app.
  • Music cleared for your business’s channels, or none.
  • Usage rights in writing. Under the Swedish Copyright Act (upphovsrättslagen), the person who creates a film is, as a rule, the copyright holder, and the rights can be transferred in whole or in part (sections 1 and 27). Agree where you may publish, that you may re-edit and whether the material may be used in ads.
  • Consent from everyone on camera, staff included.

With us, Reels and TikTok content and video from your business every month are included in Premium, SEK 2,995 a month excl. VAT, together with everything in Plus and with your website, local SEO and Google profile in the same package. We plan, film, edit and caption, and adapt each video to the channel. You approve everything before it is published, the accounts are yours and there is no lock-in. How we work is described on our social media page, and the packages on the pricing page.

Frequently asked questions

How long should a reel be?

As long as the content needs, and no more than three minutes if you want it to reach people who don’t follow you. Instagram’s Help Center says reels over three minutes won’t be recommended to new audiences. Our view is that a result or a before and after rarely needs more than 15–30 seconds, while an explanation can take a minute or two. As of October 2026.

How long can a reel be on Facebook?

Facebook sets no limit. Since 2025, all videos on Facebook are shared as reels, except stories and live videos, and Facebook’s Help Center says this applies regardless of length or orientation. We have not found a length limit for which reels Facebook recommends. As of October 2026.

What format should a reel have?

Vertical 9:16. Instagram accepts aspect ratios between 1.91:1 and 9:16, with at least 720 pixels and 30 frames per second, and TikTok recommends 9:16 at 720p or higher for ads. We recommend 1080 × 1920 pixels or more, so the same file works in every channel. Meta’s ads guide also suggests keeping the top 14 percent, the bottom 35 percent and 6 percent on each side free of text and logos.

Not freely. According to Instagram, the music in its licensed library is intended for personal, non-commercial use, and some business accounts do not have access to it. Use Meta’s Sound Collection, which may be used for commercial purposes, or your own sound instead. On TikTok, businesses may only use the Commercial Music Library in marketing.

Can I post the same video on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube Shorts?

Yes, if it is your own video and you upload the original file to each app. We have not found any platform that says it is wrong to publish your own video in several channels. Instagram does show watermarked reels to fewer people, though, and TikTok treats video with someone else’s visible watermark as unoriginal. So don’t download the finished video from one app and post it in another.

What are trial reels on Instagram?

Trial reels are first shown only to people who don’t follow the account. You tap Trial before sharing, see insights within 24 hours and can then share the reel to everyone. Instagram’s English Help Center requires a public account with at least 200 followers for professional accounts, while the Swedish version only says you need a professional account. Make a new reel, because a trial reel may get limited reach if the same content has been shared before. As of October 2026.

Sources

All web pages read on 24 October 2026 unless another date is given. Lengths, menus and rules reflect the situation in October 2026 and may change.