Facebook is testing a Reels-first app in India: what should a local business change?

01What exactly did Facebook change in India?

Meta first described the idea in July. In a post on Meta's newsroom, Tom Alison, head of Facebook, said the new experience puts people who want more video into full-screen video the moment they open the app. He wrote: "We'll start this test internationally in video-heavy countries and explore bringing it to the US next year."

In October, TechCrunch reported that the test is running in India, for some users. Meta later confirmed to TechCrunch that it is also running in Indonesia. Social Media Today reported that users see a pop-up saying "Reels are now front and center", and that some people have had it for several months.

Three details matter:

• Only some users are in the test. Not every account in India has it.
• People can opt out and go back to a feed-first app, according to Meta.
• Meta says the classic feed "will always be available as the second tab in the app, just one click away."

Instagram is testing something similar: an option to open the app on the Reels feed instead of the usual feed.

02What does a Reels-first Facebook mean for a local business?

For someone in the test, the first thing Facebook shows is a stream of recommended videos. Your photo post about the new stock or the winter menu now sits on the second tab. The person has to choose to go there.

In AMS's view, this matters more in Kumaon than in a metro. Many of the customers who still use Facebook daily are the ones who make big family decisions: furniture, jewellery, admissions, a wedding venue, a hospital. They are also the ones least likely to tap across to another tab.

There is a second side to it. Reels are shown to people who do not follow you yet. A plain, useful video from a Rudrapur sweet shop or a Haldwani clinic can reach nearby people who have never heard of it. A photo post mostly reaches people who already like your Page.

So the test is less a threat than a nudge. If your Page already posts short videos, little changes. If it posts only images, the people who see Facebook this way will see less of you.

03What should I do this week?

None of this needs a big budget. It needs a habit. Here is the short list we give clients:

• Open your Facebook Page and count the last ten posts. If none is a video, that is the first fix.
• Share your Instagram reels to Facebook as well. Link the two accounts in Meta's Accounts Center, then check the share setting when you post.
• Shoot vertical, nine by sixteen, and keep most reels under a minute.
• Put the point on screen in the first two seconds: the product, the dish, the doctor, the price.
• Add captions burned into the video. Many people watch with the sound off, and some on patchy data.
• Write the phone number, area and timings in the caption, not only on a poster.

Speak the way your customers speak. For most businesses here, that means Hindi or Hinglish. Our post Should my business reels be in Hindi, English or Hinglish? covers that choice.

04What kind of reels work on Facebook for a shop or clinic?

Facebook's audience in small towns tends to be a little older than Instagram's. The same reel can work on both, but plain and useful usually beats clever. These formats are a safe start:

A phone and good light are enough for most of these. Our guide Can I shoot reels on my phone, or should I hire a videographer? explains when a phone stops being enough.

05What should I not panic about?

A test is not a launch. Instagram ran a similar Reels-first test in India last year. Keep these in mind before you change everything:

• Your followers can still see your photo posts. The feed has moved one tap away for some people, not disappeared.
• You do not need to delete old posts or start a new Page.
• You do not need to post a reel every day. A steady few a week, done well, is better than daily filler.
• Do not buy views or followers to look busy. It fills the Page with people who will never walk in.
• Ads are not switched off. Paid campaigns already run in Reels placements alongside the feed.

Our view at AMS is simple. The direction has been clear for a while, and this test only makes it plainer. Meta said last year that new Facebook videos would be shared as Reels. The businesses that will be fine are the ones that already show their shop, their food or their people on video.

06How does AMS handle Facebook for local clients?

Advance Media Solution is a seven-person studio in Rudrapur. For most clients we shoot once for both apps. One shoot day gives a month of vertical reels, and each one is posted to Instagram and Facebook with captions written for each audience. We check Facebook's own numbers separately, because what works there is often not what works on Instagram.

On the first call, we look at your Facebook Page before anything else. How old are the last few posts, is there any video at all, and are the phone number and timings correct? Those three answers decide where we start.

Our approach to monthly content is on Content Creation Agency in Rudrapur | Monthly Reels. Retainers start from ₹35,000 a month plus GST. If you would rather talk it through, call +91 91059 43909. Even if you never hire us, start sharing your reels to your Facebook Page this week.

07Questions people ask