As a part of its Q3 2026 earnings report, Meta additionally shared some extra notes on the relative progress of Fb, Instagram and Threads, together with insights into among the key parts of curiosity in every app.
These factors additionally underline what Meta needs to emphasise on every platform, which might inform strategic planning for entrepreneurs trying to align with the corporate’s progress focus.
First, on Instagram. Meta reported that world time spent per Instagram person reached an all-time excessive in Q3, on the again of robust progress throughout each Reels and Feed.
As per Meta CFO Susan Li: “On Instagram Reels, our relevance launches in Q3 elevated Reels time spent by over 4%, pushed partially by our upgraded mannequin structure that ranks sequences of Reels at a time, as a substitute of evaluating every Reel independently, in addition to enhancements we made so as to add richer watch time indicators.”
Li added that just about 45% of advisable Instagram Reels at the moment are lower than someday outdated, which is a rise of greater than 11 share factors from Q2.
Instagram has made unique content material an even bigger focus this 12 months, with the platform launching a important replace in April that aimed to take away aggregators and copycats from its suggestions.
The truth that extra contemporary content material is being advisable could possibly be one other reflection of this focus, guaranteeing that new content material is reaching extra individuals. This has additionally clearly had an influence on viewers curiosity.
It’s additionally vital for creators to notice that the overwhelming majority of Reels engagement is more and more more likely to occur on the primary day.
Instagram additionally not too long ago shared up to date steering on what it considers to be unoriginal content material for reference.
On Fb, Reels was additionally a key driver of engagement, with Reels time spent reaching an all-time excessive within the app in Q3, and rising double-digits 12 months over 12 months.
Li stated that enhancements to its suggestion techniques and rating have helped to drive extra utilization within the app.
“On Fb Feed and Reels, we accomplished the worldwide launch of a brand new generative retrieval structure which, impressed by LLMs, labels items of content material with semantic representations and generates potential suggestions, serving to our techniques floor related new posts earlier than they’ve gathered important engagement,” Li stated. “This new structure is now rolled out to roughly one-quarter of unconnected Feed views and half of Reels views and elevated Reels watch time by 1%.”
Li added that improved suggestions are additionally delivering more energizing and extra personalised content material.
“On Fb Reels, we doubled the quantity of historical past our rating mannequin can contemplate, driving a 1% improve in Reels watch time within the US,” Li stated.
This can be a key growth as a result of for a while, Fb person engagement was in decline. Customers had been nonetheless logging in every single day to examine on the most recent updates from family and friends, which stored its complete energetic person rely excessive. However TikTok clearly had an influence on Fb retention, with individuals checking into Fb, then drifting over to TikTok and different platforms, the place they now spend extra time.
The introduction of Reels, and Reels suggestions particularly, has helped to rejuvenate Fb, with extra individuals spending time on the principle Meta platform once more.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg stated that Threads has now overtaken X in month-to-month energetic customers, and continues to develop shortly.
Li stated that point spent per person on Threads grew by greater than 20% 12 months over 12 months, pushed by ongoing community progress and systematic enhancements associated to relevance, personalization and timeliness of the content material advisable.
Threads has grow to be a severe participant within the broader social media market, with greater than 500 million month-to-month energetic customers. The continued enchancment in viewers engagement factors to expanded alternative for entrepreneurs, and will additionally drive extra income alternatives for the corporate’s advert enterprise.
Lastly, Li stated that Meta’s Creator Advertising and marketing Hub, which is now out there to all advertisers, consists of greater than 10 million creators that manufacturers can associate with on campaigns.
“We’re integrating Meta AI Enterprise Assistant into the Hub so advertisers can conversationally seek for creators, determine content material to make use of in partnership advertisements and get steering throughout their creator advertising workflows,” Li stated.
