Meta ads managers don’t usually lose sleep over a new video format. We care when a format changes where people spend their time, because that’s where budgets end up. And this week, Instagram changed something big.

It started testing a long form video format called Features. Creators in the test can upload horizontal videos up to 90 minutes long. Yes, on Instagram. Two years ago, the head of the platform said he wasn’t interested in doing this.

I’ve been thinking about what it means for performance marketing, and I don’t think it’s only a creator story. Here’s my take, the way I’d explain it to a student sitting across from me.

What Instagram Actually Launched

Features is a test, so let’s stick to what has been reported.

• Horizontal videos up to 90 minutes, aimed at podcasts, interviews, vlogs and comedy specials
• Placement on the main feed and the Explore page, where one Feature takes up two grid slots
• Up to eight Reels that creators can attach to a single Feature
• A TV app that pushes Features, on Samsung, Google TV and Amazon Fire TV, with Apple TV reportedly coming
• A “Second Screen” option and a Series format for episodic Reels, both coming soon

Two more facts matter. It’s rolling out only to select creators in the U.S. and Brazil, so it isn’t widely in India yet. And Instagram has said there’s no revenue sharing program planned for now.

Notice what’s missing: anything about ads. I haven’t seen a word on how Meta ads will work around Features. So everything below is my reading of the direction, not confirmed ad inventory.

Why Performance Marketing Teams Should Care

Performance marketing runs on a simple loop: get attention, earn trust, get action. Short videos are great at the first step and weak at the second.

Anyone who has run Meta ads knows the problem. You get a cheap view, but the person doesn’t know you well enough to buy anything. Trust takes time, and a six second clip can’t give it.

Long-form video fixes that second step. Someone who watches twenty minutes of a founder explaining a product is a very different lead from someone who scrolled past a Reel.

Instagram seems to understand this. Linked Reels move people from a quick clip into the full video, all inside the app. If that works, your warm audience grows, and warm audiences are what make Meta ads cheaper to run.

Meta Ads Video Length by Placement

Here’s something many advertisers miss. You don’t have to wait for the Features test to run longer videos in Meta ads. Regular ad placements already accept them. The limit just depends on where the ad shows up.

Facebook Feed is by far the most generous placement. Instagram Feed comes next, which is useful if you have a long explainer or a customer story you want to put money behind.

Stories are different. Even where the listed number is high, people tap through Stories quickly, so I’d treat it as a shortclip placement.

And a longer limit doesn’t mean a longer video is better. The first three seconds still decide whether someone stays. My advice is to test longer educational videos in Feed placements, where people are more willing to watch, and keep your Reels ads short and sharp.

Ad specs change often, so always confirm the current limits inside Ads Manager before you build a campaign. Features are a different thing from all of this. It’s an organic video format, and ads on it are still unconfirmed.

Move 1: Treat Long Videos as Your Warm Up Audience

Everyone who watches a big part of your long video already cares about what you do. In Meta ads terms, that’s the kind of audience you’d love to retarget.

I can’t tell you yet how Instagram will let advertisers use viewing data from Features. But the playbook is familiar. If that data becomes usable, brands with long videos already published will have a head start over brands starting from zero.

So start making the content now. Don’t make it for the algorithm. Make it for the people who’ll sit through it.

Move 2: Build Your Meta Ads Around Linked Reels

Eight linked Reels per Feature gives you eight doors into one room. For a brand, that means eight chances to test a hook.

Take one 45 minute customer interview. You could pull out a pain point, a result, a surprising moment, a price objection and a before and after story. Each clip will attract a different kind of viewer.

It also works as a free testing lab. The clip that sends the most people into the full video shows you what your audience really cares about. Then you can use that angle in your Meta ads and skip the guessing.

Move 3: Rethink How You Test Creative

A lot of small teams test creative like this: three images, two videos, wait a week. It works, but it’s shallow.

Long recordings give you much richer raw material. One hour of footage can turn into twenty ad angles. Because the footage is real people talking, it also feels less like an ad, and that’s what audiences keep asking for.

My advice: whenever you record anything long, record it with ads in mind. Ask your guest questions that bring out proof, stories and honest objections. You’ll thank yourself when you sit down to build campaigns.

Move 4: Track More Than Clicks

Here’s a mistake I see in many accounts. People judge Meta ads only on cost per click or cost per lead. With long content in the mix, that’s too narrow.

Keep an eye on these as well:

• How many people go from a Reel to the full video
• How long they stay and watch
• How many come back for the next episode
• Lead quality, not just lead count

Good performance marketing isn’t just cheap results. It’s the right people at a sensible cost.

Move 5: Get Your Skills Ready Before the Platform Is

Let me talk about us for a minute.

At Eleveon, we teach digital marketing and e commerce from Delhi NCR, and our instructors run live campaigns every day. When something like Features appears, we don’t wait for a textbook. We talk about it in class, ask how it changes the ads running right now, and decide what to test.

If you’re learning Meta ads, that’s the habit worth building. Formats and buttons will keep changing. What lasts is knowing how to read a change, make a guess and test it with real money.

What Not to Do Yet

A test is a test. Before you get carried away, keep these in mind:

• Don’t rebuild your whole strategy around a feature that isn’t in India yet.
• Don’t record a 90 minute video just because you can. Length without value just loses people.
• Don’t move the budget away from campaigns that are working.
• Don’t assume ads will run inside Features until Meta says so.

The smart move is quiet preparation. Collect your long content, practise cutting it into clips and keep testing creative on what’s live today. 

Conclusion

Instagram’s Features test is a big change for the platform. Videos of up to 90 minutes, Reels linked to full episodes and a TV app all point the same way: Instagram wants people to stay longer, and it wants brands and creators to make deeper content.

For anyone running Meta ads, the real opportunity is trust. Short clips get attention, and long videos build the relationship that turns attention into sales. How ads fit into all this is still unknown, so don’t rush.

But you don’t need to wait for an announcement to get ready. Build your content library, test your hooks, widen the numbers you track and keep learning. That’s how good performance marketing teams are built, and it’s what we try to teach every student at Eleveon.

FAQs

1. What is Instagram Features?
It’s a long form video format that Instagram is testing. Selected creators can upload horizontal videos up to 90 minutes long.

2. Can I run Meta ads on Instagram Features?
There’s no confirmed information on this yet. Nothing I’ve read says how ads will work with Features, so wait for official word from Meta.

3. Is Features available in India?
Not widely. It’s currently in limited testing with select creators in the U.S. and Brazil.

4. How do Linked Reels work?
Creators can attach up to eight Reels to one full length Feature. Viewers can tap from a short clip straight into the full video.

5. How does this affect performance marketing?
It could help build warmer audiences. People who watch long content tend to trust a brand more, which can make later campaigns work better.

6. Should I stop making short videos?
No. Short videos are still the main way people discover content, and Linked Reels depend on them to bring viewers to the long video.

7. What should beginners learn first for Meta ads?
Start with the basics: audiences, creative testing, budgets and reading your results. A structured Meta ads course with live projects helps you practise this on real campaigns.

8. Does Instagram pay creators for long videos?
Not at the moment. Instagram has said it has no plans yet for a revenue sharing program, though that could change.