Cricket content, one-sec reels booming on our platforms in India: Meta
Lately, one-second reels and content around sports, especially cricket on Meta's social media platforms have been gaining significant traction, with many creators adopting these trends. On Thursday, Meta launched its Creator Lab in India, an educational content series featuring popular Instagram creators from India.
The series will be available in English and Hindi, with captions in five additional languages. In addition, Instagram has introduced new features such as comments in stories, birthday notes, and cutouts in DMs. Paras Sharma, Director of Global Partnerships for India at Meta, spoke to Storyboard18 about content trends in India.
Content Trends on Instagram
Sharma mentioned, “I think there are a couple of ways to look at it. There are momentary trends that are very specific in nature, and then there are longer-term behavioral changes in content creation and user engagement. We are also noticing experimental content on the platform, which is largely created and consumed by Gen Z creators and audiences.”
He added, “We mainly pick up signals from Gen Zs because they are the biggest experimenters. They are the fastest to adopt something new and also the quickest to pivot to something else depending on technological changes.”
Investment in Sports Properties
When asked about Meta’s investment in sports properties, Sharma said, “There are two aspects: global events and India-specific events. For example, the ICC has its cricket calendar for India, so these events aren't hosted by Meta. Similarly, a movie release is part of the broader ecosystem.”
Sports Content on Meta Platforms
Expanding on sports content on Meta platforms, Sharma said, “When we look at our own study on Gen Z and sports fandom in India, cricket is the biggest, followed by badminton, even before the Olympics. We are also seeing highly passionate communities for football and Formula 1.”
Duration of Content Creation
Sharma mentioned, “There’s a format trend right now, and one-second content is part of that trend. But the real cause behind it is the behavior of the audience. There is a need to reduce the pressure of content creation. Creators don’t want to spend too much time and prefer to show their real selves, making their content more conversational on Instagram.”
He further noted, “This is about everyday creativity that isn't polished but is instead a quick reflection of this generation's desire to create a conversational, quirky piece—whether it's an audio clip, a physical movement, or a visual element.”
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