I'm confused what's best for length with reels on FB & IG

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Real talk, don't try to make unique content for every single platform. Use a "pillar" approach where you make one long-form video or post and then chop it up into smaller pieces. A 5-minute video can become 3 TikToks and 2 LinkedIn text posts. It saves so much brain power when you aren't staring at a blank screen wondering what to post on IG vs Twitter every morning.

They don’t “block” longer Reels, but shorter ones usually get better reach because completion rate is higher. If it’s 7–10 minutes, it can still work - just harder to push unless retention is strong. I’d only split if there’s a natural break. Are your longer ones more storytelling or educational?

Yes they do. They dont push it to new audiences, so the reach goes to the ground. I had a series in comesy for sketches that were going over 3:10 minutes and before posting on instragam Meta warns you that reels over 3 minute long wont get push to new audiences. So i reduce them to 2:59 and evrything worked fine. Idk about facebook but i think is the same.

Hope it helps

Edit: forgot to tell you that when i posted my reel of 3:10 minutes it perfomed horribly just my followers where able to see it only if they found it on my profile or the feed section, not on the explore page.

You don’t necessarily need to force everything under 3 minutes anymore. Both Facebook and Instagram do still favor shorter content for discovery, but longer reels can perform if retention stays strong. The real factor isn’t length, it’s whether people keep watching past the first 5 to 10 seconds.

Splitting into Part 1 and Part 2 can actually hurt sometimes, especially if viewers don’t see the second part. Unless the break is natural, it often kills momentum. A strong 5 to 8 minute story with good pacing can outperform two shorter clips.

One approach is to structure it like a mini story arc. Strong hook, quick context, then let the story breathe. If people stay, the algorithm usually keeps pushing it. If they drop early, even a 60 second reel won’t perform.

You could also test both formats. Post one full version, then a shorter highlight cut. Some creators even generate both versions quickly using Runable, one optimized for retention and one condensed for discovery.

If your stories genuinely need 7 to 10 minutes, it’s usually better to keep them intact and focus on pacing rather than rushing or splitting artificially.

if you’re doing longer storytelling, structure matters way more than length
like strong hook, pattern interrupts, mini cliffhangers throughout
i usually map it out first and then use tools (runable for visuals/covers) so i’m not spending hours on production

oh man, this is a loaded question. I struggle with this all the time from personal experience videos over a minute and 30 seconds just don’t do well unless you’re giving a lecture style heavy information very interesting video but if it’s just conversational, think about talking to someone across the table from you and they are just yapping for seven minutes and you never get a word in. That’s the way I see longer videos unless there’s a value proposition that they’re learning from. I know what the grapevine has said about them pushing longer videos but again honestly under a minute 30 for me has been tried and true.