Instagram Features is a new long-form video format that lets creators post horizontal videos of up to 90 minutes, and it gives hotels, wellness studios and lifestyle brands a reason to build a full-length video library on Instagram for the first time since IGTV. Instagram announced the test on October 26, 2026, and the practical takeaway for brands is to plan a small number of longer, higher-value videos that short Reels can point toward, rather than rushing to repurpose everything.
The rollout is limited for now. According to The Next Web, citing an Instagram spokesperson, a small group of creators in the US, with some in Brazil, is testing the format, and Instagram is also testing Reels that link to a full Feature. This guide covers what Instagram announced, how the format is meant to work, why a platform that resisted long video for years is changing course, and how a Miami boutique hotel, a recovery studio or a restaurant group can prepare without wasting a production budget.
What Is Instagram Features?
Instagram Features is a format for long, horizontal video. Creators can upload up to 90 minutes at a time, compared with a 20-minute ceiling for vertical Reels, according to Fast Company's coverage of the announcement. Instagram describes Reels and posts as "snackable" and positions Features as the "full course," watchable on a phone or on a television.
How will people find a Feature?
Discovery runs through two main doors. Features will surface in the main feed and on the Explore page, per The Next Web. Creators can also upload one full source video and link up to eight Reels to it, so a viewer who watches a 30-second clip can tap through to the complete version. Instagram has also said it plans to let creators group related Reels into a series on their profiles.
Where does the Instagram TV app fit?
The company's television app is central to the plan. The Next Web reports that the app launched on Amazon Fire TV in the US in December 2025, has since expanded to Google TV and Samsung TVs, and will prioritize Features, with Apple TV support described as "coming soon." In other words, Instagram wants a podcast episode, a chef's tasting-menu walkthrough or a full workout class to be something people can watch on the living-room screen.
Why Is Instagram Adding Long-Form Video Now?
Adam Mosseri, who runs Instagram, previously resisted long video because he worried it would reduce the time people spend sharing with friends. His position has moved. In an interview with creators Colin and Samir, quoted by The Next Web, he said: "We want to be the most culturally relevant platform, and to do that, we need to show up where people are."
The competitive logic is not subtle. Fast Company points to YouTube as the benchmark: the platform hosts more than 20 billion videos, and its ad revenue topped $11 billion between April and June 2026, up 13% year over year. Long-form video is where a large share of the money in online video sits, and Instagram is asking for a seat at that table.
Haven't we seen this before with IGTV?
We have. Instagram launched IGTV in 2018 as a separate long-form app and shut it down in 2022. The difference this time is structural. Features lives inside the main app rather than beside it, it is fed by Reels (the format Instagram's audience already watches daily), and it has a television distribution path from day one. That does not guarantee adoption, but it addresses the main reasons IGTV stalled.
What Does Instagram Features Mean for Hospitality, Wellness and Lifestyle Brands?
For brands, the opportunity sits in a gap that short video has never filled well: explaining something that deserves more than 30 seconds. Hospitality and wellness businesses sell experiences that are hard to compress. A hotel's identity is in the lobby, the rooms, the staff and the neighborhood. A studio's identity is in the method, the instructor and the community. Longer video lets that identity breathe.
Which formats suit a hotel or restaurant?
Think of a Feature as a recurring show rather than an ad. A boutique hotel could publish a ten-minute walk-through of a seasonal room refresh, a behind-the-scenes episode following the kitchen team before a tasting dinner, or a neighborhood guide hosted by the concierge. A restaurant group could release a chef conversation that runs 20 minutes, with three or four Reels cut from it to drive discovery. Each Feature gives the sales and events team something concrete to send to a prospective guest who asks, "What is it actually like there?"
Which formats suit a wellness studio?
Full classes are the obvious candidate, but they may not be the best use. A founder explaining the method behind a signature program, an instructor-led breathwork session, or a recovery protocol broken down step by step all build authority and trust. Because search engines and AI assistants increasingly surface video in answers, a clearly titled, well-described long-form video on a topic your studio owns also supports discoverability beyond Instagram. We explored how social presence feeds AI visibility in our look at social media presence and AI search visibility.
Can lifestyle and retail brands use it?
Yes, with a caution. Lifestyle brands tend to have the richest story material, from founder narratives to sourcing and craft, and long video suits that material. The risk is producing a polished brand film that nobody chooses to watch for ten minutes. The brands that win on long-form platforms usually behave like publishers: a clear premise, a consistent host and a reliable release rhythm.
How Does Instagram Features Compare With YouTube?
YouTube remains the default home for long-form brand video, and nothing in Instagram's announcement changes that overnight. We covered how that platform treats creators in our explainer on YouTube's 2026 Partner Program changes, and the economics there are mature. Instagram's pitch is different: reach into an audience that is already on the app daily, plus the Reels-to-Feature funnel.
There is also an important gap on the creator side. The Next Web reports that Instagram does not currently plan to share Features ad revenue with creators, though it has not ruled out changing that. For a brand running its own channel, that matters less, since the return comes from bookings, memberships and inquiries rather than ad payouts. For brands that pay creators to make long-form content, it means partners may weigh Instagram less favorably than YouTube until the economics change, and fees may need to reflect that.
Should a brand pick Instagram or YouTube for long-form?
For most small and mid-sized hospitality and wellness brands, the answer is both, with a clear hierarchy. Produce the long video once, host the master on the platform where search and evergreen discovery matter most, and use Instagram for the community that already follows you. Treat Features as an additional distribution surface, not a replacement for a content strategy.
How Should Brands Prepare for Instagram Features Right Now?
The format is in testing, so the right move is preparation, not a full campaign. Here is a sensible sequence.
Step 1: Audit what long-form assets you already have
Many brands are sitting on footage that never became content: founder interviews, event recordings, staff training sessions, panel talks and full class recordings. Review what exists, check you have the rights to use the people and music in it, and flag anything that tells a story worth ten minutes of someone's time.
Step 2: Design a Reel-to-Feature pipeline
Because Instagram allows up to eight Reels to link to one Feature, plan the long video and its clips together. Before filming, decide which moments will be cut into short clips and what question each clip leaves open. A strong Reel makes a promise that only the full video can fulfil.
Step 3: Choose a repeatable format
One-off films rarely build an audience. Pick a premise you can sustain for at least six episodes, such as a monthly "table talk" with a chef, a quarterly "inside the studio" series, or a recurring conversation with local makers. Consistency also makes measurement possible. Our earlier piece on Instagram's algorithm controls explains why signals like saves, shares and watch time deserve more attention than raw follower counts.
Step 4: Plan for the television screen
If Features will be prioritized in the Instagram TV app, framing, text size and audio quality matter more than they do for a quick Reel. Shoot horizontally, keep captions legible from a sofa and invest in clean sound, since long videos with poor audio lose viewers faster than ones with modest visuals.
Step 5: Decide how you will measure success
Set the goal before you publish. For a hotel, that might be tracked booking-link clicks or direct inquiries that mention the video. For a studio, it could be trial-class sign-ups. For a restaurant, reservation requests during the weeks after release. Instagram has published no performance benchmarks for Features, and the sources reviewed for this article cite no engagement statistics, so your own baseline will be the only reliable yardstick.
What Are the Risks of Moving Early?
Three risks deserve honest attention. First, format uncertainty: Instagram is testing, and features sometimes change or disappear. Do not build a business-critical funnel on a surface that is in beta. Second, production cost: long video is more expensive than short clips, and a poorly planned shoot can burn a month of budget. Third, audience mismatch: your current followers may follow you for photography and short clips, and may not instantly adapt to watching a 15-minute video. Test with a single pilot episode before committing to a series.
Brands have been burned by chasing platform formats before. Our reporting on how social media now competes with television for attention shows the shift toward the living-room screen is real, but attention follows quality and relevance, not format alone.
What Is the Bigger Picture for Social Media Marketing?
Instagram Features is one more sign that the boundary between social video, streaming and search is dissolving. Short clips act as trailers, long videos as the destination, and television apps as another screen. Brands that treat social as a single feed of disposable posts will find it harder to compete with those building a small, intentional library of content that can be found, shared and re-watched.
It also reinforces a point we make often: platform news matters only to the extent it supports a strategy. If your goal is more direct bookings, the right question is not "Should we post a Feature?" but "Which story, told at length, makes a stranger trust us enough to book?" Start there, and the format becomes a tool instead of a distraction.
Frequently Asked Questions About Instagram Features
What is Instagram Features?
Instagram Features is a test format for long, horizontal videos of up to 90 minutes, announced on October 26, 2026. It is meant for full-length content such as podcasts, comedy sets and complete shows.
How long can an Instagram Features video be?
Up to 90 minutes, according to Fast Company and The Next Web. Reels, by comparison, are capped at 20 minutes.
Who can use Instagram Features right now?
Only a small group of creators in the US and Brazil, per The Next Web. Adam Mosseri has said the rollout will expand to more people later.
Will creators earn ad revenue from Instagram Features?
Not at launch. The Next Web reports Instagram does not plan to share Features ad revenue with creators for now, though it has not ruled out changing that later.
Build a Long-Form Instagram Plan With a Miami Digital Marketing Agency
One Media Society is a Miami digital marketing agency that helps hospitality, wellness and lifestyle brands turn platform changes into practical content plans. If you want a view on whether long-form video belongs in your next quarter, explore our social media and content services, browse recent projects on our work page, or reach out and we will map a pilot series to your booking goals.
Sources: The Next Web, Oct. 26, 2026; Fast Company, Oct. 26, 2026.