Emplifi<\/a> released research last week on the specifics of what drives Reels viewership, using data from 10,110 Facebook Reels published by 704 brand pages.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unsurprisingly, human speech is important for engagement, with videos including human speech in the first three seconds driving better response. Human speech even performs better than music, with 10-second retention increasing almost 25%. Speech-based videos see a 5.6% higher engagement rate compared to music-only content.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another important takeaway is the importance of seamless looping. For very short videos of up to seven seconds, seamless loops result in 18.7% higher replay rates and 16.1% higher engagement rates.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n Finally, text overlays drive engagement, but only delivers \u201cmodest improvements\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How to Reel-y pull in fans?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Mix performance with speech. <\/strong>If you\u2019re ever in need of some convincing data for your artists to try out voiceovers or talking directly to camera, here it is.Get in on seamless looping.<\/strong> Next time you\u2019re preparing content with your artist, look into how to create better looping<\/a> for smoother viewing, like this one from Meg Smith<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n