Instagram announced that it’s working on a revolutionary feature that will expand the user experience and expand the capabilities of content creators. This new feature, called “Linking Reels,” will transform short videos from one-off posts into a series of consecutive episodes.

Instagram is experimenting with something different with its new Reels feature.

With this new feature, content creators will be able to work like the director of a mini-series. The Link Reels option, available during the sharing process, will allow them to easily add their videos to a series they’ve already created. This allows multi-step content like makeup tutorials, recipes, short stories, or training sets to be presented in a cohesive way.

Users can easily navigate to other episodes while watching any episode of a series with a single tap. This means they can access all related videos from their favorite creators in one place, without having to worry about distractions.

Instagram officials emphasize the strategic importance of this feature for the platform. The goal is to increase the time users spend on Reels videos by providing creators with the opportunity to tell deeper and richer stories.

More importantly, this feature is expected to be a powerful tool for capturing users browsing the “Explore” tab who aren’t yet followers. Users who encounter a single episode of a series will be more likely to visit the profile, curious about the rest of the story, and ultimately become followers.

While innovative, it’s worth noting that a similar feature has been available for a long time on rival platform TikTok. Instagram’s move reflects the fierce competition in the video-focused social media market. The company signals its continued commitment to innovative new tools to retain content creators on the platform and provide them with the best tools.

While it’s unclear when the Reels linking feature will be available to all users, it clearly demonstrates Instagram’s continued commitment and dynamism in the short-form video format.