Reels, Memes & Fun: Adam Mosseri and Shraddha Kapoor decode what works best on Instagram

Instagram Head Adam Mosseri confirmed that Reels generally get more engagement than static posts, but emphasized that the platform itself does not favour one format over another. Mosseri was talking to actress Shraddha Kapoor on Day 2 of the WAVES summit. During the chat, Kapoor shared her personal content strategy, highlighting the importance of fun, memes, and trending audios in her posts.

During the segment titled Fireside Chat – Trends and Virality, Mosseri and Kapoor discussed the topic, How Gen Z Consumes Content. LLLLLLL

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Kapoor posed a pressing question that many creators have: “Is it true that reels work better than statics? Does Instagram choose to push one type of content more than the other?”

To this, Mosseri clarified, “We don't try and boost one type of content or suppress another… But in general, video is more engaging than static photos.” He added, “It gets more likes, it gets more sends, it gets more watch time. And therefore, it will do better in ranking and with reach.” However, he acknowledged, “That's not true for all creators… Poetry Instagram is a whole world.”

Kapoor echoed the sentiment of unpredictability on the platform. “I can’t really pinpoint personally for myself what is going to work or not.” When asked about strategy, she shared, “I’ve actually very honestly not had any strategy… I love using trending audios and captions. We actually have a really strong meme culture in India.”

Their exchange also touched on authenticity, relatability, and the realities behind content creation. 

Kapoor humorously shared, “I’m shooting content in my bedroom… my mom is banging on the door and saying, when are you going to be done?” Mosseri added, “My kids will invade,” underlining the balance of personal life and public content creation.

Kapoor then turned the spotlight on authenticity, calling it non-negotiable for creators. “Authenticity isn't just important—I think it's the only way… People are going to see if you're faking it. And audiences will connect more if you are showing all facets of who you are as a person,” she said.

She added that being real is easier and more sustainable. “When you're inauthentic, you have to really think of someone who you're not. You're putting in a lot more effort… And I feel you're doing it for the wrong reasons,” Kapoor noted.

Calling India Instagram’s biggest market, Mosseri said, “A global powerhouse, I think, for creativity. For us, it's the largest country in the world for Instagram at this point, and for content creation. And you yourself have been one of the most-followed public figures, with over 90 million followers at this point.”

Kapoor agreed, stating that content creation is essentially storytelling—something India excels at. “Content creation, quite a bit, largely… it's pretty much storytelling, right? And what better country than India to tell a story? We are so rich with the storytelling that we've grown up learning about in our households,” she said.

She credited Instagram for democratizing content and enabling diverse voices. “With a platform like Instagram where it's democratized, where people can come out and really share their stories—I don't think there's a better time than right now for India… You're seeing people creating content in their bedrooms. You don’t need those large setups,” she added.

Mosseri attributed India’s content boom to affordable data and rapid digital evolution. “As the cost of data has gone down, we've seen an immense amount of growth in how much time people spend online… But more than anything, we've seen growth specifically in video. For us, short-form video,” he said, noting that Instagram’s transition from a photo-sharing app to a video-first platform has been accelerated by Indian users.

On India’s influence globally, he said, “As Instagram in India has changed really quickly, it’s sort of served as a signal for how Instagram has also changed in the rest of the world. In some ways, India has been leading on that front.”

When asked about India’s edge, Mosseri responded, “We see much higher amount of sharing, amount of time spent per person, amount of engagement and creativity relative to the rest of the world… I do think there’s probably more room for other countries to learn from things like Bollywood, how you see movies translated into multiple languages.”

Before starting the session, Shraddha welcomed Adam to Mumbai. A half-Maharashtrian by birth, the actress made his visit to Maharashtra special by getting homemade Puran Poli for him. She said, “I know you’ve been eating at fancy places and you were trying Indian food. I want you to try this Maharashtrian dessert which is called Puran Poli. It is made at my home.”