Instagram recently announced the launching of their latest app update- IGTV. Instagram founder Kevin Systrom stated, “all the data we have shows that people are spending less and less time in front of TVs but spending more and more time on their phones.” Thus, the launching of IGTV- a space within Instagram which will allow users to watch long-form vertical videos. Discover why IGTV may be the best feature update to hit the Instagram app yet.
IGTV vs Instagram Stories
Branching off the success of Instagram Stories (a feature that allows for 15 second videos or photos to stay on your newsfeed for 24 hours), Instagram created IGTV. The difference here is, IGTV houses vertical videos that can be as long as 15 minutes for non-verified accounts, to an hour long for verified or popular Instagram accounts. Another enhancement from Stories is the fact that IGTV posts never expire and will stay on your channel for user viewing as long as you’d like.
Beating the Competition
Optimized specifically for mobile watching, Instagram plans to compete with YouTube for long form video viewing. The vertical, full screen content is giving Instagram an edge over YouTube’s horizontal, having to flip your phone for a full screen viewing videos. YouTube creators are increasingly becoming disappointed with YouTube, making IGTV the perfect outlet for these influencers to continue targeting their audience and building out their brand.
IGTV Lead Gen Benefits
Beyond networking with your current followers, IGTV gives you more opportunity to be discovered by new fans. When you open IGTV, you’ll see multiple channels including “For You,” “Following,” and “Popular”. These are filled with videos from creators you may already follow and others you might like based on your interests. Some of the other many benefits include:
- IGTV is not currently showing ads, so the viewer is not interrupted during video viewing
- It is still a new feature; your company could be the first within your industry to be a thought leader in the IGTV space
- You are able to add as many links as you would like into the video description, so users can convert right from your IGTV post
Posting Management Improvements
As Instagram continues to grow as a company, it’s clear that their optimizing the platform to better support brands and influencers. IGTV will be the first Instagram post type to allow users to upload their videos via desktop to their Instagram IGTV profile. For optimal full screen vertical requirements, videos must be 4:5 ratio or 9:16 ratio. Once the video is uploaded, you are able to add a title, cover photo description, and save as a draft if you aren’t ready to push live just yet.
Should your brand have a Facebook company page, you are able to make your IGTV visible on Facebook as well. Helping to further enhance the cross-platform partnership between Instagram and Facebook.
For more information on how to get started with IGTV, or any other social networking strategies- contact our team today!