Everything You Need To Know About IGTV
This month, Instagram announced two very exciting announcements. The first was that the social media platform had reached one billion users. The second was the launch of their product - IGTV (Instagram TV)! If you’re not sure what all of the fuss is about, and don’t know how to make the most of IGTV, we’re here to lend a helping hand.
So, what is IGTV?
IGTV is different to your traditional video viewing apps like Youtube as it is made for content to be viewed on your
phone. The videos are full-screen and vertical meaning you won’t ever have to rotate your phone - huge win if you ask me! You can access IGTV either through the Instagram app or through their new IGTV app. Videos can go up to 10 minutes long and viewers can like and comment on videos.
How to use it?
In the Instagram app:
Start by clicking the little TV icon in the top right corner. From here, you can explore videos from the accounts you follow or popular content that other people have posted. To upload a video you have to create your own IGTV channel. To do this you need to go into the IGTV section and click the settings button. Then, once you’re in your own channel you can upload videos. IGTV gives you the options to add a title and description as well as the option of sharing the video to your Facebook Page.
In the IGTV app:
The IGTV app looks very similar to the experience when you hit the IGTV button in the Instagram app. It has all the same features and you upload videos in the exact same way that you would from in the Instagram app.
Benefits for influencers and content creators
IGTV can be really helpful for influencers and content creators who want to upload longer videos. Instead of having super long Instagram Stories that are broken up into 10 second increments, you can upload your whole video (up to 10 minutes long) without any interruptions. IGTV will give content creators and influencers a whole other platform to upload and share their video content to, which will no doubt benefit future collaborations and projects. If you were to do a campaign with a brand that required you to do a video product review, for example, you could pre-record it and upload it to IGTV, instead of, or in addition to, YouTube.
Benefits for brands
IGTV is going to be equally beneficial for both influencers and brands wanting to collaborate. As a business, not only could you use this feature for your branded video content, but you could also make IGTV a requirement of your future influencer campaigns and encourage influencers to create more video content, such as try on hauls, product reviews and a demonstration of how your product fits in with their day-to-day lives.
We think that IGTV is going to be great for both influencers and brands because it will make sharing video content super easy, and without those pesky interruptions. Instagram has really upped their game in terms of keeping up with the competition, first it was Instagram Stories to taken on Snapchat, and now, IGTV is set to give YouTube a run for its money.
