IGTV is Here!

Innovations / July 31, 2018

On June 20th, the Instagram we know and loved forever changed. What makes it even better is that Selena Gomez dropped a creepy video to celebrate the launch of the platform’s newest video platform: IGTV.

So what is IGTV? Well, it’s a video platform in which you can view vertical videos, perfect for your mobile device viewing. According to Instagram, “IGTV is a new space to be creative and engage your audience with longer videos”.

So where can you find it? You can access it through the Instagram app and watch it by clicking on the top right-hand corner next to the DMs icon. Or you can download the free app IGTV (currently over a million downloads a month after it’s initial launch).

Just as with Instagram, you can like, comment, and share the videos. It also shares the similar swiping motion as seen on Instagram Stories. Users can flip through the “channels” with the swipe of their fingers just as they do with the Instagram Stories.

Although there may be similarities between the two, IGTV has some features not available to Instagram videos. For instance, on Instagram, videos are on a constant loop. That means you cannot pause or restart the video from any point (you need to wait for the video start again). On IGTV, you can pause, restart and skip to your favorite part of the video. Also unlike Instagram videos which are limited to one minute, IGTV videos can go up to one hour long.

Moreover, IGTV has nostalgic odes to TV, where it has the same static screen and sound you’d get from cable tv as you’re flipping through channels. Also, just like TV, the content starts right away. You don’t need to press play. Unfortunately, you will need to enable the sound since it will play automatically on mute. Also, as with TV you have different channels, on IGTV you will have the different creators seen as their own respective channels.

You can see the content organized by the tabs:

• “For you” (content curated for you based on who you follow)
• “Following” (content of the accounts you already follow)
• “Popular” (trending videos)
• “Continue Watching” (finish watching the videos you didn’t finish).

There are some similarities between IGTV and Youtube as well. On this platform, not only do you get to consume content, but you can create a channel of your own and upload your own content. Creating a channel is made super easy (I made mine in less than 30 seconds). However, contrary to Youtube, this platform does not currently allow monetization.

So what does it all mean?

Now that you have some more knowledge on IGTV, what does it mean for the advertising world? Well for starters, the platform does not have paid advertisements as of yet. However, this doesn’t mean we should throw in the towel. IGTV gives the client an opportunity to share and create content for their audiences.

Ex: Cooking tips/recipes for clients in the food advertising

Ex: Home decor tips for clients in the furniture business

Ex: Demonstrate how the products work

Ex: How to style clothing for retail brands

This is an opportunity for clients to drive engagement with their audiences and create content geared towards their target audience.

So what should the client know when creating the videos? For starters, videos must be at least 15 sec to 10 minutes long. However, verified and larger accounts are permitted to upload videos as longs as 60 min (but these need to be uploaded from a computer). Videos also need to be in an MP4 format.

So let’s see where this new platform takes us, and if there will be any more creepy videos from Selena Gomez.

Additional links:

What is IG TV:

https://business.instagram.com/a/IGTV

Additional IGTV info:

https://help.instagram.com/381435875695118

Video content guidelines:

https://help.instagram.com/477434105621119?helpref=faq_content