New IGTV For Brands & Influencers
Instagram users now have a brand new feature. It has now announced the release of their new app called IGTV. It features fullscreen, hour-long videos created by people you follow. You can access IGTV in two ways. The tv shaped button is at the top of Instagram, next to the DM button, or the app can be downloaded separately. Instagram’s Co-Founder & CEO, Kevin Systrom spoke about the benefits of IGTV.
“IGTV is different in a few ways. First, it’s built for how you actually use your phone, so videos are full screen and vertical. Also, unlike on Instagram, videos aren’t limited to one minute. Instead, each video can be up to an hour long. We’ve made it simple, too. Just like turning on the TV, IGTV starts playing as soon as you open the app. You don’t have to search to start watching content from people you already follow on Instagram and others you might like based on your interests. You can swipe up to discover more — switch between ‘For You’, ‘Following’, ‘Popular’ and ‘Continue Watching’. You can also like, comment and send videos to friends in Direct. Also like TV, IGTV has channels. But, in IGTV, the creators are the channels. When you follow a creator on Instagram, their IGTV channel will show up for you to watch. Anyone can be a creator — you can upload your own IGTV videos in the app or on the web to start your own channel.
It features a ‘videos for you’ tab, based on previous engagements and a ‘popular for you’ tab based on what is popular. The goal is to reach a new audience using longer videos, which could require re-editing them for consumer attention. The possibilities are endless for brands. These influencers are keeping their engagement high by using formats that they know their audience will respond to, keeping them on the platform for longer.
The bigger question seems to be whether IGTV will overpower Youtube. The answer is no. Youtube has been around for a very long time and it is simply too big to fail. Creators will not ditch Youtube but there doesn’t mean that there isn’t competition. Youtube also has the ability to monetize their content, while instagram isn’t currently a major source of income, but rather a place people to go to build an audience. It is the platform for finished content, while instagram would be considered the behind the scenes content for video production. For now IGTV is strictly mobile, meaning nothing can be done on a desktop. It’s success will depend on how well it adapts and how they will move forward from here.
