By: Brandie Evans
Instagram has been around for years and they continue to add new features to the social media app. One of the new features is IGTV, Instagram’s own television application through the app that users can take longer videos and users/brands can share with followers (Stelzner, 2019). At first, IGTV was difficult to figure out, but then Instagram added the IGTV videos onto users’ profiles and onto feeds, making it easier to access the IGTV videos. IGTV has really changed the game for influencers and brands to move forward into research and engagement.
Since 2005, brands and influencers have been using YouTube to promote and reach an audience. Instagram came out with IGTV and Instagram is one of the most used social media platforms, allowing users to access those videos easier on an app they are already on. Accounts with 10,000 or more followers can post a video on IGTV that is at most an hour, and accounts with less followers can post from 15 seconds to 15 minutes (Stelzner, 2019). Another interesting feature is that the video is recorded and viewed vertically and horizontally, which is different from other social media platforms. This is a great tool for digital strategists at agencies around the world to use to raise brand awareness, aid clients and build relationships with consumers.
Instagram’s large audience makes IGTV the perfect feature for brands and influencers to utilize for free marketing. For example, a brand influencer for Morphe Cosmetics films a makeup tutorial and has a large Instagram following. The brand influencer uses IGTV to promote the makeup products and spends no money, while also getting paid somehow from the brand for promotion. It is also rare that people watch videos longer than 5-7 minutes, proving that IGTV is changing digital media due to the length of videos on the feature. Another positive is that Instagram makes it very simple to monitor engagement and views, which can help brands with market research.
Mobile media continues to grow rapidly, giving IGTV space and time to grow and flourish (Loren, 2019). Instagram is growing by curating and pulling together relevant and interesting videos that are similar to the ones you look at on your account and putting them on the popular page. The ‘popular’ page feature is especially helpful for those with a large social media following, allowing their content to be added to the ‘popular’ page.
YouTube is of course a competitor for Instagram’s IGTV being almost the same thing, but with IGTV there is no way to put paid advertisements on the videos (Williams, 2019). This could be bad for brands that are looking to pay for those IGTV video advertisements, but for consumers it could mean seeing less advertisements while on social media. In conclusion, IGTV is a wonderful tool for brands, influencers and agency members alike and also makes it easier for consumers to access the videos.
References
Loren, T. (2019, August 29). The Ultimate Guide to IGTV, Instagram’s New Video Platform. Retrieved from https://later.com/blog/igtv/.
Stelzner, M. (2019, May 14). How to Use IGTV for Marketers. Retrieved from https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/how-to-use-igtv-for-marketers-jasmine-star/.
Williams, A. (2019, July 10). What’s next for IGTV? Retrieved from https://www.mobilemarketer.com/news/whats-next-for-igtv/558406/.
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