The Update

On Friday, June 22, Instagram rolled out their newest mobile app update — creating some serious buzz for marketers around the globe. The buzz-worthy feature? IGTV.

IGTV is a long-form video viewing function accessible within the Instagram app or as its own standalone app. It allows users to upload videos of up to 60 minutes in length. Different than Stories, IGTV videos remain on a user’s ​‘channel’ permanently instead of for only 24 hours.

IGTV is already being compared to directly to YouTube. The biggest difference between the two? Search versus interest. Users go to YouTube to search for information on a specific topic. IGTV populates content based on a user’s interests, favorites, accounts they follow, and popular content. This gives marketers the opportunity to target more specific audiences.

Especially if that audience is on the young side. Generation Z and Millennials don’t watch traditional broadcast TV the way their parents did. In fact, according to a study by Omnicom, about half of adults ages 22 – 45 don’t watch any content on traditional tv. None. But they’re flocking to Instagram. With over 1 billion monthly users, Instagram (and it’s owner Facebook) is looking to take the user experience to new heights by providing viewers with access to long-form video. This will keep more users on the app while watching lengthier videos rather than jumping ship to other platforms.

How It Works

With a complete mobile focus, horizontal videos are now vertical for better mobile viewing. This altered navigation and viewing experience will hold your viewer’s attention for longer periods of time. Giving you the opportunity to engage with them in a new way.

And unlike regular Instagram posts or stories, links can be added to your videos, so you can funnel traffic directly to a company website, squeeze page, or other conversion tool. Website linking levels the playing field for smaller accounts under 10k followers that don’t yet have the coveted ​‘swipe up’ feature. Converting traffic from Instagram has never been this easy!

It is also worth noting that you may upload higher resolution footage — even 4K footage directly from the Instagram webpage. This eliminates the hassle of transferring videos to a mobile device before posting.

What This Means for Marketers

As marketers, we must follow where the attention is to stay relevant and connect with our prospective customers.

IGTV is new and you may be hesitant try it out. But don’t sit back and wait for everything to unfold, look into ways you can stand out and make a splash by leveraging this new feature to connect with your audience, and get a head start on your competitors.

Consider looking into a corporate episodic series, facility tours or product demonstrations or just start with a ​‘welcome to our channel’ video to kick off your newfound presence on IGTV.

IGTV is a newly discovered planet. Go stick your flag in now. We did, log into your Instagram account and check it out!

If you’re interested in learning how long-form video can benefit your business, let’s chat!