IGTV – Video’s Next Best Hub

Instagram TV is the new feature that’s got everybody buzzing, particularly videographers who are eager to show off their work.

Previously, Instagram had a limit on videos to a couple of minutes, but thanks to the IGTV feature, the app now allows you to upload one-hour long videos. The only catch is that videos have to be in a vertical format.

Some say that IGTV is already giving YouTube and other video-related apps a run for their money, but it will take some time before it is considered one of the biggest video platforms in the world.

IGTV is best suited for your phone – and with Instagram having over a billion users already, the audience is already there, all they have to do is entice people to use it.

According to Instagram: “We are re-envisioning mobile video with a new stand-alone surface that features longer videos and easy discoverability through channels, all in a vertical format that sits upright, in the palm of your hand”.

It’s convenient, seeing that it’s on-the-go, but you’ll need a pretty good internet connection to take advantage of its full benefits.

Also, there’s nothing stopping you from adding content to the site as well. More people have started to take it seriously – even local vloggers and videographers too.

Content is made up of high-quality videos that are edited akin to television programmes, so you might feel intimidated to start your own. But don’t be. Just create whatever you want! And depending on who you follow – you can spend possibly an hour or two watching videos. At least, that’s what happened to us when we first got a hold of it.

If you’ve downloaded the app separately, you can log in with your Instagram info and the videos will play immediately, if not, it’s already available within Instagram thanks to the click of a button on the top-right had corner of the app. The following tabs are available: ‘For you’, ‘following’, ‘popular’, and ‘continue watching’.

‘For you’ shows you Instagram’s recommendations based on who you’re following and what you search for on the platform. ‘Following’ includes videos from your followers, and if you have the right kind of people around, watching will be an amazing experience. The popular tab features videos from around the world that are making waves and have the most views. Every day it changes so it might be Kim Kardashian-West, Liverpool FC or random Russian women talking to their audience. Sometimes it’s ads – such as those from Louis Vuitton or Adidas.

As a marketing strategy, IGTV is quite effective. From a business point of view – you don’t have to pay anything to upload and you don’t necessarily have to force your content onto others – they will come to you. But if you’re a small business and you can’t quite see your ads making waves just yet, it’s best to advertise through sponsored posts on Instagram so that everyone can see it.

Tech vlogger MKBHD said “Instagram knows what they’re doing in terms of changing things up” and we honestly couldn’t agree more. Because, let’s face it, apps such as Periscope were dying. So was Snapchat following its controversy around Rihanna and the new changes that it brought about. Avid Snapchat users may have noticed their viewer count lessening by the day. Some people rather take selfies on Snapchat and post them to Instagram now – it’s become that bad. It’s only natural that people would shift to where the cool content is, and as of this moment, it’s on Instagram.

Lovers of all things video, flock there. Now. And perhaps opportunities will flood in like never before.

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