What Is IGTV & How To Use It With Your Instagram

In our previous lesson, we had talked about how to use Instagram stories to gain followers. Having learned how to plan your content, uploading photos/videos, and posting stories, let us have a brief introduction to IGTV and how you can use it for your Instagram.

No doubt people prefer to watch video content as compared to photos. Videos gain 38% more engagement than photos. To give a tough competition to Youtube and other such platforms, Instagram introduced a new standalone app in 2018 that allows users to view vertical content on their smartphones. Though there already existed Instagram stories, they have a very short span of only 15 seconds. Hence to allow users to post larger duration videos, IGTV was released.

IGTV allows users to upload videos of length up to 10 minutes from your IGTV account. IGTV is a stand-alone app but you can also view the videos from the Instagram mobile app. Longer videos can entertain your followers more and can lead to more engagement.

IGTV is different from video search engines like Youtube and Vimeo. Most of the videos on these platforms are uploaded in landscape form. IGTV is unique in a way that requires people to upload videos that are in portrait mode making it easier for people who capture videos using their mobile phones. This saves them the hassle of rotating the phone for recording.

Made to be viewed with mobile phones that are normally held with one hand, IGTV lessens the burden for viewers of switching mobile into landscape mode just to watch the video. In short, IGTV is meant for smartphone users.

While IGTV videos can have a length of up to 10 minutes, verified accounts with a huge number of followers can upload even an hour-long video. To upload an hour-long video you shall have to do it from a computer. However, as Instagram has committed that in future there would not be any limit on the duration of the video that can be uploaded.

When you browse the IGTV app, you can use it to watch videos like watching your television. When you open the IGTV app, tons of videos are available for you to watch. You can continue watching the video currently playing once you open the IGTV app.

IGTV supports 4k videos that can run up to 60 minutes(only for verified users and 10 minutes for regular users. IGTV follows the same aspect ratio 9:16 as in the case of Instagram stories.

Currently, IGTV does not support ads but it wouldn't take much longer before they show up here. You can watch IGTV videos in the IGTV standalone mobile app or you can simply click on IGTV icon in your Instagram feed on your mobile app.

When you scroll down, you can browse through the number of videos that are available for you to watch. You can view the cover of the videos that you are interested in watching released by the people you follow and the videos that are trending.

When you click on a video, you can see the number of views, and comments on that video. You can also like the video, comment and share the video as well.

After you browse and select the video that you would like to watch, you will see the Up Next button on the bottom right corner. When you click on this button, you can browse more videos from the user and other users related to the video. Using this button, users can easily explore videos from other Instagrammers.

Instagram allows you to share the video in your story. You can also send the video in a direct message to your friends that you follow.

If you want to add it to your story, you can further add more stickers, and hashtags to customize your story. Using hashtags and location will help you reach out to more audiences. When people view your story, the sticker Tap Here adds a call-to-action to your viewers to view this IGTV video and you can direct more traffic to IGTV. If you want to upload the longer videos, then IGTV is the best way to upload it keeping in mind that Instagram stories allow sharing of 15-second videos only.

Uploading videos on IGTV is no less than a cakewalk. Just keep in mind the technical specification required to upload a video:

1. Supported Video format: MP4
2. Duration: 10 minutes, 60 minutes(for verified users)
3. Size: for 10 minutes video- 650MB; for 60 minutes video- 3.6 GB
4. Aspect ratio: For vertical video 9:16

Follow these steps in uploading the videos on IGTV:

Open the app. Click on the + icon. Choose the video you want to upload from the gallery.

You can only choose a video that is less than or equal to the maximum duration of the video that you are allowed to post.

Select the cover image for your video from the frames that Instagram offers. If you wish to add a different cover image, you can add the photo from your gallery as well. Click Next.

Add a title to your video. Give an additional description to your video along with a hashtag and an optional feature to make it visible on your Facebook page. Hashtags will help you increase your reach. You can add a preview video to your Instagram feed. Edit the preview and profile cover if you desire.

After making appropriate selections, Click Post.

Once your video is uploaded, you will see a pop-up window on your screen. Click on Share to Story to share the video on your Instagram story. You can also copy the link to your video and send it to others.

IGTV can help you increase your brand awareness. People can discover your brand more when you link your IGTV content on your stories thus driving more traffic to your IGTV channel. People who discover your brand may follow you if they like the content. So make sure that your IGTV videos are valuable to your followers.

You can use IGTV videos to promote your brands, introduce new products and even some behind the scenes clips. You can also post some unedited, unpolished clips for your followers as it lets your followers/visitors in an informal space allowing you to build more brand trust. Make some tutorial videos on how to use your product or various ways in which your product can be utilized.

You can use influencers for your IGTV videos as well. We all know very well that influencers have a stronger presence on Instagram as compared to other social media platforms. These influencers certainly have a lot of followers on their profile. You can take the help of these influencers to market your products. Find the right influencer who is specific to your niche and has followers that could be your potential customers. Shoot a small video with them using and reviewing your products and upload them on IGTV. In a video that features these influencers, their followers will certainly watch the videos. They are more likely to buy and use the products that influencers suggest.

Well, there are hundreds of ways with which you can increase your brand awareness using IGTV. Just be creative, innovative and always keep your followers and customers in mind while making videos: their preferences, opinions, and suggestions.

Longer videos on IGTV can keep viewers entertained. You can create a series of IGTV videos and when the time comes when you have gained more followers and get a verified profile, you'll be allowed to upload up to an hour of video content. But most users these days have less attention span and would get bored while watching the video unless the video is a tutorial video. It's still relevant to upload videos of less than 10 minutes making sure that viewers are interested and keep them yearning for more content.

Unless your videos are exceptionally appealing and you have very very loyal followers, you stand the risk of not getting your videos watched if they are of longer duration. Having 3-5 minutes long videos is the optimum length and you should abide by this to keep your followers engaged.

Even though Instagram allows users to upload up to an hour-long video, it doesn't mean that you have to upload such longer videos. People always prefer to watch shorter lengths of videos. Lengthy videos are always too distracting.

So if you have a longer video, consider breaking it into smaller parts. Make a series of small clips or episodes. This will keep your followers engaged and keep them wanting more always.

Grasp the attention of your viewer within the first five-second of your video. Followers judge the video by its first five seconds. Make the beginning intriguing and such that the followers get excited to watch the whole video.

Engage with your followers on your posts. Your followers can like your IGTV video and can also comment on your videos. Your followers can use the comment section to express their opinions about your video while you can use the comment section to interact with them and express your gratitude to your followers thus building trust with your followers. Ask your followers to give their opinion about the video. Reply to their comments. Ask them for the feedback and what they liked/disliked about the video.

You can also ask your followers about the type of content they would like to watch. Take their suggestions and preferences into consideration. When you upload what the followers want to see, they put much more trust into your brand for they will know that you always take care of your followers and never disappoint them.

IGTV is not like just another video platform. On platforms like youtube, you can simply search for anything, let's say How To Cook Spaghetti and there will appear tons of videos on the same subject uploaded by a multitude of users on the app. However, when you search such content on IGTV you might not find any such video. Because IGTV works differently. Here, you can only look for Instagram users, influencers, artists, and people you follow and the videos that they uploaded.