The latest news from Instagram is the launch of IGTV; you may have noticed the presence of a new button at the top right of the interface and the new section. In this quick guide, we will deepen how it works in detail, what its potentials and limits are.
What is IGTV?
According to SMMKART, this is specifically the new service that allows you to upload videos up to an hour-long. The name of the service is the composition of IG from Instagram and TV, which clearly stands for television. These videos, unlike the Stories, remain visible and accessible even after 24 hours. Altogether the videos of an account form something that closely resembles the contents of a channel such as YouTube and Vimeo.
Unlike these classic video sharing services, and Facebook videos, all the videos on IGTV will be shot vertically, and therefore they will be more practical to watch via the smartphone. The intention is clear, on the one hand, Instagram wants to provide its content producers (influencers and simple users) with a new direct and simple way to get in and stay in touch with their audience. On the other hand, they want to compete with the old video portals on the cabinet.
How is IGTV used?
Using the new service for those who consult the contents is very simple, just click on the icon and enter the appropriate section, which is linear and well organized. Entered, you will find yourself in the section for you where you can see a series of videos selected by the platform for you according to your tastes (to the people you follow and your interests).
Other easily accessible sections are:
- People you follow, where the latest uploaded videos of the people we follow are located
- Popular, where there are videos that have reached the highest number of views
- Keep watching, a section in which only the videos of which we have started and not finished watching will appear.
Above the four sections, there is the handy Search button on IGTV that allows you to search among the channels.
If you want to enjoy the video, you are watching in full screen just swipe downwards to make the interface reappear just swipe upwards.
You can also directly access all IGTV videos in an account by simply clicking on the appropriate icon.
While watching a video, you can put a like with a tap on the appropriate heart-shaped icon, comment via the speech bubble icon, or send the content via Instagram Direct (which are the platform’s private messages).
If you are a creator of content, you need to use the handy IGTV app, which we will discuss in the next paragraph.
How to upload videos to IGTV and manage your channel
Uploading videos to the new service is very simple; just use the new app available on the App Store and Play Store. Once the installation is complete, start the app and log in, if you already have Instagram, you can continue with your account.
The first time the app is launched, it will appear identical to the section we talked about above. Except that by pressing on the small icon of our profile name, we can create our channel.
Once created, simply press the Upload a video item to enter your gallery and be able to upload your video (lasting between 15 sec and 10 minutes for common profiles, and up to an hour for verified profiles with a high number of followers).
Videos must have the following characteristics:
- be in mp4 format
- the aspect ratio (between length and height) must be between 4: 5 and 9:16
- for videos, less than 10 min the weight cannot exceed 650 MB, for those of an hour this limit rises to 5.4GB
- Uploading videos longer than 60 minutes is allowed only for some profiles and only through the website.
Do you make money with videos on IGTV?
The answer is no, to date, there is no advertising in the videos. Publishers earn nothing from the visualizations, but (as for Instagram) they publish content to stay better in contact with their audience and perhaps acquire followers and popularity.
It cannot be excluded that in the future, some methods will be implemented to reward publishers and incentivize them.
What are the advantages?
When you open the app, the videos of the people you follow are the first you will see. You just have to slide your finger to the left to go to the next person. You do not need to follow a second time the people to whom you are already followed; synchronization is automatic.
The tool is not recent, but we do not yet have enough perspective to know its real potential. The most obvious advantage remains the duration of the videos, which is an asset to develop more elaborate content. This will be an opportunity for you to create greater engagement with your followers but also to broaden your audience.
The IGTV tool allows you to follow the videos of personalities and/or people you are as well as to watch popular videos. The popular category will be a way for you to reach a new audience and grow your community but also to discover new trends and viral videos. Instagram is slowly venturing into YouTube; there are many similarities to note. IGTV also displays popular views, likes, and videos. Just like on YouTube, popular videos are highlighted.
In order to take advantage of this tool to promote your content, there are two major difficulties and not the least. Access to the popular tab depends on the number of times your video has been viewed, and the number of “Instagram likes” it has been able to garner. The second difficulty is the duration of the video that you are able to share varies from 10 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the size of your community. The more followers you have, the more you can share long videos, the limit being 1 hour. A company has grasped the importance and potential of this tool; it is responsible for promoting your video but also your account so that you have a greater number of views, followers, and likes.