Why Your Business Needs To Start Using IGTV Today!

Let’s be honest, IGTV has been a bit of a flop up until now!

The video platform created by Instagram just hasn’t really taken off and has left a lot of creators and businesses confused about both its purpose and advantages.

As such, IGTV has really failed to make much of a splash in the social media marketing sphere.

But all that’s about to change.

Yes, the rest of 2020 looks set to become the year of IGTV as Instagram begin to plough massive resources into the platform, meaning it’s sure to soar.

So if you want to beat the crowds, here’s exactly why you and your business need to start using IGTV today…

This page contains affiliate links meaning Social Puffin may receive a small commission on any purchases at no extra cost to you.

IGTV : The Basics

Launched in June 2018, IGTV was Instagram’s stab at a longer form video platform.

Originally operating out from a separate IGTV app, the platform has now been integrated into the regular Instagram app where content appears both in the feed and in a separate IGTV section on every user’s account profile.

IGTV operates in a vertical format and originally these were the only content dimensions it catered to.

However back in 2019, Instagram announced that landscape videos could now be uploaded and properly displayed via the platform too.

If you want to upload horizontal videos to IGTV, it’s best to do so from a desktop device to ensure the formatting is correct. This will then allow users to simply turn their screen to watch your video in full width.

In contrast to Instagram Stories, which are capped at 15 seconds, IGTV allows videos of up to 10 minutes to be uploaded.

For larger Instagram accounts, this time limit is then extended to 1 hour.

Even then, IGTV still has some strong competition from other platforms, including Facebook Live, the king of video platforms, YouTube, and more recently, the explosion of TikTok into the social media scene.

However decisions to increase video length, as well as be more adaptable to landscape dimensions, show how IGTV has been rising to the challenge of carving itself a position away from its main competitors; the announcement that it will soon start monetising the platform is another step in this direction.

The development of ads being integrated into IGTV was announced in May 2020 and is currently being rolled out with selected creators and advertisers in the United States.

However there are certainly plans for this to be expanded into other regions and other accounts in the coming months, which is likely to encourage more content users to create for IGTV.

As such, now really is the time to get ahead of the crowd and get on IGTV today.

Here’s 3 more reasons to convince you to do just that …

#1 Take Advantage of Longer Form Content

As we’ve mentioned, IGTV is a longer content platform with videos of up 1 hour allowed in some cases and up to 10 minutes in all cases.

This means you can convey a lot more information in an IGTV post than you can with Stories or TikTok.

IGTV is also a bit more formal than these platforms, but videos aren’t necessarily as polished, technically complex or formal as YouTube can be.

Sitting somewhere between these 2 points, IGTV therefore has the potential to be a great space where you can communicate more about your brand, business, goods or services in a longer, but less formal way.

Particularly suited to tutorials or demos, IGTV works really well with piece-to-camera edits that highlight exactly what you can offer customers or clients in a real and personable tone.

You can also use IGTV to show off your skills and knowledge which, in turn, can really help to build your authority in a niche area – showing potential audiences the level of expertise or specialism you have in your chosen field.

This helps build up brand integrity and trust amongst a potential customer base – and it can all be achieved in a very un-pushy, non-salesy way.

Giving your customers great value – such as through free tutorials, advice, tips and demos like we do on our IGTV channel here at Social Puffin – is a way of offering clients a lot, rather than asking them for a lot.

Give a lot of value and you’re sure to get value back.

The longer form nature of IGTV is perfect for this, so utilise it to your advantage as soon as possible.

Especially while the competition is low!

#2 Competition is Low

Because right now on IGTV, competition is low, really low, which means it’s even easier for your brand and expertise to stick out from the crowd – especially great news given the usually crowded nature of the social media world.

But with Instagram really seeking to develop IGTV this year, we know it’s not going to stay like that forever, especially as they begin to monetise the channel.

Which is why now really is the time to get on IGTV, get ahead of the game and get ahead of your competitors while you still can.

If you’re not yet familiar with creating videos, editing them or uploading to IGTV, then this is the perfect time to start practising, growing your skills and video collection, so that you can start to shine when it really matters.

And if you already feel comfortable with the technical aspects of basic video-making, but not the presentation, this is another great time to bite the bullet, be brave and get your face on camera.

After all, it’s only practice that makes perfect, and this is the ideal time to get practicing with the IGTV platform, in order to build up your skills and confidence as your audience gets bigger too.

We know putting your face on camera is scary, but honestly, customers respond so well to the human face of businesses, that the advantages far outweigh any fear or reservations you may have!

In fact, this is another one of the key advantages of IGTV.

As a longer video platform, great for demos and tutorials, it gives you a unique way to communicate your brand and personality.

Not simply hiding behind an image, a quote or a caption, showing your personality or brand off at its best is a great way to take advantage of IGTV by making personal, lively, friendly and approachable videos.

This can really help draw clients in, making them feel like they know you more, trust you more and know your expertise more too.

In the often impersonal and avatar-led world of social media, connecting with a real person behind a brand or company can’t be underestimated.

#3 Monetization and Investment

And this is especially true if IGTV takes off in the way we expect it too.

We know that when Instagram starts ploughing resources into anything, it’s going to get big, and it seems they are ploughing a lot into IGTV, so we’re excited!

With the lockdown events of 2020, we’ve already seen Instagram roll out a lot of new developments that helps small business, such as their Gift Card Stickers, and we expect IGTV to continue to follow this trend too.

The announcement they’ll begin to monetize IGTV through feed previews will certainly attract more creators, which will help grow the platform and, in turn, mean more businesses will hop on here to start harnessing it in their marketing strategies too.

So now is really the time to get ahead of the crowd and get on IGTV today.

There’s still lots of room to make a splash on the platform and broadening your social media content beyond just still images will also demonstrate how progressive and on trend you are as a company or brand.

Starting to use and practice with IGTV now will not only help you develop skills as we’ve mentioned above, but also allow you to experiment when it comes to knowing what works and your followers respond to best.

These means as the platform grows, you’ll already be ahead of the trend, knowing both how to use IGTV well, as well as what drives views and customers to your account or website.

Both of these things are certain to mean more success in the long run.

Don’t forget you should also be promoting your IGTV content both in your regular IG feed, as well as via your Stories, where you can actually link straight to your selected IGTV video.

IGTV can also be used to create teasers, which are longer than 15 seconds, if you’re looking to promote your YouTube channel or other videos, and is perfect for showcasing new products or services in this way.

Honestly if Instagram is investing in IGTV, then we definitely think it’s worth you doing the same!

We can’t say for certain, but as Instagram tries to drive the use of IGTV, it’s likely to offer added bonuses for using the platform too, such as increasing your organic IG feed reach by using IGTV.

So there really is everything to play for this year when it comes to IGTV and we highly suggest you get in the game asap!