IGTV: The Ultimate Guide to Instagram’s 2019 New Video Platform

Article by Zarnab Moiz (Social Media Specialist at Cybrain Software Solutions)

It really does not matter if you are interested to start working with IGTV or if you are just curious to stay updated about the different elements of the new platform, this post has everything for you.

Let us first understand the meaning of IGTV before going any further.

IGTV is an important attribute of the Instagram application. It is an independent application that allows the posting of long videos and being streamed on Instagram. IGTV is only supposed to be viewed through mobile phones because of which it only shared upright videos in the beginning. But ever since May 2019 the IGTV also provides scope for landscape videos.

Advantages of IGTV

You can post long videos using the IGTV app which is much better than the 1-minute video allowed by Instagram feed and 15 seconds videos allowed by the Instagram stories.
In the current scenario, you will not find any advertisements among the various components of the IGTV app. There is also no scope for advertisements before, after or in between the videos you watch on IGTV.
You can now easily find the IGTV in the news feed of Instagram. You can easily have access to various different videos on the feed while navigating down the page. You will also have the advantage of the call to action button which you can click in quest of watching more.
Instagram tells business stories at a much deeper level through the use of IGTV. If you have a business website on Instagram, you can use IGTV to create deep bonds with your target customers. You can easily portray the various aspects of your business without worrying about the kind, length, and structure of your content.
Instagram also endorses the mobile-first feature of the IGTV. In reality, the IGTV app was only built to use on mobile devices, upright and on full screen.

Now since you know the importance of the IGTV and all set to use it, I am going to provide you some guidelines which will help you to use IGTV very much effectively.

Create Your Channel

First, you need to create your channel and then only you can post any video on IGTV. The process is not at all difficult and it is very much user-friendly.

Download the IGTV app on your mobile phones from the app store. Sign up for the IGTV app.
Log in to the IGTV app.
Go to the settings option on the right corner of your profile and click on the create channel option.
Now you can simply choose a portrait video from your mobile gallery. You also have the option of editing a landscape video if at all required from a suitable editing app.

Insert a title and description for the video

You are required to insert suitable keywords in the description of your video. In this way, it becomes very simple for people to locate your video on IGTV.
Also, make sure that you also insert links on the description of your video.
You can either post a customized cover for your video or you can even select a thumbnail for your video. Make sure your video cover stands out among others as it would be visible on the channel page as well as in the IGTV categories of your account.

Generate a preview for the video

Some time ago IGTV videos only existed in the IGTV channel creating an issue for the users to generate appropriate engagements and views. In order to resolve the issue IGTV incorporated an option to post 1 minute of the videos to the Instagram feeds. However, the sharing of the preview is considered to be optional.

You only get one chance to decide if you want to share your videos on Instagram feed or not, while you are posting your video. You can’t share the video on your feed after the video is posted already.

In case you are interested in creating a preview for your video make sure the initial one minute of the video is very much entertaining and also has the potential to keep the viewers hooked to your video.

You need to be very careful while deciding the title for your video as it will appear as its caption as well and there is also no option for the caption to be modified.

The robust potential of the IGTV app helps us to expand the range of our target audience. Here are some beneficial tips for you to use.

It is absolutely not necessary for you to have a big budget and professional editing skills to post a video on Instagram. You must have come across many hit videos that were taken with shaky hands and also in low lighting. Most of the high standard videos are found to be taken with the help of a Smartphone due to the advanced camera it incorporates and also because it is very much convenient to use.
Make sure that the video you create is short and simple. Your video should have the potential to keep the users hooked, so the message should be delivered to the audience in the minimum possible time, even if the maximum time specified is 10 minutes.
An ideal time limit for your video could be 4 to 6 minutes.
If you want your followers to stop and watch your video instead of navigating down then you are required to create an excellent presentation of your message in the initial few seconds of your video.
You can make use of the Inshot Video Editor to design content which is suitable to be posted on your feed as well as on the stories of Instagram.
You are very much aware of the likes and dislikes of your followers and so the videos should be designed accordingly.

Integrate Graphics, Photos, and Texts

Don’t just concentrate on making your face look pretty on the video you are creating. But you rather pay attention to integrate features like graphics, animation, texts and photos on your videos making it simple to understand. Make sure the content of your video is very informational and worth watching even if it viewed on silent.

Create a consistent brand image for videos. You can use a specific cover for all your videos and create a brand image for your videos. If you do this your profit will also go high by 23% and the goodwill of your brand will also increase three to four times more.
Make sure the contents you use on your video are the same as your previous content and update the audience about your new marketing plan without creating any confusion for them.
You can also make use of the “A Color Story” to create your videos. It contains a number of filters and editing tools, which will help to create a beautiful look for all your videos.

Insights & Schedules

You are recommended to create a social media calendar for your account and mark significant dates on it. You can easily promote the products and services of your brand based on such dates.

In this way, even the followers of your profile can determine the time around which you will post your latest creations. Most importantly the followers will feel motivated to stay hooked to your brand content.

You can also stay updated about the performance of the videos you are posting. You can read the comments as well as reply to those comments on your posts. You can easily determine IGTV insights as well.

When you click on the “ view insights” icon you can easily determine the number of likes, comments, and views on your posts. You can also track the number of people who watched your videos from the beginning to the end or those who left in the video in the middle.

Here we are done with few significant breakups of the IGTV along with few functioning tips which should be helpful for you.