You might have seen a new symbol appear at the very top of your Instagram feed. At first glance, this can appear to be a broadcast or news alert. Instagram’s new long-form video feature allows users to upload clips longer than 60 seconds.

Everybody’s favourite photo-sharing service is Instagram. Now that IGTV is here, it has a real shot at being our go-to video app as well. Here we’ll examine Instagram’s new video platform, IGTV, and discuss what it implies for Instagram’s main rivals as well as how you can begin using the platform for your own brand.

Explain in simple terms what is Instagram

At the same event in San Francisco where they introduced IGTV, Instagram also revealed that they have reached one billion registered users, just one day before the opening of VidCon, a conference for online video artists. This kind of announcement of modifications and new features is not always well-received by the existing users of a platform, but in this case, the reaction has been overwhelmingly positive.

The IGTV feature allows content producers to publish films of any length, from ten seconds to an hour, instead of the previous one-minute limit on’stories’ videos.

An Introduction to IGTV

Since food photos have long been popular on Instagram, it stands to reason that IGTV will become a hub for food videos. Oh, wait a minute!

Get the IGTV app

IGTV can be used independently or as an extension of your Instagram feed. You can get started with IGTV right away after downloading the brand-new IGTV app without making a new account. If you’re already logged into the main app (and have the most recent update), you may just click “continue” to use your existing account. The app will automatically direct you to suggested videos; from there, you may launch your own IGTV channel by tapping your profile picture in the upper right. Only the first two lines of your Instagram bio will be seen in the updated app, so you’ll want to make sure they’re the best they can be.

Find motivation

Since IGTV is so new, there aren’t many publications covering best practises just now, but you may still check out what others are doing to get some ideas. Videos are sorted into For You, videos from accounts you’re following, and Popular on the IGTV app. Write down your thoughts on what works and what you like and dislike. You can use this as a guide for what to include and what to leave out of your own videos in the future.

Make a content plan

You may already have the full 60-minute format if you have a large following; the rest of us will have to make do with the 10-minute version. Consider how this new medium fits into the bigger picture of your brand’s environment. Consider:

How will you make these films stand out from the ones you’ve posted on other sites?
What do you hope viewers will do as a result of watching your video?
How often and on what day of the week are you going to post videos to establish trust and engagement?

Publish your initial video

The easiest way to overcome the first nervousness of learning a brand-new platform is to get in headfirst and start producing content right away. Follow these steps to upload a video:

Just press record and you’ll have your first video in no time. Make sure you’re holding it upright, facing a window or other source of natural light, and that there is no ambient noise.

Take part and learn

It’s important to interact with your viewers just as you would during a Facebook Live broadcast. People who watch your videos can interact with you in a number of ways, including liking and commenting and visiting your link in the video’s description. Involve the viewers by posing questions and including a clear call to action in the video. Given the novelty of the situation, you should also test the waters to discover what people respond to and what they seek. Find out what people are interested in by looking at the analytics data.

When do we expect to see more and better online video?

There is no doubt that the top platforms’ strategies in the video arena are somewhat similar. Nevertheless, it is possible that there is room for more than one competitor in this market. It’s possible, and maybe even likely, that Instagram will own the more personal, spontaneous, and ‘behind-the-scenes’ type of content, while YouTube will remain the primary site where individuals host their content and focus on more polished work.