Filters, hashtags, posts, stories – as if navigating Instagram wasn’t hard enough. As video takes centre stage, what should you know about IGTV for business?
Although launched in 2018, many users still shy away from this feature out of fear of the unknown. With the traditional post and news feed format, Instagram users were previously capped at sixty seconds for uploading video content, with stories being even shorter at a maximum of fifteen seconds. IGTV – or Instagram TV – allows users to upload videos up to ten minutes in duration, and up to a whopping one hour for verified users who possess the magical blue tick.
However, the format has changed over the years to encourage more engagement with IGTV. In 2019, Instagram “tweaked” the model by allowing creators to post one minute “previews” of their IGTV videos, on their feeds, to improve discoverability. This also helped grab the attention of audiences and direct viewers to their IGTV accounts. More recently, the head honchos over at the ‘Gram introduced the IGTV series feature, allowing users to create regular video series that are released at consistent intervals (weekly, monthly etc).
While this sounds great on paper, brands and businesses have been slow to embrace the marketing practices associated with producing high quality video for marketing purposes. However, with the rise of video-based platforms like Snapchat, YouTube and even TikTok, ignoring the trend increases your risk of being left behind.
As Instagram is one of the world’s leading social media platforms, how does IGTV for business work, and what are the key points that you need to know?
Benefits Of IGTV For Business
Videos are rapidly becoming one of the most effective methods of content marketing. Not only are they highly engaging, but they can also incorporate other types of content – think music, text, photographs and even links.
While embracing video is a sure-fire way to tell your brand’s story and increase engagement levels, doing so via IGTV also has a whole separate list of associated benefits including:
- Less competition than YouTube and Facebook
- Embracing the power of micro influencers
- Hone in on your target audience and increase brand awareness
- Engage existing followers
- An effective method of content repurposing
- Separate statistics available away from the standard Instagram analytics
Let’s be real though – like most things in business, it usually always boils down to return on investment. The good news is that marketing professionals have reported video truly provides a bang for their buck, with 93% stating that they’ve landed a new customer thanks to a video on their social media platforms.
Although it sounds great on paper, if it were that easy – more people would be doing it. What constitutes as “the perfect length” may vary depending on your brand. That being said, relevant, consistent and high-quality videos are non-negotiable. So, once you have your hands on a tripod, recording device, good lightening and a microphone – what comes next?
Content Ideas And Tips For IGTV For Business
Optimise Your Content – If nobody is able to find you, then what’s the point? Compelling titles, including subtitles, deploying appropriate keywords, using hashtags and paying attention to your analytics are necessary if you want to get seen.
Film Vertically – Just like Instagram, IGTV is a predominantly mobile based platform – people are watching on their phones. Avoid landscape style video wherever possible, as you simply won’t be offering the best user experience.
Relevant Content – Nobody is tuning in to hear you talk about the weather, so ensure your video is directly related to what your brand or business is all about. Ideas include Q&A sessions, product demonstrations or tutorials, or go behind the scenes of your brand to meet the crew.
Don’t Forget The Preview – Including a one minute preview for your IGTV upload is crucial, as this makes you discoverable via the standard Instagram feed. Make sure you include a general overview of what the video is about, as this is your only chance to “hook” audiences in.
Be On Brand – If you’re using software to edit your footage, ensure that you try to keep it all on brand, with a theme, so that viewers know what to expect from you. Keeping to the same colour palettes, tone and fonts also makes you easily recognisable when people are “scrolling”.
The Technical Stuff
Being aware of IGTV video specs will not only ensure that you’re optimising your time, but it will make your content pop. A full list of specs include:
- File format: MP4
- Video length: at least 1 minute long
- Maximum video length when uploading on mobile: 15 minutes
- Maximum video length when uploading on web: 1 hour
- Vertical aspect ratio: 9:16
- Horizontal aspect ratio: 16:9
- Minimum frame rate: 30 FPS (frames per second)
- Minimum resolution: 720 pixels
- Maximum file size for videos that are 10 minutes or less: 650MB
- Maximum file size for videos up to 60 minutes: 3.6GB.
- Cover photo size: 420px by 654px (or 1:1.55 ratio)
I’m Not Confident Enough To Produce Video Content
And that’s okay! Not everyone has the time, experience, budget or resources to do so. Thankfully, producing high quality digital content is exactly what we do best here at Content Hive – so investing in a solid content marketing strategy has never been easier.
As a niche content marketing agency, we specialise in getting brands buzzing online with digital marketing services done for you. Book in your free discovery call with us today, and take the first step in developing a digital marketing strategy that actually gets results.
