Leveraging IGTV For Brands

Boomerang, hyperlapse, stories, filters, explore pages, emoji sliders, video chat – you name it, Instagram has it! Just when you were getting used to the overwhelming features, the queen of social media apps launched IGTV, an app that gives users the freedom to upload long-form video content. 

IGTV offers a whole new video streaming experience on-the-go, with a vertical format which makes it more immersive. Earlier, users could only upload videos of maximum one minute. With IGTV, you can host videos of up to one hour in length. Users can comment, like, send direct-message videos to other users and even personally suggest videos and channels that their friends may enjoy. 

According to SimilarWeb date, Instagram stories has 400 million daily users, twice as many users as Snapchat, and the daily usage has doubled since 2017 to nearly an hour a day. “On Instagram, people are watching 60 percent more video than they did just last year,” said Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom. By 2021, mobile video will account for 78% of total mobile data traffic, and Instagram is betting real big with the launch of IGTV.  

Brands like Vogue, TVF, BBC, Bloomberg, Tastemade, and others are leveraging IGTV. Netflix has even released a 1-hour video of Cole Sprouse eating a cheeseburger and guess what? More than 700,000 people tuned in! For brands, this is Instagram’s way of bringing the audience closer to them. This means more content, which also translates to more work. So, how can brands decode this opportunity?

Employees are the backbone of any business, but most of the time, they end up behind the scenes. Use IGTV to showcase employees, thought leaders, or great people who bring life to your brand. Introduce them to the world, talk about their lives and highlight their career achievements. This is a great platform to enhance employee engagement and let the world know what your brand culture looks like.

If your brand has several products to show off, this is the place to be! Categorize your products into different video series and target ideal customers to influence them. Each video can link to a specific landing page which provides additional information on that particular product. There's no better way to promote different products or campaigns to reach a specific audience. For example, if you're in the food space, create a tutorial on what's cooking lately! The whole idea is to take existing content and repurpose it for the vertical channel.  

Use this online space to share updates, announcements, and trends related to your brand. A good example is National Geographic which announced it would be one of the first media companies to use IGTV, by running the final one-hour episode of “One Strange Rock” on the platform. Your brand could be an industry leader by using the storytelling element of IGTV. 

Brands are against tough competition in the online battleground to get consumer attention. The IGTV logo is a simple combination of the original Instagram logo, with a TV in it — an iconic logo indeed! Is your brand iconic, an effective one that people will definitely remember?