This year Instagram has introduced a lot of new features like question sticker, shoppable posts, nametag, and maybe the most important of them is IGTV – Instagram’s New Video Platform.

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Unlike Instagram Stories which generally disappear after 24 hours and cannot go beyond some a minute, IGTV is a game-changer for brands. A video posted on IGTV remains in the account for as long as they are not deleted.

You can create videos up to 10 minutes, or if you have a verified account, you can create videos up to 1 hour.

In this article, you will find out everything you need to know about this new feature, like what is IGTV, how it works and how you can use it for your business. 

Let’s start

1. What’s IGTV
2. IGTV categories
3. How to use IGTV to promote your business or brand
4. Recommended size and ratio for the IGTV
5. IGTV Analytics
6. Final thought

• What’s IGTV

IGTV is Instagram’s way of disrupting the traditional TV experience, Just like turning on the TV, IGTV starts playing as soon as you open the app. Unlike on Instagram, here videos aren’t limited to one minute, each video you upload can be up to an hour long.

You can like, comment and send videos to friends through Instagram Direct.

If you want to find new IGTV accounts to follow, you just swipe up and switch between the accounts you follow or accounts you don’t follow that are popular.

Some IGTV basics:

• Videos can be anywhere from 10 seconds long, to 60 minutes – the full 60 minutes is currently only available to verified accounts.
• Videos start to play automatically upon opening the IGTV app
• Videos are full screen and vertical
• Users can like or comment on videos, or send videos to friends

2. IGTV categories

IGTV has 3 main categories:

• For you – a collection of videos that Instagram things you will like, made up from people you follow.
• Following – a collection of videos from all the people on Instagram that you already follow.
• Popular – features all the trending videos on IGTV, most likely ranked by popularity.

3. How to use IGTV to promote your business or brand

Brands should take advantage of this Instagram feature and promote more their business. Whatever your brand is about, you can choose to drive traffic to your site by including a link in your videos.

@iProspect sais ““IGTV presents a unique opportunity to engage with users at a deeper level. When your customers are thoughtfully seeking and opting into a more in-depth viewing experience, there’s a stronger chance that your brand’s message will be received with welcome captivation.” – Kinzi Sparks – lead for paid social“

What brands should do with this feature to promote more their brand

• Cross-promote their IGTV on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn

• Keep the same theme and consistency over the IGTV channel

• Use branded hashtags in title and description

Using all these tips, your brand will be more visible.

4.Recommended size and ratio for the IGTV

Instagram published a guide on how to create content for the IGTV which includes what format you should have.

• File size: Up to 3.6GB
• File type: MP4
• Video size: 9:16
• Video thumbnail/cover image: .JPG

5.IGTV Analytics

Don’t forget to measure the performance of your videos on IGTV, and remember the importance of the Instagram Analytics, which are helpful for anyone wanting to use data to produce better videos.

Here are the metrics you should look at:

• Views: The number of views of a post or account (view = 3seconds)
• Engagements: Likes +Comments
• Audience retention: The percentage of all views who completed your IGTV video
• Audience Retention graph: The percentage of views of your video at each moment, expressed as a percentage of all views. The drop-off graph makes it easy to see at what point people are swiping off of your video. If they’re dropping off quickly maybe, your content isn’t grabbing their attention, and you need to switch it up or bring in some more exciting elements earlier on.

4.Final thought

IGTV is a revolutionary platform that brands can use to reach their customers as well as provide in-depth information about their products and services.

Don’t waste time, create your own IGTV channel and make it spectacular.

Author: Maria-Mirabela Ganta – Marketing coordinator at Socialinsider – a tool which helps social media managers understand why their competitors are performing better on FB & Instagram (I am an optimist, a social media addict and a storyteller with a lot of imagination.)

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