How to IGTV
Instagram (IG) is a great way to market your online shop and creative business!
Instagram TV, which we all know as IGTV, allows creators to upload high quality, long-form, vertical videos that stay on your IG account until you remove them. IGTV allows Instagram users to create channels where they can upload videos between 15 seconds and 10 minutes long. Large accounts can upload videos that are up to 60 minutes long. IGTV exists so users can create more compelling content to engage their audience. Since engaging content is what social media is all about, IGTV is worth trying.
How to Use IGTV
Users can access IGTV with either a personal or business Instagram account, through the Instagram app itself or through the IGTV standalone app.
In the Instagram app, click the IGTV icon in the upper right corner.
If you download the IGTV app, you’ll see a welcome screen and you can click to continue.
You’ll then need to allow IGTV to access your videos by clicking allow and then OK.
Once you do either of those things, you’ll be taken to the main IGTV screen. From there, you will see that just like regular TV, IGTV has different channels. Channels are associated with Instagram profiles and anyone can create one.
But before you step into the spotlight, let’s see what the IGTV landscape is like.
On the main Instagram TV screen, IG will suggest various IG channels with IGTV accounts. It shows you, accounts for the people you follow on IG as well as suggested videos for you. A video will start playing once you open the main screen.
You can browse different channels in the search function if you’re interested in a specific topic. We searched for floral and found a list of channels we could follow.
It really does feel a little bit like flipping through TV channels, just on Instagram. Of course, one big difference between regular TV shows and Instagram videos is that you can engage on IGTV.
You can like, comment and share IGTV videos just like you would do with an Instagram post.
It may take a little bit of time playing around inside the app but once you get the hang of it, you can find a whole world of content that’s already on IGTV!
How to Create an IGTV Channel
Now, let’s say you’ve taken some time to explore IGTV and you are hooked because you know you can create fun and engaging Instagram videos for your followers. How to create a channel:
1 Download the IGTV app from the App Store or from Google Play.
2 Sign up to the IGTV app (if you’re already logged in to your native Instagram account it will automatically use your profile).
3 Click on the settings gear icon in the right-hand corner, and then click “create channel”.
Why IGTV?
Video is becoming more and more important for marketing a small business. The average person watches more than an hour and a half of online video content per day and 78% of marketers say video content gives them a good ROI.
Video is effective at establishing a connection and telling a story. People buy from those they know, like and trust and video is the BEST way to get that relationship going fast. Since humans are visual creatures, visual cues can boost trustworthiness for your brand. Video is easy for your followers to consume and it’s becoming a preferred method of content with 85% of people saying they’d like to see more video content from brands.
The stats clearly show that video content should be a big part of your content marketing and social media strategy! Instagram TV makes it easy to start using video in your social media marketing.
Also, stats show that followers who watch your IGTV are more likely to see your picture posts in their feed, giving your posts a little boost.
How to get started?
Creating quality video content isn’t that difficult with IGTV either. You don’t even need to turn your phone sideways to get a good shot. You can film straight from your iPhone or Android in the vertical position. Then, you can use free video editing apps like Inshot or Cute CUT to edit clips, add filters, text or stickers to your video. However, I’ve not done this yet and just use the raw video.
But before you start creating videos, you should consider what types of content you want to share. Just like every social media feature, you should consider how IGTV videos will help you achieve your business goals.
Here are some ideas you may want to consider on how to use IGTV:
Tutorials
Educational videos
Behind-the-scenes
Product demos or sneak peeks
Team introductions or FAQs
Tours
Basically, any topic we suggest here in the portal for doing a FB live, can also be what you put on IGTV. Keep in mind that this is growing your brand, so keep the cute puppy or kitty videos in your Stories (that disappear in 24hours) and only business building in your IGTV, which stays forever.