So What is Instagram TV?

Instagram TV, or IGTV, is a new feature released on Instagram that allows Instagram users to create and post original video content right from their phones. Instagram TV exists as a standalone app, but it also lives on the original Instagram app as a separate feature, just like the DM section.

How does Instagram TV work?

IGTV allows anyone with an account to essentially create constant streaming of video content, for free. Once you post a video on IGTV, it becomes a channel that people can watch when they click on your account, or if they search your name on IGTV. IGTV videos are shown vertically and full-screen, so they are perfectly formatted to be viewed on your iPhone or Android. Just like a regular TV, IGTV has channels, except here, the creators and Instagram users are the channels. If you follow a creator on Instagram, their channel will pop up on the screen and you can start watching their content. But here’s the catch — anyone can become a creator and post videos to IGTV.

While videos posted on Instagram can only be a couple minutes long, IGTV allows you to post videos that can be up to an hour long. What’s special about IGTV is that it functions, and looks like, a TV network. Just like when you switch on the TV at home, once you press the IGTV button, videos start playing immediately. Channels range from the personalized “For You” channel, the “Following” channel, which displays videos created by people or pages you follow, the “Popular” channel, and the “Continue Watching” channel. Instagram makes it easy to swipe from one video to the next, and anyone can comment on your video or send it to friends, allowing the videos to be instantly shared with the IG community.

How can IGTV help me uplift my business?

While many of us may look at this new feature and groan about yet another social media tool we need to master and stay on top of, IGTV may prove an exception. IGTV allows you to say and show things that you otherwise couldn’t have said or shown on your Instagram page.

For example, if you run an account advertising a food product, you can use IGTV to create an amateur cooking show. This can be an opportunity to show off how to really use the product rather than just posting a picture or video of it on your feed. By creating a cooking tutorial on IGTV, you are giving your followers a closer look at your product’s capabilities, and most importantly, you are convincing them to buy your product now that they know how they can use it at home. This tutorial model could serve lots of different businesses, from cosmetic companies and fitness apparel companies to marketing companies and yoga studios.

Ultimately, IGTV can help all these businesses show off their products or services in real time.

Another way a business can utilize IGTV is to create videos that simply show someone on their team speaking. Not only can it be difficult for businesses to engage with their audience over pictures and minute-long videos, but those limitations make it hard to get a certain message across. IGTV provides businesses with the possibility to talk about their mission, background, purpose, goals, and upcoming events, ultimately giving way to better communication between a brand and their following while also allowing their followers to see real human faces behind what may seem to them as just a brand.

The important thing is that IGTV is relatively easy to use. If you are already familiar with using Instagram, IGTV will be simple to learn and may help you and your business in more ways than one.

If you’re lucky enough to have a strong IG following, IGTV could become a blessing for your business. Whether you like it or not, once you step into the world of social media, you usually don’t stop at one app; you have them all. If you or your business run an Instagram account, you are likely managing other social platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, or Youtube.

Videos have become as popular, or even more so, than pictures as vehicles to relay a brand’s message or a service they are offering. With IGTV, you don’t need to redirect your followers somewhere else to watch the videos you create. If they regularly follow and engage with your IG account, they are bound to watch your IGTV channel, which is exposure and publicity that you don’t need to work very hard for.

Put simply, your company doesn’t need to lure its followers to its Youtube channel or another platform — all of your content is consolidated in one place.

More importantly, if done the right way, videos posted on IGTV could gather more followers to your account. Once IG users familiarize themselves with IGTV, they will start exploring lots of different channels, and if your is enticing, entertaining, or just plain useful, you will begin to see more and more people following your channel so they can stay updated on your IGTV content.

Do I need to download or use the separate IGTV app?

No, you don’t need to. You can upload videos straight from the Instagram app. The difference between the two is that the IGTV app will begin playing videos automatically once you open it, whereas on the original IG app you need to open the IGTV icon on top and there are various channels to choose from.