IGTV, stories & reels
IGTV, stories & reels
Now we've gone over the basics of content - it's time to delve a little bit further into the video aspects of content. Video is the fastest growing content type on the platform - and is the most important factor. As humans we prefer video content, and tend to engage with it far more than photos or graphics!
star of the show: IGTV
what is IGTV?
One of Instagram's newer features, IGTV is Instagram's very own video holding network. Think Youtube, but vertical, and it is THE place to be right now! At the moment, the majority of your competition probably aren't using IGTV to their full advantages, focusing instead, only on feed posts and perhaps the occasional story. This means you can stand out in the crowd with far less competition to get seen! As less people use it, it's also easier to get onto the explore page with an IGTV video and due to IGTV's autoplay feature, people will get lead to your video automatically when they watch videos similar to yours!
top IGTV tips
film vertical
IGTV is a vertical video platform, make sure you film that way!
don't waffle on
Just because IGTV allows you to upload much longer videos that the typical 1 minute feed post benchmark, doesn't mean you should. Only make it long if it is fast paces and interesting throughout, or is too important to cut out. At the end of the day Instagram is still a fast paced platform, and swiping left to see the next vid is oh see easy if you don't get to the point quick enough!
think about your audience
This one goes back again to the niche's we found ourselves earlier! Think about your niche and have a look at your audience insights (discussed later), understand who your audience is and what they are interested in watching! If have a fashion niche with an audience who have similar interests, and you start posting about racing cars out of the blue, odds are, the engagement wont be great!
use catchy titles and descriptions
Hook your audience in by letting them know a little bit about what to expect! Don't make your title too difficult to understand, keep it short, obvious and engaging. 'How to...', 'Top 10.....', '10 outfit ideas', 'let's talk about.....' are all good starting points. Use a short description and make sure to include hashtags!
create an eye catching cover
If you post your IGTV as a preview to your feed (which you should be doing!) The way to make people click on it is to have an eye-catching thumbnail, that doesn't look out of place on your feed! Think about including the title in text over the image too.
promote
Don't just stick up an IGTV on your channel and hope for the best - shout about it! Post the preview to your feed, share it on your actual stories, send it to a few friends, the algorithm works the same way for videos so you need engagement!
could IGTV be the next big thing?
could IGTV be the next big thing?
Instagram have revealed that one of their biggest competitors is youtube. A bit strange, considering Youtube is known as a video platform - whereas Instagram is typically known first and foremost, as an image sharing platform.
could IGTV be the next youtube?
Instagram have chosen youtube as a competitor to focus on in 2021. It has been heavily speculated that IGTVs will become a much larger focus in the new year. As always with Instagram - new features, or features that Instagram are changing or focusing on - will always get you more reach than anything else. This is because they want to spread the word - and get more people using them
IGTV monetisation
Instagram have announced loud and clear that they will be allowing creators to monetise IGTVs in 2021. This will be very similar to Youtube's monetisation strategy - where ads will be placed before and in between videos - allowing the creator to earn money on each link clicked. Instagram will be rolling this feature out slowly so that people do not misuse it - starting with larger creators, and then moving on to creators with legitimate (no bot) followings - who already have a good amount of IGTV content - so get creating!
shine with stories
We'll talk a little bit more about stories in our engagement section, but for now, here are a few rules of thumb
1. be real!
Did you know over 70% of people say that they're now looking at stories over page content now? People love seeing the 'behind-the-scenes' of Instagrammer's lives. It makes them seem more real. More real = more relatable. More relatable = a better bond with your audience. Better bond = more engagement! Don't be afraid to be vulnerable or show something other than your feed-perfect self!
2. Post regularly
Stories are only up for 24 hours unless you put them in highlights. Therefore there's no reason why you shouldn't post regularly (at least once a day!) You don't need to carefully curate a story, it doesn't need to fit in with your aesthetic. The more people see your face, the more they'll feel like they know you!
3. Don't over do it
Much as you should post regularly, research suggests that if your story is too long, people will just rush through it! Keep it short, but sweet, no more than 10 story posts a day (unless it is a special occasion i.e. press/brand event)
4. Utilise text
Just like in IGTV videos, we need to assume that out audience may not be watching with sound! Consider using text to explain what is going on in your stories!
5. be mysterious and ask questions
The best result you can get from a story, is something then sliding into your DM's and you having a conversation. This will put your content right at the top of their field! Consider not giving everything away so they're curious and ask questions, or ask a question yourself so they can slide in and give their opinion!
6. Make your story interactive
Instagram have various 'stickers' you can use in stories (such as questions, polls, DM prompts and quizzes!) to make them interactive and drive engagement. We will talk more about these features in the section on driving engagement!
[video] use stories to boost engagement
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grow with reels
If you’re not using instagram’s new ‘Reels’ feature right now - then you’re missing out on a huge opportunity! Whenever Instagram release new features, they promote them a LOT, and push them to LOT people. This is no different for the new ‘reels’ feature, but as it intended as a direct power grab, to take an audience from TikTok - which means - Instagram will stop at NOTHING to make Reels succeed.
What does this mean for you? HUGE OPPORTUNITY.⠀Use reels, talk about reels, engage with reels - this is going to put you in Instagrams ‘good books’! Reels are already having a MAJOR affect on Instagram - and whilst they’re still new, less people are already using them, which means there’s less competition, and MORE opportunity for you to appear on the expire feed and grow dramatically!!
Check out this reel posted just a few days ago upon writing! 82k+ views -this is massive compared to the overall reach my static/feed posts usually get. Think about it, when was the last time you got level of reach on a plain feed post for example. Instagram are definitely rewarding good examples of this new video format!
[video] reels do's and don'ts
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