Today, during an event in San Fransisco, Instagram announced a new stand-alone app that will host long-form vertical videos. It’s called IGTV.
King Kong Ain’t Got Nothin’ On Me
Most are describing IGTV as a direct YouTube competitor. IGTV lets creators upload video directly to be discovered quickly by the target audiences.
Videos can be up to ten minutes to start. Accounts with a more extensive reach will be able to upload hourlong videos. And IGTV is experienced within the current app via a new tab in the top menu.
Explaining that their vision on their blog, Instagram explains “We are re-envisioning mobile video with a new standalone surface that features longer videos and easy discoverability through channels, all in a vertical format that sits upright, in the palm of your hand,”
The idea is that people are watching more mobile videos than they are from traditional sets.
Discoverability Is Key
When you open the app, a video will autoplay. If you’ve been in there before, it will play videos from creators “you love most.” This will make it easier to see the content you want from the creators you most care about.
YouTube has proven that content curation is difficult over and over again. As Instagram’s parent company, Facebook, makes a similar push into video, making sure your audience sees what it wants is paramount. The primary goal for Insta is to keep you engaged in the platform.
This should be of specific use to content creators, especially those in CHH, as a way to create content that doesn’t disappear. We’re looking at you Instagram Stories.
A Billion
During the event, Instagram announced that they had just over a billion monthly active users. Take that in for a moment.
This makes it no surprise that ads are likely coming to the platform soon.
If you already enjoy the content from your favorite artists, get ready for more.
