What Is IGTV
Instagram has rolled out a new feature this week. But what is IGTV? And why did they create it in the first place? Information is still coming out about how this new part of Instagram is going to work but here is what we know so far.
The Basics
IGTV (short for Instagram Television) is a feature to watch longer videos on Instagram. It is housed within the regular Instagram app, though you can also download the IGTV app for easier browsing.
After you install the new Instagram update, look in the upper right-hand corner of the app and you’ll see the paper airplane icon that will bring you to your direct messages. Next to that is a TV icon that can bring you to the new IGTV section of the app.
What is the difference between IGTV and Instagram stories?
Instagram stories (as far as we know right now) are staying the same. You can upload photos and 15-second long video clips. You can film or shoot directly in the app and add in filters, stickers, gifs, the whole works. We love using Instagram Stories for small businesses, and we don’t plan on stopping any time soon.
Instagram stories are going to stay in the same place in the app, so they will still be quicker to access than IGTV at the moment. IGTV differs by being much longer form. They’re rolling out one hour long videos for content creators with large followings. The hour-long videos will roll out to everyone else in a time yet to be announced. Until then, everyone else gets 10-minute videos on IGTV.
The specifics on IGTV
You can still shoot these videos in the app, or you can upload premade videos instead. Instagram intends for these videos to be vertical (like Instagram Stories) but you can upload standard horizontal videos. The user will simply need to turn their phone to watch, and all of the Instagram navigation and the title would then be sideways to the viewer.
As of right now, Instagram has not made these videos monetizable. It’s more than a fair guess to assume that they will be rolling out monetization soon. We can also assume that these ads will work in a similar way to youtube videos ads. Because there is no concrete information out yet, we don’t know if they will run before videos or during particularly long videos. It’s unclear if monetizing these videos will benefit content creators in the way that Youtube does.
On the IGTV app (the separate app, off Instagram) you can create a channel, not unlike Youtube. This will work in conjunction with your Instagram profile, so you can only have one channel per profile as of right now. The benefits of creating a channel are still somewhat unclear. We do know that it will create a better experience for users by organizing your video content in the future.
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