Instagram is a photo and video-sharing social media site that has been with us since Oct 6, 2010, and it didn't take much time to become a popular app. Instagram quickly gained popularity, with one million recorded users in two months, 10 million in a year, and 1 billion users as of May 2019. But do you think Instagram is just for sharing photos and videos?
Since its launch, Instagram has added many features that benefit marketers. With millions of users, you can boost your business on Instagram more than any other platform.
Instagram is a great place to boost the growth of your business, but you need to have the basics down first. How can you earn more followers or boost brand awareness if you don’t have a grasp on how to set up Instagram the correct way for your business account, or strategies for hashtags? That’s why I’m sharing the Instagram basics every brand, business or marketer needs to know.
Yes, you have probably heard it a thousand times now that Instagram has released a new feature just for streaming videos, called IGTV. Among other points, this move informs us that the present and future of marketing is all about video content.
What is IGTV - The Game Changer!
Instagram TV is an app within Instagram introduced by Facebook that allows users to upload high-quality vertical videos. Users can upload videos to the channel between 15 seconds to 60 minutes long. Larger accounts and verified accounts can upload videos up to 60 minutes long, and they must be uploaded from a computer, thus making content more compelling to the target audience. Since Instagram is all about creating engaging content, so IGTV is definitely worth investing time in for marketers.
Should you use IGTV for your business?
Including IGTV in your social media marketing means that you need to upload content to yet another platform. Before writing IGTV off because of the extra effort required, consider the many benefits of using the app.
Take a look at how your business can benefit from IGTV
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Reach a new audience with previously published video content:
Users are saying IGTV is like YouTube - anything you post on your IGTV is permanent, and it stays there until you decide to remove it; the only difference is that the video vertical. IGTV presents the chance to reuse your popular videos and give it a new life. You can repurpose horizontal videos you’ve posted on Facebook and YouTube, and even live-stream recordings.
Your Instagram followers automatically follow your videos:
This service means you can improve the value of your Instagram account extensively by uploading your videos to IGTV. If you run daily promotions or flash sales, IGTV can get the word out quickly, in a compelling manner.
Build an audience with exclusive content:
Sharing unique content with viewers will help you build a dedicated audience for your IGTV channel. The content you share can be behind-the-scenes videos that show product development, production, and distribution. The most significant perk is that these videos typically don’t need further editing. A prime example of content like this is when Louis Vuitton broadcasts their Women’s Spring-Summer 2019 Fashion Show from start to finish, including the ride to the venue and behind-the-scenes snippets. People love to view rough-cut content that shows the process behind a product or brand.
You can develop training and product demo videos:
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Your marketing potential can include high-value videos that increase the knowledge of potential or current customers. To take your videos to the next level, teach followers something new and unique about your business, and allow them to follow what you’re doing in real time. You can also get your employees to use IGTV to demonstrate how your product is used. The ways that you cam use IGTV to improve sales, services and support are limited only by your imagination.
Engage with users directly:
Engagement is on purpose, and you can create it. Answering questions from your viewers is a great way to increase engagement while offering useful information. If you place yourself as open and committed to having discussions and answering questions, people will gain trust in your brand. Ask people to tell you something or answer a question by sending you a comment; comments aren’t public to others, but when you can create a 2-way conversation with your community, you'll be able to foster relationships and build a community.
Post a real customer success story:
Nothing is more effective when it comes to gaining new customers than other customers talking about why they love your brand. You can invite users to be featured in the video and let them tell viewers why they love your products or services with a demonstration if possible.
IGTV: Best modes
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Trust me - you can't ignore video
Think about how to use your channel in the most effective way. Your IGTV channel should have a particular goal in your marketing strategy. One of the best practices is creating videos fit for autoplay. Think of ways to make your videos unique and stand out amongst all those IGTV stories.
Statistics according to Wordstream and Cisco predicts that 78% of mobile data traffic will be video by 2021. Viewers of video ads are twice as likely to tell others about them related to text or image ads, and 30% of viewers make an immediate purchase after viewing a video ad. There are more than 4 billion individual mobile users who, on average, use 72% of their media time on their mobile. These statistics force businesses to introduce marketing videos in their content marketing plans. So let's sprinkle the charm in your videos!
Clickable links supported by IGTV is a blessing
Any URL listed in an IGTV video description is a clickable link, and you can attach various links to your IGTV video’s description to increase traffic to your website, other videos, to any other website. Mentioning those links in your actual video content has the potential to increase your website traffic and conversion rate significantly.
Use Hashtags wisely
You can include up to 30 hashtags in your video description, meaning you have the opportunity to gain visibility through regular hashtag searches. Be strategic, use only a few important ones, and put them in the video description for better results.
Be consistent, be active
The key to success is consistency because people love predictability. Once you’ve committed to IGTV, make sure you post regularly and consistently; publishing videos or episodes on a regular schedule will get your audience accustomed to coming back and watching a show on your IGTV channel.
Audio
We place a lot of importance on the visual aspect, but honestly, inaudible or too-loud audio is a huge no-no. In the introduction, make sure you're not blasting music or yelling loudly, as it can turn people off — particularly if they're watching in a public place or with headphones. If the audio is terrible, too quiet, or there is a lot of background noise, most people will give up and promptly exit your video.
Here are some brands killing it with IGTV
@tartecosmetics
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@Netflix
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Try the strategies above to create engaging video content to draw attention and build an audience for your Instagram TV channel. I hope this helped clarify how Instagram’s IGTV works and how you can use IGTV for your business. Let us know what Instagram trends you’re loving in the comments below!
Still curious about IGTV? Feel free to reach out to us at 866-288-6046 or by email at info@techwyse.com for a consultation on your business.
