IGTV is still relatively new on the Instagram scene but relatively underused on the platform and here’s reasons why you should use it, followed by my tips on how to post your videos:

1 – IGTV is new…

And Instagram fancies a slice of YouTubes pie. YouTube is the world’s second largest search engine, and Instagram has created a separate app for this platform. By using IGTV you’re getting in there first, on what is already proving to be a popular medium. By being an early adopter, it will help you work out what video content works best while everyone else is stuck to their grid. Quick note – the search function isn’t the best at the minute but I can only imagine it will improve over time.

2 – Instagram WANTS you to use IGTV

So any content you produce will be promoted over all the rest of your grid. When you post your IGTV it will create a little preview to your grid and this on average will get way more views and interaction than your normal content. For example – a grid post might only be getting around 40 likes, but it isn’t unusual for your IGTV views to top 200. More views equals more engagement equals more followers.

3 – Video is the future

Would you guess that by 2022, it is estimated that online videos will make up more than 82% of all consumer internet traffic. Video should already be part of your strategy, and if it isn’t, then now is a good time to review that. Now it is easier than ever to film on your smart phone and share to IGTV. Plus IGTV has made it easier than ever to share landscape videos, so basically anything in your archive that is over 1 minute long, could be perfect for this platform.

How to use IGTV

First up IGTV isn’t the grid and it isn’t stories. IGTV is a separate platform but you can use it within Instagram and it does show a preview to your grid which you can also share to stories. Think of IGTV as the house and the grid is a doorway to that house…and maybe stories is a window into this platform. While I’m at this, let me say, as I say all the time, always make sure you add content to your own archive, blog or website too – you always want to make sure if any of these external platforms die, that you have a backup.

1- To add a video to IGTV

First up you need to pre-record it, it needs to be over a minute and up to 15 minutes long when uploading from mobile or this increases to an hour on the web. Film it vertical if you can with the right dimensions. 

2- To find IGTV

Head to the search function and on the top left you’ll see an IGTV icon, hit that and it will open a whole new world of IGTV where you just need to hit the plus icon to add your own. And top tip – take a picture or use an archive picture for the cover so you can ensure consistency. And always always add a preview to the grid so that you benefit from all those extra views.

3 – How to film

There are many many different formats out these depending on what kind of brand you are. You’ll have seen instructional videos like this one, hair tutorials or fancy speeded up dressing room videos. To get started, you can just try to film it all in one go, and do it on your phone so you have the right dimensions. In fact I did that to start with and it is quite easy. Once you’ve got to grips with that, you might find you want to slice and dice your videos to have a bit more control. You can also add text, add music, and emoticons. To do this you’ll need to look into video editing tools. You can use tools like iMovie on your phone or I use InShot as recommended by NotAboutTheKids which is fantastic.

Once you’ve shared your first video, don’t forget to add hashtags and share it to your stories too! 

Read next – how to use Instagram stories.