IGTV: is it going to be an Insta-Fave or an Insta-Flop?

In celebration of Instagram reaching one billion users and with a view to improving the social experience of a millennial audience who are invested in online video content rather than television, IGTV (Instagram TV) has been rolled out across mobiles world-wide.

To the delight of thousands of influencers across the world, this new feature means that famous names across social media will be able to stream videos for up to an hour long! I’ll be breaking IGTV down for those of you who are wondering what it actually does, as well as putting my two cents in.

What is IGTV?

Instagram TV or IGTV will allow users, brands and influencers to take centre stage to showcase their content through the platform but will also be accessible through a stand-alone application that will allow full-screen video. Displayed all the time, presenting video after video with endless content possibilities, similar to YouTube you’ll be able to follow people and share videos with friends.

How do you use it?

Install the Instagram app, look for the orange TV icon in the top right corner and then start to build a list of creators to view their videos on demand.

What does it mean for brands?

Even though IGTV has only been active for a couple of days, brands like New York Magazine and Buzzfeed have already taken advantage releasing videos on the platform for both promotional and artistic purposes. Kim Kardashian, a huge online influencer, tested the waters with a two-minute plugin of her pop-up beauty shop in Los Angeles. Singer, Selena Gomez used the app to release a short horror story to her fans and famous YouTube star Lele Pons will soon have her own cooking show on the platform.

Will it be a money maker?

In my opinion, monetization seems like the only bump in the road from an influencer perspective. Instagram have stressed so far that ‘anyone can become famous using the app and it is committed to helping creators build their careers and make a living doing this work’. This statement has been further backed up by the social media giant affirming that it will eventually reward people for creating popular videos. At this early stage, IGTV will not feature any ads, although I expect that will soon change as and when the application becomes more widespread….if it does take off.

What do we think of it?

The whole concept of IGTV and how far it can be pushed is pretty exciting! Whether this is the future of video remains to be seen but I expect it to be a defining milestone of Instagram’s direction as a social media platform once monetization is brought in. Watch your back YouTube, IGTV could be out to get you.

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