[one_full last=”yes” spacing=”yes” center_content=”no” hide_on_mobile=”no” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” hover_type=”none” link=”” border_position=”all” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”” padding=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” animation_type=”” animation_direction=”” animation_speed=”0.1″ animation_offset=”” class=”” id=””][title size=”3″ content_align=”left” style_type=”none” sep_color=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” class=”” id=””](IGTV: Why your Business can’t afford to ignore it any Longer)[/title][fusion_text]Are you curious about using IGTV for business? Still wondering what it’s all about and if it’s even worth bothering with?
In this Article, I’ll tell you everything you need to know about IGTV to help you make up your mind, and – if you do decide to take the leap – explain how to optimize your IGTV strategy for success.
Click here to know some Brief about IGTV from our Past Article.[/fusion_text][fusion_text]
Despite Instagram’s best efforts, studies show that brands have been slow to adopt IGTV. In fact, according to a recent G2 study, only 16% of marketers reported having used IGTV.[/fusion_text][fusion_text]
After previews were introduced,
IGTV videos views skyrocketed
across the board, increasing by
300-1000%, according to Later.
[/fusion_text][/one_full][one_full last=”yes” spacing=”yes” center_content=”no” hide_on_mobile=”no” background_color=”” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_position=”left top” hover_type=”none” link=”” border_position=”all” border_size=”0px” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” padding=”” margin_top=”10px” margin_bottom=”” animation_type=”0″ animation_direction=”down” animation_speed=”0.1″ animation_offset=”” class=”” id=””][title size=”2″ content_align=”center” style_type=”default” sep_color=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” class=”” id=””]5 IGTV Strategies for Success[/title][fusion_text]Now that you know what IGTV is and why excitement for it is growing among brands, let’s look at tips and strategies that will help you hone your IGTV content, to attract the maximum amount of eyeballs.[/fusion_text][title size=”3″ content_align=”left” style_type=”default” sep_color=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” class=”” id=””]1. Share and optimize IGTV Previews[/title][fusion_text]IGTV previews are 60-second teasers of your full IGTV content and can be shared to your main Instagram feed. The 60 seconds of footage that plays (without audio unless tapped) is the opening minute of the IGTV video you are working on.
The preview will also appear as a post on your profile page. When someone taps on it, they will see a link to the full video. Viewers of the video will have the option to click to “watch full video on IGTV.”
IGTV previews are as useful as it allows you to capture the attention of your main Instagram audience, hook them in, and drive them to engage fully with your IGTV content. To create and share an IGTV preview, tap on the “post a preview” option that appears just before you publish an IGTV video.
With IGTV previews being a minute long, there is ample opportunity to grab people’s attention, but the start and end of the clip is probably your best chance of getting people to act.
You could put your focus in the first 10 seconds or so, crafting a compelling message that encourages people to tap through to watch in full right away Or you could opt for a slow build, leading up to the 60-second mark and ending with a cliffhanger that means viewers won’t be able to resist watching more. Build curiosity and excitement throughout.
IGTV feed previews will initially play without sound until tapped. So think about how your visuals can compel without audio, or make sure to edit in subtitles where needed.
All of the above are things you will have to think about even before you start filming, so factor this strategy into the planning stages of all your IGTV content.[/fusion_text][title size=”3″ content_align=”left” style_type=”default” sep_color=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” class=”” id=””]2. IGTV Preview Covers[/title][fusion_text]As the whole aim of an IGTV preview is to drive people to watch your IGTV videos in full, Instagram offers a few ways to make it function as effectively as possible.
Before you create a preview, you can also choose:
– a cover image: a still shot to represent your video, chosen from a single frame of the video itself or an image uploaded from your camera roll.
– a profile cover: positioning your thumbnail image into the square grid on your profile.
Since the thumbnail will appear in your profile grid and will only show a small IGTV logo to distinguish it, you will want to make sure it slots nicely with the rest of your content, and that it matches your brand aesthetic.
One other thing to consider with IGTV covers is whether your video is in portrait or landscape mode. When shown on your followers’ feed it is cropped to the portrait size with the aspect ratio of 4:5. On your Instagram profile grid, it appears in a square with an aspect ratio of 1:1.
The tricky part is choosing an image that works well for all of these sizes and placements simultaneously. One simple fix is to ensure that the subject of your thumbnail is right in the center of the frame, so that inevitable cropping will ensure that it is still visible.
And whatever image you choose, make sure that it grabs people’s attention. A close-up on someone’s face – to evoke emotion – is a good idea, as is an unfussy design with colors that stop people scrolling to take a look.[/fusion_text][title size=”3″ content_align=”left” style_type=”default” sep_color=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” class=”” id=””]3. Optimize IGTV titles and captions for search[/title][fusion_text]At present, IGTV’s search only returns results for channels and nothing else – so concentrate on building captions that will draw attention from non-followers in the main Instagram feed.
Because IGTV is on mobile, any long IGTV titles will be truncated. Therefore, it’s crucial that the first handful words of your title grab people’s attention and make them want to watch.
Note: When you post an IGTV preview, your IGTV video’s full title becomes the first line of the caption of that preview. So, you need to select a title that describes what the video is about and that works both as a title and a caption. However, if you do want to change your caption or make it more descriptive, you can always go back and edit the preview post after you have posted it.
Also include relevant hashtags in your description. Your videos will show up on the corresponding hashtag page on Instagram, where people searching for or following that hashtag can discover your content.
You can also add clickable links to your IGTV video descriptions – a great way to drive your IGTV viewers to your website, or to relevant external links.[/fusion_text][title size=”3″ content_align=”left” style_type=”default” sep_color=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” class=”” id=””]4. Promote your IGTV videos effectively[/title][fusion_text]Although IGTV content is disseminated through the main Instagram app, you can’t rely on the platform to carry out promotion on your behalf. Make use of all the tools that Instagram offers (and external avenues) to generate as much buzz around your IGTV videos as possible.
Of course, you’ll want to create an IGTV video preview as part of the publishing process. At the same time, you’ll want to share it with a call to action from your Instagram Stories. The ordinary ‘Swipe Up’ link option is available for accounts with over 10,000 followers. But you don’t need 10K followers to promote an IGTV video. As soon as you publish your IGTV video, you will have the option to share it to your stories with a Swipe Up link attached.
Depending on the type of video, you may want to invite users to provide feedback and discuss what they’ve seen. You can do this through Instagram Q&As in your stories or through Instagram Live.
Over the longer term, you can use stories Highlights to save and collate the links to your IGTV videos – easily accessible from your Instagram profile page.[/fusion_text][title size=”3″ content_align=”left” style_type=”default” sep_color=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” class=”” id=””]5. Working with Instagram Influencers[/title][fusion_text]Many brands that are getting results with IGTV videos are partnering with social media influencers to support their marketing. In particular, micro-influencers – those with a following between 10,000 and 50,000 are a worthwhile group to target.
As an emerging platform with less competition than the likes of YouTube, IGTV has provided a fresh opportunity for smaller influencers to gain real traction.
In support of their ordinary Instagram feed, these influencers are producing long-form content that resonates with their audience – which you can tap into.
Whether it’s through content containing sponsored product mentions or just direct payment, the market brand-influencer relationships on IGTV is only going to grow.[/fusion_text][/one_full]
