The introduction of IGTV by Instagram was an incredible addition to the already powerful Social Media Advertising platform. It brought even more unique opportunities for brands and influencers to build an audience group, encourage engagement through meaningful conversations using video as a medium, and promote relevant services that these audience groups may be interested in buying or trying. Even more so, that, we now have tons of brands creating long-form video content for IGTV to drive real business results. We reviewed some of the best IGTV campaigns and this is what we think would work best for any IGTV marketing promotion.
Creating Content With Purpose
Every video should be written, formatted, and edited with a specific purpose and goal in mind. IGTV now allows for horizontal and vertical video formats but it is built for vertical videos. Hence, shoot and upload your videos with the knowledge that viewers will be watching them in full-screen mobile screen format.
Straight to the Point
Instagram’s IGTV lets you upload TV episode-length videos but ideally, you should keep it between two-to-five minutes. As a result, viewers will not lose interest and will sit to watch more.
Ideally, there are three parts that should form your video:
- Teaser — The first 15 seconds of video that gives a quick preview of the video
- Cliffhanger — Located at the one minute mark, it will leave the viewers to complete the video. The one minute mark is set as it is the preview limit in IGTV
- Call To Action — Your IGTV video must end with a CTA or some other desirable action for viewers to return
IGTV: A Window into the World of Instagram’s Mobile Users
Style Variation
While the overall look and style of your Instagram profile must stay the same, you can experiment with your video styles for better engagements. The most basic things you can vary are:
Look — While retaining the visual aesthetics, experiment with environments, lighting, and locations.
Length — While it is advised to keep videos to a shorter length, keep them in varied length. Learn which bracket of length works great for you.
Experiment for What’s Next?
Use Instagram’s stories features as an experiment to seek video ideas, formats before turning them into a complete IGTV video. Let your audience decide what they want to watch.
Content Variation
Create a wide array of videos. Keep experimenting with different formats, serials, or styles of video. It might even help you reach much broader audiences. You can include:
- Behind the Scenes — Let them know what you are working on or how the previous video was brought to life
- Tutorial — Be the expert and impart your wisdom to your audience
- Promotional Videos — Highlight a feature or product of your service
Promoting the Right Way
It wouldn’t make sense if you do not promote your video. This is the most important step to increase your views and engaging the audience. Checklist the following items:
- Pick the right thumbnail
- The video must have an intriguing title with a focus on the first three words
- Release a teaser prior to the actual release of the video. Maybe even keep a countdown timer prior to release
- Once uploaded, preview your 15 seconds on IG stories and a 60-second preview in the main post
IGTV is a powerful tool for engaging with your audience. It reaches directly to the mobile device users-which are a lot-and provides ways of engaging them directly. For businesses, IGTV opens up new avenues to further enhance their Instagram marketing strategy.
