Following the news in mid-2018 that they would be enabling longer-form content, Instagram hit 1 billion monthly users. While still less than Facebook, the steep increase in user growth and engagement were in sharp contrast to the stagnant growth rates of Snapchat and Facebook. This impressive growth means that Instagram cannot be ignored as part of your digital marketing strategy.
What is IGTV?
On their blog, Facebook-owned Instagram explains that IGTV is “a new app for watching long-form, vertical video from your favourite Instagram creators. While there is a stand-alone IGTV app, you will also be able to watch from within the Instagram app so that the entire community of one billion can use it from the very start.”
Originally, the thinking was that being an app which was designed for mobile use, IGTV was “built for how you actually use your phone, so videos are full screen and vertical.” However, two factors came into play which made Instagram relook at their new app:
- IGTV was slow in taking off.
- Those who share videos did not want to reformat each of their YouTube videos.
Recent Changes to IGTV
The result of this reassessment is that it is now possible for horizontal format videos to be uploaded. “We’ve heard from creators who want to upload landscape videos for IGTV. Similarly, we’ve heard from viewers who come across landscape videos in IGTV but want to watch them in a more natural way. That’s why we’re announcing support for landscape videos in addition to vertical.”
Kudos to Instagram for listening to their users and adjusting their product accordingly.
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