According to an announcement from Instagram's @creators account, as of October 6th IGTV is phasing out of all Instagram profiles. Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri has made it clear that Instagram is no longer a photo sharing app, making it clear that video is Instagram's new focus. Putting all of Instagram's long form videos in one place is a quick way to simplify Instagram's video experience, and help set Reels uniquely apart from other content on the platform. What does this switch mean for you? We'll break it down.
What is Instagram Video?
If you don't post a video as a Reel, it will land under the Instagram Videos tab. Like before, you'll also have the option of sharing it to your grid. This merging of Feed Videos, IGTV, and Lives will make it clear that Reels are in a category of their own. Instead of the IGTV logo, the tab will now show a simple "play" logo. To help making videos and discovering videos on their platform easier, Instagram has also announced these additional features for Instagram Video:
60 second Feed Preview
A new Video tab on Profile
Trimming
Ability to upload captions
People & location tagging
Add filter to video after uploading
Check out the post below from @creators detailing the update to Instagram Video.
What Does This Change Mean for Your Content?
In the post above, Instagram has made it clear what they want each type of video content to be used for on their platform.
Stories: "Bring your audience along for the ride with everyday moments." This means that stories should be authentic, interactive, and fun. Your audience should really feel like they're getting a peak behind the curtain of your brand on your Instagram Stories.
Instagram Video: "Engage more deeply with your audience with immersive storytelling." This piece of advice makes us think that Instagram is hoping to see more polished content when it comes to Instagram Video (similar to what IGTV used to be). Instagram videos can be up to 60 minutes in length, so there's plenty of time to flex your creative muscles.
Reels: "Reach a new audience with entertaining videos." Instagram has made it abundantly clear that they want reals to be entertaining and scroll stopping above all else. Have you noticed that educational Reels seem to get less reach than Reels that are fun to watch? We've found great success with hopping on a trend, and then putting our value in the caption. Check out our viral Reel talking about this very topic.
Instagram Live: "Share a real time connection." Instagram Lives are not supposed to be polished and perfect. They're supposed to be authentic engagement between you and your audience or between you and another creator. Instagram has not made it clear if Instagram Lives will still be able to be saved as Instagram Videos (the way that Lives used to be saved as IGTV in the past).
As for Instagram Video analytics, the analytics for feed videos and IGTVs will now be combined under one insights section called "Videos."
Like many Instagram roll outs, we aren't sure how long it will take for Instagram Video to be universal on all accounts. We still have the IGTV symbol on our feed, but with this knowledge from the @creators account, we'll be ready for the change when it arrives - and you will be too!
#instagramvideo #reels #instagramreels #instagram #IGTV #instagramupdate #instagramlive #instagramstories
Comments