IGTV: How Instagram TV Works And How To Use It Successfully

IGTV from Instagram allows you to upload and view content that lasts up to an hour. Here’s how it works and how companies can use it for their business.

Five years after launching the videos on the platform, Instagram has decided to bring its own television called IGTV. The stated goal of Instagram TV was and is to bring the audience closer to their favorite creators. The features of this tool, however, are many: companies, for example, have the opportunity to use it to do business.

In this guide, we see what Instagram IGTV specifically is, how it works and how companies can use it to improve their business.

What Is IGTV From Instagram

IGTV is the Instagram application that allows users to upload and view videos in vertical and – from May 2019 – horizontal format, lasting up to 10 minutes for “standard” accounts and up to 60 minutes for “popular” accounts and “verified.”

Among the features of Instagram’s IGTV, all devoted to the logic of mobile-first, stand out:

Accuracy – IGTV focuses on creators that a user already follows on Instagram;
Simplicity and intuitiveness – video playback starts as soon as you open the app, and there is no need to search or browse for content to get started.

How Instagram IGTV Works

Starting IGTV is very easy: just open the Instagram application and click on the TV-shaped icon at the top right of the smartphone.

While watching the central video being played, scroll down to preview the other available videos. At the top right, however, there are two icons: clicking on the magnifying glass opens the search function to type what you want to find (in the same interface, the application also recommends some “suggested” channels for the user) while clicking on the + icon starts the procedure to add your own video on IGTV.

IGTV For Business: The Best Strategies For Businesses

Thanks to the ability to upload longer videos on Instagram than 15-second Stories or videos in the feed with a maximum duration of 1 minute, with Instagram’s IGTV, businesses can get in touch even more easily with their audience and ensure that more and more new people discover them.

Instagram provides three general tips for companies looking to use their television to do business:

Do not waste time – IGTV is relatively young and, therefore, it is important to move in time to beat the competition by taking advantage of the benefits offered by this platform;
Offer exclusive content – thanks to Instagram’s IGTV videos it is possible to show various aspects of the company, tell stories in more depth and establish stronger connections with potential customers;
Harness the potential of the community – IGTV, as in the case of Stories, leverages a global digital community of over 800 million people on Instagram.

Among the various more specific strategies useful to companies wishing to improve their business through Instagram’s IGTV tool, there are:

Create a recognizable style among the various videos and, where possible, create serial products ;
Show the human side of the company, the “behind the scenes,” its professionals ;
Tell the events in which the company participates;
Create question and answer sessions (Q&A in the jargon) to stimulate conversations around the brand and collect information from its customers;