Get your popcorn at the ready as Instagram goes for long!

June 21, 2018

Remember a few weeks ago when we said Instagram is after world domination? Well, we weren’t wrong. Yesterday Instagram CEO, Kevin Systrom, launched IGTV – a new long-form video content app.

The announcement of the new app in San Francisco is a bid to lure content producers away from YouTube and eventually allow Facebook to sell more advertising.

So, what can content producers expect from this new app?

• IGTV will be a new section on the Instagram app, but it will also be a standalone app too.

• Whereas before, Instagram capped videos at 60 seconds and Instagram Stories videos at 15 seconds, now accounts with large audiences can go as long as 60 minutes

• Videos on the app will appear vertical and full-screen (9:16)

• The creators are the channel. This opens the door for more creators (and brands) to get in on the IGTV action

• The ability to monetise content on the channel, similar to YouTube, could be available further down the line

We suspect that one of the key reasons that Instagram is making this change; moving away from the simple photo sharing site it once was to the long form video hub it hopes to be, comes from the fact Facebook is struggling to attract teens. Unlike Facebook Watch, which focuses on episodic long form content, IGTV is focusing its efforts on digital native users (people who were never brought up watching TV).

“We’ve learned that younger audiences are spending more time with amateur content creators and less time with professionals.”

Instagram has never had any problems cloning other platforms’ offerings and with the launch of IGTV, Instagram is clearly going after YouTube’s creators and Snapchat’s Discover tab. Will it come out on top? Only time will tell.

This is an exciting new venture for Instagram and we’re looking forward to seeing the results. However, there is some concern how users will take to this significant change to how people view content on the platform. Will this attempt to make money out of Instagram push people away from the platform? They were there for the inspiring images and the blink and it’s gone video content, which we’ve all come to know, love and expect from Insta.

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