There is a new Instagram update and the name is IGTV. Instagram, the popular service of Facebook opens the attack on video streaming service YouTube with their newest update.
What is IGTV?
IGTV was presented at an event in San Francisco this Wednesday June 20th. It is a separate app, but is also integrated into the existing Instagram app. IGTV runs purely on video.
The service, which now has one billion users, must compete with YouTube, which, like Instagram itself, is immensely popular with young people. Videos are immediately displayed full screen, in vertical format. Logical, because tablet or computer no longer play a role in the world of Instagram.
The navigation is kept simple; Users can choose from a few options, including “Popular” or the channels that are already being followed. The longer videos will not appear in your feed. Through a separate ‘discover’ function, users can view the longer videos. Placing long videos is made possible for everyone.
Video is becoming increasingly important, especially among young people. A lot of brands will use these platforms to target their younger audiences who are constantly interacting with these platforms and search for relevant visual information.
Target audience IGTV
According to a previous month study from the US Pew Research Center, Snapchat, Instagram and YouTube are the three most used apps among American teenagers between the ages of 13 and 17. Facebook is now only used by 51 percent of them. Still a lot, but who knows that this percentage was just over 70 percent only three years ago. In the same period, the use of Instagram rose from 52 to 72 percent. Snapchat made a similar increase.
A recently Newcom research from early 2018 shows that Instagram is the fastest growing social media platform at the moment in the Netherlands. With 4.1 million Dutch users, of which 2.1 million use the platform daily. YouTube has 2.2 million Dutch users daily according to the same research. The target group of both channels consists largely of young people aged between 15 and 19 years. Also the group of people from 20 to 39 who actively use these social media platforms.
These numbers show that it is increasingly important to have a specific visual social marketing strategy for these channels to interact and engage with these audiences.
Advertising
We have to wait and see if vloggers and social influencers will soon be switching to IGTV. The new function can also offer opportunities for companies. With a longer video you can often better convey your message. Instagram has indicated that it will not show any ads before or during the longer videos. Obviously this is something that we still have to wait for.
What are your thoughts about IGTV?
