The world of social media is this concept that is an exponential rocket for the online world. There are constant upgrades, whether it is fixing small bugs to having an entirely new idea, new features or even a complete overhaul. Today June 21, 2018, Mark Zuckerberg has announced the new concept of Instagram TV or IGTV. Talk about a new level of entertainment. Instagram started out for pictures only, then it slowly started implementing the video concepts and now we have IGTV. It is a new app that is going to take the video world to the next level. IGTV is basically an extension of your Instagram account. You are able to create content up to an hour long and post it for people to see. Instagram has reached 1 billion users which is insane and now influencers can use IGTV to not only continue to make money but increase their followers. You do not have to be an influencer though, you can upload any of your Instagram stories and elongate them by adding more content. You now can film an entire cardio workout and post it on your Instagram TV which you could not be done before because you had that 15-second limit. A great plus is, it is FREE. Another platform that can help you market your business and not cost a penny. Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom made it clear that the new app is there for everyone to use and share, he wants people to be creators. A video is the new photo in today’s social media world. It is going to be exciting to see what comes of the app.
People are now wondering, what about YouTube? YouTube will still have the widest range of content on the internet because that is what YouTube was made for, it was made for you to sit and watch things in a comfortable manner for long periods of time. Instagram TV is an extension of your profile. Bloggers will be able to have smooth filmed conversations on Instagram, before, Instagram stories would always be cut off. You would have to wait for the next one to load and the entire story would be choppy and the longer your story feed was the fewer people would stay on and watch. YouTube could go on for hours and are seen on the computer and in any shape or form. IGTV will only be able to be seen vertically which is continuing the idea of the Instagram stories, which is where you will see the difference between YouTube and IGTV. Now, what about ads? Ads are probably the most annoying part of YouTube and with IGTV there are no ads- YET. YouTube makes their money off of those ads and IGTV will eventually be on the same track. Will there be a competition between IGTV and YouTube? No one will know exactly what will happen so we wait and use these apps until there is another shift.
IGTV is going to be a great tool for small business owners because the videos can be on any scale of quality. You can make the video a sit down video with all the lights and edit it or you can use your phone and answer questions while you are at the gym or with a client and upload it from there. IGTV is for you to use at your own pace and creativity. With YouTube, there seems to be a more formal use of uploading videos such as every week or twice a week with all of the cameras and lights. Either way, IGTV is another tool that is free and one that anyone can use. Check out what you can do for your business using IGTV!