Instagram TV is a Game-Changer

Instagram has made the leap from being able to share pretty pictures and short clips to sharing full-length videos in an attempt to take on video content competitor YouTube, with the launch of IGTV.

Instagram just hit 1 billion users and to celebrate the milestone the social media giant launched a brand new feature. Expanding beyond its original purpose of giving people the power to share images and short clips, the social media giant announced on Wednesday that it is now giving users the ability to post videos that can be up to an hour long. People speculate Instagram’s intentions of going head to head with YouTube and it’s own parent company, Facebook.

IGTV is what they called it. At an event in San Francisco, the new feature was unveiled to the world. The feature has been made accessible to everyone with a simple update of the Instagram app, with its own stand-alone app planned to be released in a few weeks.

Instagram is becoming everything that it’s parent Facebook is not. Instagram’s primary features are exclusive to smartphone users.  It naturally attracts a younger audience and is possibly the most popular social media platform among celebrities and influencers, helping make Instagram an essential marketing tool.

 Setting started:

• Video length can be from 15 seconds to a whopping full 60 minutes (However, the full 60 minutes is currently only available to larger or verified accounts. Everyone else has a limit of 10 minutes But hopefully with the standalone app on the way this will provide everyone with access to the 60-minute.)
• Videos are full screen and vertical.
• Creators can add multiple “swipe up” call-to-action elements on videos they upload.
• Users can like or comment on videos or send videos to friends in Direct Messenger.
• Videos can be uploaded using the IGTV app or via the web, something that can’t be done on the traditional Instagram software with it being a mobile exclusive social platform.
• File size: up to 3.6GB.
• File type: MP4.
• Video dimensions: 9:16.
• Thumbnail format required: JPG.

We can’t wait to see what comes of the new IGTV. We’ll be one of the first to download the app when it’s released, to have a deeper look at all of the fantastic content that people are going to create. Who knows maybe we’ll create some content of our own when the app is released. Keep a look out!