How to use IGTV to benefit your career as an artist
Introduced just last year, IGTV has already made a huge impact on the marketing industry. Built as an aspect of Instagram’s platform, the service allows users to upload vertical videos of up to 10 minutes in length, or 60 minutes if you have a verified or popular account. IGTV provides even further opportunities for artists to connect with their audience online, particularly due to the extended length of the content that can be uploaded. But what are the methods for making the best use of IGTV? In this article, we’ll look at the best ways to use IGTV to your advantage.
Reusing videos to generate more engagement
Throughout your career, you are likely to have already shared videos on social media. When you’re starting out on IGTV you can save time and money by reusing content already published to YouTube or Facebook. You may decide to upload your latest music video to IGTV in order to create further attention for the track. This is a great way to get the maximum out of the content you create, allowing you to experience even more engagement and hits. Once you have reused previous content on IGTV, you can then start to create new content geared specifically to the platform.
Creating exclusive content
In order to ensure that people specifically follow your IGTV account, you need to eventually provide content that is exclusive to the platform. You may want to share never-seen-before behind the scenes footage that reveals a different side to your personality. This way, you give your fans a reason to follow your IGTV account as well as your accounts on all other social media platforms. Exclusivity is key to ensuring that your IGTV receives as much attention as possible.
Start a regular upload schedule
In order to ensure that your fans keep coming back to view your content, you need to set up an uploading schedule. For example, you may decide to upload a vlog every Sunday night. Even if your vlogs are only five minutes or more in length, they will still give your audience a reason to keep coming back to your channel. Great examples of vloggers in the electronic music industry are Martin Garrix, Armin van Buuren and Laidback Luke, each of whom uploads regular quality vlogs. Each of these three artists plays to their own strengths in their vlogs. Armin van Buuren and Martin Garrix share insight into their own lives on tour, something which their audiences are incredibly interested in. On the other hand, Laidback Luke shares his experiences while also debating a number of hot topics within the industry, something which he has become known for over the last few years.
Host a Q&A session answering questions from fans
In order to connect with your fans on a more personal level, answer their questions through a Q&A session on IGTV. For the best results, publish an Instagram post with a caption asking for people to comment their questions. Then, select the best ones and record yourself answering them. This is a great opportunity for you to allow your fans to get to know you much better. It is also genuine, unairbrushed content that gives your brand a great deal of authenticity. Although big budgets and creative projects can provide a great deal of interest, it is often the most heartfelt, stripped back videos that provoke a big reaction. Fans love the chance to be able to interact with their favourite artists, which is why Q&As remain one of the best marketing tactics in the music industry and beyond.
Don’t simply focus the content on you
One of the best ways to vary your IGTV content is to focus on people other than yourself. Shine a light on some of your most dedicated fans, include footage of you interacting with other artists. It can be a lot of pressure to entertain an audience with content about you alone, shift the focus elsewhere and your content will be much more varied, resulting in more engagement. This is also a great way to give more legitimacy to your brand as It reminds your audience how much support you’re receiving as an artist.
IGTV is a great platform for increasing your influence on social media. Although it doesn’t offer the same monetization benefits as YouTube, it is a great way to publish extended footage and encourage engagement. It is important to make sure that the content you create for IGTV is optimised for the platform as IGTV requires videos to be in the portrait format. When re-using previous content, make sure that the orientation allows the video to be effective on IGTV.
Reaping the rewards that IGTV has to offer couldn’t be more simple if you follow the steps set out in this article. Make sure that you provide consistent, relevant content for your followers so that they can connect with you on a personal level. Don’t be afraid to show a different side of yourself and really allow your audience in. It is often the Q&A videos that provide the best results, as fans feel that they can really get to know you. Provide consistent exclusive content to ensure that your fans check up on your IGTV on a regular basis. Lastly, make sure to publish content regularly and stay present on the platform at all times. This will make sure that you get the best results from the platform.