Instagram’s IGTV offers artists new social platform
Dominating the social markets in recent years, Instagram has become the biggest player in the social field, adding several key features which have elevated the app over rivals like Snapchat, Twitter, and even Facebook. The introduction of Instagram stories – a huge success – became an instant tool for producers and DJs to reach out to fans, to create engaging content, and to boost and grow current fanbases. But never content with standing still, they’ve now upped the game once again. Instagram unveiled IGTV, a new service for long-form videos from professional Instagram creators, at an event in San Francisco Wednesday morning. IGTV will live both within the main Instagram app, as well as via a dedicated app for iOS and Android. “It’s mobile first, it’s simple and it’s high quality,” said Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom.
The IGTV launch
Systrom positioned IGTV as Instagram’s answer to shifting entertainment consumption habits. “Teens may be watching less TV, but they are watching more creators online,” he said. At its heart, IGTV will be both a hub within the existing Instagram app, as well as a new dedicated app that will allow users to watch IGTV videos. These are basically vertical videos produced by some of Instagram’s top creators and curated based on past viewing behaviour of Instagram’s users. IGTV will not feature any ads, but Systrom added that right now, building engagement was the priority. However, he said that Instagram ultimately wanted to allow creators to make a living on the service. “This is obviously a very reasonable place to end up,” he said about revenue sharing. Instagram partnered with a number of creators to pre-populate the service with content, and executives said Wednesday that brands and media organizations would be invited to participate as well. However, Systrom said that the service had no plans to fund original content “for the foreseeable future.”
Instagram had invited a number of creators to its event, including Lele Pons, who has 25 million followers on the platform, as well as beauty vlogger Manny Gutierrez and video game streamer Ninja. Both Gutierrez and Ninja hadn’t produced any videos for IGTV yet and were still trying to figure out how to best use the new platform. Ninja said that he was a bit concerned about making the vertical video format work for video game clips, and mused that he might do more personal, video blog-style clips. Gutierrez stressed in an interview with Variety at the sidelines of the event that it was essential for Instagram to give creators a way to make money with IGTV, especially because of the added work the new format required. “Monetization is definitely going to need to roll out,” he said. “Creating longer content definitely takes a lot of work.” Ninja echoed that sentiment but was also optimistic about the general effect IGTV will have on the video creator community. Added competition to YouTube would ultimately result in better deals for creators, he argued. “The more the better. For sure.”
What are the differences?
The Facebook-owned video service also announced that it will give users the ability to upload videos of up to 10 minutes in length. Select creators will be able to upload videos of up to an hour. Instagram is also allowing anyone to create their own IGTV channel. Previously, Instagram limited uploaded videos to 60 seconds and capped Stories at 15 seconds. Live-streams were limited to one hour. Systrom revealed Tuesday that Instagram now has more than 1 billion monthly users. The service hadn’t shared any user numbers since September of last year when it surpassed 800 million monthly active users as well as 500 million daily active users. The move to bring more professionally created video to Instagram’s 1 billion users comes as Facebook is also doubling down on Watch, its very own YouTube competitor within the core Facebook app. This week, Facebook announced a series of interactive shows that feature polls, quizzes, and more. On Tuesday, Facebook held its very first Creator Day in Los Angeles ahead of Vidcon, which is starting in Southern California later this week.
The DJ revolution
Following the EDM boom at the start of this most recent decade, Instagram has grown at an equally meteoric rate. And for many, the app has become an integral tool in marketing and how you represent your brand to the masses. For DJs and producers, the new move can only mark a positive dawn. The enhanced features of IGTV give producers more opportunity to engage with their fanbase, and this can be viewed as a fantastic opportunity to get closer to your most loyal fans and promote more intimacy between the producer and fan relationship. The best way to grow your following on Instagram is to interact with users more than you post photos. Get fans to look at your profile by liking and commenting on their posts, but be genuine (avoid spammy “Cool profile, follow me and I’ll follow you!” comments). Don’t forget to reply to their comments on your photos later on, too. This is how you build a community of fans and serve your audience – it’s better to have a few hundred engaged followers than a couple of thousand who never interact with you. Never resort to services that let you buy likes or followers! The launch of IGTV will revolutionise the dance music industry in ways we can – right now – only imagine.