Instagram’s exciting change to IGTV

Instagram released some news yesterday that caused an exciting flurry in the office! IGTV is now in the feed!

Up until now video has been used mainly to engage with an existing audience (through stories and Instagram TV) but they haven’t been explorable and haven’t engaged new audiences. For those that don’t know, Instagram TV is the small TV shaped icon in the top right corner when you open Instagram, and it isn’t really obvious. I’ve spoken to many an Instagram user that hasn’t used that feature as it is quite hidden. You would have had to go into IGTV and physically search for someone to view their content, so uptake must have been quite low. When IGTV came onto the scene, marketers thought it was a bold move to take on YouTube, but it soon became apparent that it would take a while to be adopted. In a similar way to stories, they weren’t instantly adopted and it took a period of around 6 months.

Now Instagram have introduced IGTV into the feed, having that video content without the 15 second time limit coming up just as a post would, we are going to start to see video engagement skyrocketing. It means a lot more views, a lot more engagement, and the ability to tell a story.

If a retailers instagram strategy isn’t focused on video, it definitely should be now! To get visits to the website, IGTV will play a huge role in awareness and driving traffic. Pulling away from the old style of the grid being the only way to reach new audiences, it’s going to be an interesting time for instagrammers and it will be interesting to see how this increases engagement with influencers.

We spoke to our client manager Lauren, who is an ex retailer that has worked for brands such as Simply Be, Missguided and Ego Shoes, and we asked what she thought about this recent change.

 

 

“If i was a marketing manager at a retailer right now, I would be completely rethinking our social strategy and putting bigger focus on video. I would be investing time and resource into the business for video and looking at our promotional content calendar to find opportunities to incorporate video. The most important thing is thinking about the business, the products and what stories you have to tell. This is a huge tool for engagement and having a story to tell is so important in this day and age. In a crowded marketplace your story is what makes you different, and what enables your customers to create that emotional connection with you.”

 

 

If you are looking for any help with your video strategy, or your overall marketing strategy, our team of ex retailers are perfectly placed to help you grow. Contact us to start growing your revenue, or to find out more about our team of ex retailers and our specialist growth experts, we have a handy video for you.