When Instagram first debuted, it was essentially a glamorized mobile-based poor-millenial’s PhotoShop, allowing “filters” to be applied to square photographs before being shared with other users. Its interface was very unintuitive, and its focus on images instead of text posts left a lot to be desired by users that want to communicate on the platform but primarily created accounts to follow rather than to post photographs.
There are ways to use the platform to creatively share brand/product/story information to targeted audiences using images, however, and with upgraded video features such as up to 60 seconds of video on Instagram proper and the launch of Instagram TV (IGTV) as a separate but seamlessly-connected platform that features videos between 60 seconds and 60 minutes, it is time to utilize Instagram in multimedia content marketing mixes and social media communications.
Instagram presents images/videos/gifs in your stream and in the “Stories” feature (which can also cross over to connected Facebook accounts) based on interests – in part indicated by followed hashtags and users. IGTV curates and pushes videos that it thinks will match your interests, and the creators or topics may not match anything in which you have expressed interest, so there is a feeling on IGTV that you are not in control of your viewing experience but rather that you are reacting to what is pushed on you. It is likely more common that Instagram users will find an over-60-second video on IGTV through another Instagram user’s profile, which then takes the visitor to the IGTV rabbit-hole… IGTV is still in its infancy, so search features and the overall experience may change in time. Many Instagram users have not yet discovered how to connect and leverage IGTV effectively, but at Media Blitz Publicity we have – talk to us if you’d like to get started with integrating IGTV into your Video Content Marketing plan…