IGTV: Guide to getting started on Instagram TV

Instagram continues to grow as a social network and expand its possibilities for creating content. Live videos, stories … and one of the most acclaimed: IGTV or Instagram TV.

➡️ Have you already watched an IGTV video?

Wait, maybe we got ahead of ourselves and you don’t even know what Instagram TV is.

Don’t worry because here we have prepared a complete guide so that when you finish you will know what IGTV is and how to take advantage of it.

What is IGTV

Let’s start from the beginning, what’s IGTV?

➡️ IGTV is a new way of creating content that Instagram has made available to the users of this social network.

These are horizontal or vertical videos that are longer than a normal story or post and must be a minimum of 1 minute and a maximum of 60 minutes.

Why don’t you take a look around Instagram and watch a couple of them?

Finding them is simple, you can do it in two ways:

• Touch the magnifying glass icon that you will see on Instagram. Then in the top left, under the search engine, click on “IGTV” and you will see a large catalog of videos for this tool.

• Access Instagram and find the profile of your favorite user. Next to the feed or wall, you will find their IGTV channel if they have shared content in this section. Click on it, grab some popcorn and enjoy.

Now that you know what IGTV is, let’s see how to create a channel and upload your first videos.

How to create an IGTV channel

You have already decided to open an IGTV channel and upload videos to the feed.

So, where do you start?

Before uploading any video, you have to create an IGTV channel and you have two ways to do it:

• From the IGTV app.

With this method, longer than the next, you need to download the IGTV app that you will find available on both Android and iOS.

1. Go to your ‘store’, search for ‘IGTV’ and download the application.

2. Open the app and log in with the account in which you want to create the channel. By default, IGTV will suggest you log in with the last profile you started with on Instagram.

If you want, you can change your account with the button on the bottom left “Change account”

3. Once you are on IGTV with the account you have chosen, you can start uploading videos by clicking on the camera icon that you will see at the top left.

• From Instagram

If you want to skip all the steps of downloading the IGTV app, logging in, etc.

You can create your IGTV channel from the Instagram application itself.

1. Log in with the Instagram account with which you want to create the channel.

2. In your profile, touch the ‘Explore’ option, the one with the magnifying glass icon and go to ‘IGTV’ in the upper left, under the search engine.

3. You will arrive at the IGTV dashboard, where you will only see Instagram TV videos. Here you can upload your own video by touching the upper right corner, the ‘+’ button.

You have already created your IGTV channel and you are imagining what the next step is.

Now it’s time to upload your first video to IGTV.

What is the format for IGTV

Before telling you how to publish your videos on IGTV you must take into account the requirements for it:

➡️ The duration of the video must be a minimum of 1 minute and a maximum of 15 if you upload it from your mobile. If you upload it from a website it can be up to 60 minutes.

➡️ The file type of the video must be in mp4 format and a resolution of at least 720 pixels.

➡️ The video can be uploaded vertically, with a 9:16 aspect ratio or horizontally with a 16: 9 ratio.

➡️ The size of the video is maximum 650 mb if it lasts less than 10 minutes and 3.6 GB if it lasts up to 60 minutes.

How to upload a video to IGTV

Now, with all the data prepared, let’s see how to upload a video.

1. Upload your video to IGTV

The first step is the only one that is different depending on the app from which you are going to upload it, the rest is identical.

• From the IGTV app

Open the app and click on your profile, the last button on the right and tap ‘Share your first IGTV video’.

Choose the one you want from your library or record one from the app itself. Remember that the video must last at least 1 minute, if the video is with a white shadow you will not be able to upload it and IGTV will let you know.

• From Instagram

In the Instagram application, go to the Explore section and then ‘IGTV’, then tap the ‘+’ button and it will take you directly to choose the video you want to upload.

2. Choose the cover photo.

Once you have chosen the video, the next step is to choose a cover photo for the video.

Here we recommend that you highlight your creativity with an image that draws the attention of the user and achieves your goal: that they watch the video.

You can choose a photo created by you, a frame from the video or an image you have in the library.

3. Edit your video before uploading it.

Before uploading your first video to IGTV you will have to edit it so that the users who arrive know what the content is going to be about.

What information can you add on IGTV?

➡ ️ The title: Pick an eye-catching title to attract the user. The first thing they will see when they get to the video is the cover image that you have chosen and the title a little lower.

If your image is somewhat ambiguous, the ideal is to clarify the content in the title.

➡️ Description: to complete the information to the video you are going to upload. The user accesses it by entering the video and touching the tab under the title.

➡️ Add to a series: if you usually upload videos of the same topic, for example tutorials, you can create a series to add these videos. It is similar to stories, where you group all the content.

✅ CAJITA

To create a series you just have to click on “Add series” and, if you have not created any yet, tap on “Create your first series”.

Then add a title and description to the series. From then on, you can add any video you want to the series.

➡️ Post a preview: In addition to having your video on the IGTV feed, you can also post it on your Instagram wall feed with its own preview.

In this way, it will remain as a pinned publication and users can access the video by tapping the button on the bottom left that will take them to the full content.

Don’t have time to post your IGTV video right away? Don’t worry, from Facebook’s Creator Studio you can schedule your videos on Instagram to be published on IGTV.

The process is simple, although you will first need to have a business account to be able to connect with Creator Studio. Then click on Create publication, IGTV and follow the steps that we have told you before: upload the file, edit it, etc.

Lastly, schedule the video at the date and time you want.

Once these details are completed, you just have to press publish and your video will appear on your IGTV wall and, if you have selected it, in the feed of your Instagram profile.

You already have your first IGTV content on your channel, now we are going to dig a little deeper into this tool. Why should you include it in your strategy?

Advantages of using IGTV

Perhaps you are not sure whether the work that has taken you to create the video or prepare the content strategy surpasses the benefits.

If you are not clear about it, here are some benefits that IGTV will bring to your business or personal brand.

✅ Expand your content strategy for social networks

If you like creating content, anything new that brings new possibilities in social networks is great news for you.

Photographs, live videos, stories, short videos … and finally long videos where you can show your creativity in both editing and content. Take advantage of this feature to complement your content strategy on Instagram.

✅ Create longer videos

Forget the minute limit that pigeonholed you with certain content. Exploit the length of these new videos on your IGTV channel and create new content.

Remember that you can do it for up to 15 minutes if you upload it from your mobile and up to 60 if you upload it from the website: take advantage of this format to unleash your creativity.

✅ Connect with users differently

The followers you have and the users who come to your profile will thank you for a new type of content. If the content is attractive and users show interest, they will end up being new followers for your personal brand or business.

With a longer content and all the possibilities that it entails, they will connect with your account beyond a simple photo or a story; Take advantage to connect and transform them into potential customers.

✅ Increase your community

Any new content will attract your community and, if it is relevant, you will increase the number of followers.

This will result in more interactions for your profile, be relevant to big brands and get more presence on Instagram. Thus, you will also have a powerful channel to bring traffic to your website or online store.

In short, betting on uploading videos to IGTV will increase your presence on Instagram and increase your community of followers.

But what kind of videos should you upload to IGTV? What kind of content can you share?

What kind of content to upload to IGTV

The possibilities of IGTV, especially the length of the videos of up to 60 minutes, allows you to share content on different topics.

Here we propose several examples so that you do not run out of ideas:

• Interviews

Interviews are an interesting format that help the user to get to know another person in their professional and personal fields.

If your Instagram account is dedicated to a specific sector, you can take advantage of IGTV to interview specialists in your field: an influencer, a person dedicated to SEO, etc.

With this content you will attract new users, from the person you interview, and you will be able to create a ‘series’ on your IGTV channel.

• Tutorials

If your business is a tool that different types of users can use, as is the case with Metricool, you can create content for IGTV teaching how to use it.

A video tutorial allows you to show how to apply the tool you are working with step by step, something that users will appreciate and will encourage them to use it.

• Unboxing products

Do you have an online store? IGTV is going to bring you a lot of joy. With the videos on your channel you can unbox products you sell so that users can see how you prepare them and how their order will arrive.

In addition, it will help you drive traffic to your store and, who knows, convert those users who see your videos into potential customers.

• Instagram Live

Live videos on Instagram have become a great tool to bring content to your profile: attract new users and connect live with your followers.

What relationship do live shows have with IGTV? At the end of your live video you can save it on your Instagram profile and it will be published on your IGTV channel.

In this way you will have it published so that the user who has not been able to see it can watch it later. In fact, when sharing it you can edit it with the title, description, etc. As if you upload it from your mobile.

These are some of the ideas that we propose to share content on your IGTV channel.

What is the ideal one? We recommend that you do trial and error. Upload what interests you the most and look at the results to see which one is turning out best for your interactions.

Which brings us to our next point, how to view IGTV stats?

Stats on IGTV

Are your IGTV videos working well? Interviews better than unboxing videos?

When you have shared several videos, you can easily analyze the statistics.

Simply go to the video you want to analyze by clicking the three dots that you have at the bottom and go to stats.

A window will pop up with the data obtained from your video, where you can see the ‘likes’, the total views of the video, comments, times it has been shared and times it has been saved.

Now you have everything ready to start your journey on your IGTV channel, what are you waiting for to launch and create new video content?

If you want extra help visit:

If you have any questions, we will be happy to help you solve them. 👇🏻

Isabel Romero , 05 November 2020