By Miranda Carpanello
After the release of IGTV, Instagram has quickly become a one-stop-shop for consumers’ social media needs. According to wired.com, Instagram has grown more than five times its size since Facebook acquired the social media site six years ago. The ability to add longer videos positions it more in the realm of YouTube as far as functionality.
This brings up the question of relevancy for YouTube in the future. After all, Instagram’s new feature came into play shortly after YouTube announced and changed their algorithm and once verified accounts became unverified overnight.
In June, YouTube announced that they were going to test using an algorithm for displaying content on the subscriptions feed. It is explained as a “personalized order” where the algorithm displays videos based on what viewers would most likely watch rather than the usual chronologically ordered videos. As a result, several creators have explicitly made videos telling their followers to switch to their IGTV accounts because they are more confident in the number of views they can get on that platform.
These changes give YouTube the power to keep videos with a high click-through rate off of a feed and instead welcome videos that have lasting impressions on the audience. The key takeaway from this new algorithm is that creators need to have engaging content to keep viewers on their video and to improve their chances on being featured. The lesson here: it is critical that marketers understand the algorithms for both YouTube and IGTV, before deciding which platform is right for the content you are creating.
Should your business be solely investing time in IGTV? While this isn’t a simple decision to make, IGTV could significantly grow over the next couple of years if it continues to appeal to creators. Keep in mind, however, that YouTube still has 1.8 billion monthly logged-in users. So, unless and until this number drastically decreases, it is still a very relevant platform.
That said, brands should explore IGTV and the creators who are getting a positive response on it. Researching best practices and regularly watching brands with a heavy following can only help your brand’s chances for a successful start if you begin to experiment. Companies such as Chipotle, Netflix, Everlane and Gucci have experimented with the new feature and in turn received significant results in views.
Regardless of which platform you choose, remember the content you publish should must be on brand to your company, more so than to the platform. While viewing numbers are important, engaging with viewers is key.
Want to know more about IGTV? Click here for our overview of this new feature.