IGTV is full of interesting vertical and horizontal video content whether you like it or not, watch it or not, or even know how to find it – it’s there.
And it’s getting even better!
Instagram has recently made it possible for IGTV account holders to release their own series on the video streaming platform. Yes, users can now segment their videos into different mini-series, complete with dedicated titles and themes, so that just like an actual tv series, viewers can keep track of what they are watching and also subscribe to get notified when new content rolls out ready for a good binge-watch. How good is that?
From a user to viewer perspective, it’s very very good.
Here are eight easy steps to guide you in creating your own IGTV series:
1. Download IGTV from the app store.
2. Upload video content to IGTV by tapping the + button inside the IGTV app.
3. Select the video from your device that you’d like to upload. (must be between 1 & 15 minutes long).
4. Add a cover image to that video by tapping ‘next’ and selecting either a still frame from that video or uploading a custom image from your camera roll/ photo gallery that you have prepared earlier (perhaps even in Canva using a template?).
5. Add the title of the video and the description which can be as brief or detailed as you like.
6. Hit ‘add to series’ – but know that if it is your first time creating a series, you will need to create a series name. Once you have done that you can then continue to upload more videos to that series or create an entirely different series for the next upload, depending on the content and the types of series you wish to create. Get creative and have fun with it.
7. Make sure your Instagram and Facebook page are synced with one another and tap ‘Make visible on Facebook’ to share your content across both platforms.
8. If you want to remove a video from that series, simply tap the magical three dots that appear on the video in IGTV and tap ‘Remove from series’. Easy as that.
While the vertical video format was once championed by the notoriously vertical video platform, many content creators now upload horizontal videos allowing them to take a more traditional role to use the frame that is: your phone, landscape like a movie screen, and ultimately fit more in.
You can share the video directly to IGTV or allow a preview to appear in your grid as well. Sharing to your grid will also show a 40-second preview, of the start of your IGTV video. Tapping the video in your grid will turn the sound on and off, and tapping on the link to watch more will open the whole video and allow you to pick up where you left of fin the grid view, and removing the preview from your grid will not remove it from your IGTV library.
So, in a nutshell, completely unlike the Instagram feed, stories or live, IGTV allows you to create, brand and name your own series that audiences can look forward to and subscribe to and sends them notifications so they never miss a release, making this the platform to engage more intimately and effectively with existing followers and attract new ones via video, which is super exciting for the future of IGTV and mobile television.
Comment below if you or your business are using IGTV, what you use it for and what you love about it. We’d love to view you and your series!
Happy Planning!
