With all the major developments and feature releases, Instagram has bombarded us with in the previous year, we’ve begun to wonder: What’s more in their store of never-ending creativity.
One of the latest additions to their bucket of amazing features is: Instagram TV (IGTV). This is the platform’s take on long-form video content. As a busy entrepreneur, a critical question that might’ve recently come into your brain is: “How am I going to be present on yet another platform with the many other things that I am busy with? We understand that making new content for Instagram TV in addition to your pre-made YouTube, Facebook, and website videos can seem to be seemingly lengthy procedure.
What the buzz about IGTV is all about?
As the platform largely interests twenty to thirty-year-olds, influencers, brands, and artists from diverse fields, the company chose to enter the long structure content field by making Instagram TV. Also called IGTV, in simple terms, it is Instagram’s form of YouTube. The feature is available either through the independent IGTV app or through the ordinary Instagram application in the upper right corner of your feed screen under the TV-Shaped icon.
Browsing videos on mobiles is quickly gaining traction which places IGTV in a dominant position. This poses a significant question-“Will it or will it not be the future of online videos’? As of now, it would be too soon to answer this.
Essentials for Video Content on IGTV:
Length: From 15 seconds to 10 minutes for ‘regular’ accounts, and up to 60 minutes for larger and verified accounts
Introduction: Vertical/Portrait
Format: MP4
Size Limit: 650 MB for ‘ordinary’ accounts (5.4 GB for verified accounts)
Aspect ratio: 4:5 minimum or 9:16 maximum
Here are 3 different ways to make your video ready for IGTV-
1. Push your video content into a converter
You’ve officially done the hard work of making videos for YouTube, Facebook, or your own website. So, you might be looking to reuse that same material using the easiest way possible at the moment. If that statement portrays you, you can upload your content into a converter and check this task off of your list. However, speaking realistically, it won’t be the most visually-satisfying decision. A converter can lead to strangely trimmed shots and unappealing video content, which honestly, can put the majority of your hard work to disgrace. So, it is a tool to be used with caution.
2. Fine-tune the details to improve your video content
In case, you didn’t shoot the video to fit the full smartphone screen, it’s still possible to make your content work for the platform. To create expert videos, you should concentrate mainly on the aspect ratio, the proportion of width to height of your video on a screen. You’ll need to focus on this for every individual shot. Alongside concentrating on this, here are a few things that you should pay special attention to optimize your video content for IGTV –
Maintain a distance from bad editing tools Some examples include cutting off texts or faces, working with videos too little for the screen, rotating clips horizontally, or copying recordings to fit the length of a mobile screen. These are generally huge mistakes that will make your content look unappealing, a risk that can harm your user engagement.
Zoom in when required Since you’ll need your video to take up the entire screen, the altering procedure may abandon a few people or objects oddly cropped in the background. So, sometimes you’ll have to zoom in on your fundamental subject so as to crop the background objects that don’t fit.
Don’t miss your subject While resizing your videos to fit the screen, it’s important that your subject doesn’t get cut off. You may need to pause each second during your editing procedure to ensure that all that you need to include exists. However, it’s truly worth your time.
Add a title and caption Regardless of whether viewers browse your video with or without sound, some helping words are always an incredible decision for video content nowadays. You can overlay your title or captions onto your pictures, or alone with simple backgrounds to lengthen your videos and create more exciting content.
Make an image cover for your channel Also, called a thumbnail, this is related with your IGTV channel, showing up in the IGTV app, on Instagram’s site, in feeds, on the search grid, and in an extremely small image form on your profile underneath your description.
3. Record a Vertical Video from the Beginning
While making a video, your content should clearly tell a story, share something attractive, go off camera of your business, or something different imaginative and eye-catching. Since this is long-structure content, your imaginative abilities are broad. Regardless of what point you choose to take, maintain your attention on the frame consistently to avoid making the errors we’ve talked about in the second point. Despite the fact that you’re shooting from scratch with no outside help, it’s still possible to create a stellar video that performs well on the platform.
It’s time to bring your filmmaker skills to life and get started creating!
Ready to increase your online presence on IGTV? To get a free consultation from our social media experts, you can write to us at sales@makkpress.com
