Earlier this year, Instagram announced it was going to start hiding likes on main-feed content.
This controversial change sparked a lot of discussion about the impact on influencer marketing, with some users celebrating (like Kim Kardashian) and others … not so much (like Piers Morgan). Whatever the real reasons behind the change, it correlates with Instagram’s increased focus on IGTV and Instagram Stories. If users are less concerned with how many likes their main-feed content gets, they may consider trying something new. For example, video.
And guess what? There are no public facing metrics on Instagram Stories and yet it’s where the majority of your audience now spends their time. In May 2018, it was reported that Stories were growing 15x faster than feeds, and by January 2019, 500 million people were using Instagram Stories every single day.
In terms of IGTV, 2020 will be the year we see whether it truly takes off or not. While Instagram hasn’t released IGTV engagement or viewership figures publicly, a number of brands have been using the app with positive results.
For example, after a year of sharing edited YouTube videos on IGTV, publishing powerhouse Condé Nast is returning to the app with five new IGTV series spread across different brands including Vogue and GQ. This is off the back of an IGTV series produced and distributed by Condé Nast Traveler that successfully incorporated paid sponsorship from Amex.
It will be interesting to see how these series perform for Condé Nast in the coming months, and whether any other brands will follow suit.
What you can do to prepare:
If Instagram Stories aren’t part of your content strategy, start there. There is no better way to build intimate 1:1 relationships with your audience, so think about the ways you can create Stories that provide value and build trust. I like to categorize Instagram Stories in two ways: value-driven Stories and personal Stories.
Value-driven Stories are informative and “how to” in style. Personal Stories bring viewers into your brand’s world a little more, e.g. Mailchimp’s day-in-the-life-of-employees Stories.
While the jury is still out on whether more consumers will adopt IGTV, don’t rule it out if you think your audience might be consuming content in this way.And if you think they are, start slowly and do a pilot launch. Create 2–4 videos over the course of a couple of weeks or months and then analyze the results. Bonus tip(s)! IGTV requires a different strategy to Instagram Stories, and while it does take more effort, the rewards can be plentiful. Check out these 8 IGTV examples to inspire your IGTV strategy.