How to Use IGTV Like a Pro – The Complete Guide for 2019

What is IGTV and how does IGTV work?

IGTV has been launched as an alternative to today’s traditional television and other popular streaming channels, and its target audience is the one who feels deeply dedicated to mobile phones and especially to those who devote their time to Instagram and Facebook platforms.

IGTV for brands

IGTV will be a new promotional tool, with great potential for businesses. Numerous experts in marketing and social networks have affirmed that the audiovisual format is the one that best connects with the public, especially the millennial generation.
How to take advantage of this new video tool for your business? It’s clear that the video format has many advantages. The combination of images, text, voice, and music, is an ideal way to capture the attention of users.

IGTV Monetization

It’s evident that IGTV was born with the aim of becoming the new YouTube, but can content generators make money with this app as well as the well-known Youtubers or Influencers?
The founders of Instagram announced that in principle it’s not something that they plan to implement anytime soon, but they did recognize that maybe in the future this could happen. It was added that, eventually, there may be an agreement with the content creators, but that this is not the real purpose that is expected to be given to IGTV.
At the moment we see that the doors are not entirely closed to monetization, but it’s true that we still have to see how the users receive
IGTV and if it will have the expected impact.

What else do you have to know about IGTV?

When you create your channel, your Instagram followers can automatically see everything you upload. Despite having to create a new channel, don’t get overwhelmed thinking you need followers for your channel, because you’ll be sharing the same ones as on your profile.
Likes and comments received by your IGTV videos will appear in Instagram notifications. Remember that you can filter the comments as well as your Instagram content.
You can manage multiple IGTV channels from the application. Automatically you recognize the accounts you have in your Instagram native application.
You can’t create multiple channels for the same Instagram profile. Each profile has only one channel that automatically inherits the followers.
You can share IGTV videos through private messages.
IGTV videos have a player similar to YouTube, this improves your experience and allows you to have more control over what you want to see.

How to use IGTV?


It’s not just a standalone application that can be downloaded from Google Play or App Store, it can also be viewed directly from your Instagram main application. You can see the icon in the upper right part of the app, in a striking orange color.

Once there, you will see videos that Instagram thinks you may like according to your preferences. There are also other options, such as watching videos of people you follow, which are the most popular at that time … etc.
You will also see that in the bottom part of IGTV there are thumbnails of videos, among which you can slide to choose to see something else. If you press in the center of the screen or wait a moment without touching anything, the video that is being played is displayed in full screen.
You can move to the next by sliding from right to left on the screen and, of course, you can like the video, make a comment or send a message to the creator.
By now you are wondering what difference there is then between IGTV and Stories? Well, basically two:

  1. The duration of the videos allows reaching 10 minutes to all users and 60 to those who have profiles with many followers.
  2. These videos do not disappear after 24 hours, but they are stored in a
    YouTube-style channel.

How to create an IGTV channel?

When you enter the specific application of Instagram TV, you will see a gear icon next to your avatar.
If you click on it, you will enter the configuration of your IGTV account. There you will see the option “Create channel”, which is the first step necessary to start uploading your videos.
When you click on that option, it will explain a bit how it works, and you just have to click on “Next” until you finish.
Once that is done, if you now click on your Avatar within the specific application of Instagram TV, you access your channel and the option of “Upload video” appears. In a very similar way to when you upload
photos and videos to your usual Instagram, you can add a title, hashtags … etc.

How to post on IGTV?


Once the loading process is complete, you will have to edit the following sections:
Edit cover – The cover is the first image that will appear in your video, so it should be attractive and attract the attention of the users so that they want to continue watching the video.
Title – IGTV Instagram titles must be YouTube style: descriptive and straight to the point.
Description – Here is the section that can make the difference between one more video and one that stands out above the rest. Briefly describe the content of your video and, above all, insert hashtags to increase the visibility of your video and reach a greater number of people.
Link Facebook page – If you have your Facebook page linked, you can make it visible. Similarly, some accounts have the option to insert a link to a web page to direct traffic, as always this option is only available in accounts with a greater number of followers.

Optimize your videos with a good title and description

If you want to get more results with your content strategy in IGTV I recommend the following:

  • Add a short title to avoid being cut both on IGTV and in Instagram notifications.
  • 21 characters for Instagram notification
  • 33 characters for IGTV application
  • In the description, divide the content by lines but don’t go over 25 lines because otherwise, people will have to scroll.
  • In the description add links to your website and hashtags.
  • Use your own hashtags to link your IGTV videos to one or more posts on your Instagram.

How to get more IGTV views?

When you create an IGTV channel, all the followers that you already have on Instagram will automatically be able to see your videos. But it doesn’t mean that you will see them. So to maximize your effort, it’s essential that you let your audience know about your channel and each time you upload a new video. Especially at the beginning, when not everyone has downloaded the application. In other words, educate your audience about your content on IGTV.
Another practical way of promotion is to enable the option that the video you upload is also visible on your Facebook page (which you can synchronize in the “settings” option of your IGTV application). You can also link your IGTV channel, as well as your individual videos on your social media and on your website or blog, just like with YouTube and Facebook videos. How? Click on the three dots to the right of your video on IGTV, where you will get the option “copy link.” Through your computer, go to your Instagram profile on your computer, click on “IGTV” and click on your video where it will give you the link that you can link up.
Just as you can share Instagram content in private to people and groups of specific people, you can also do the same with your IGTV videos. To see how many people have seen and interacted with your videos, IGTV also allows you a choice of metrics by pressing the three points in your video and choosing “view statistics.” You can see the number of times people watched your video for less than 3 seconds (“views”), how many “I like,” how many “comments,” and how much of your video has been viewed on average. Like with all social media, the number of followers matters less than the engagement you have with them. So make sure your content invites them to comment and ask you questions, but also make sure to respond to comments and be social with everyone who takes the time to comment.

What kind of content can you upload on IGTV?

As IGTV is primarily used on mobile, the short and casual videos are
ideal. But just like with YouTube videos, your creativity is the limit when it comes to the type of content. For example, you can:

  • Create a weekly show on IGTV
  • Create a vlog where you give your followers a look at your life
  • Create mini-tutorials
  • Recycle your Facebook videos
  • Do interviews

How do you take advantage of IGTV as a simple content consumer?

IGTV offers a feature of playing videos similar to that of YouTube, where you can choose to go back later to the video you are watching. On the other hand, the experience also resembles watching television, in that as soon as you enter the application, you have a few seconds of a gray screen
and when you press a channel, the last uploaded video will play automatically.
You can watch the videos of your favorite content creators, as well as friends and family, by following their channels. Although you will receive notifications of your new videos uploaded through Instagram, a benefit of watching videos from the same IGTV application is that the application will show you videos aligned to your interests under the category “For You”. In addition to this category, you can also explore videos by choosing “followed,” “popular,” “keep watching” and also the option to “search on IGTV.”

IG TV recommendations

  • Follow the main content creators and analyze how they share videos and what techniques they use. They, in addition to being very creative, work hand in hand with Instagram to offer the best content.
  • Always upload a personalized cover of your videos. My recommendation is to make an image (1128px X 2008px) and upload it. You can create the cover with Photoshop or Canva.
  • If you are going to send a video to upload it to IGTV from your computer, do not do it through messaging applications that compress the quality of the videos. Do it with Dropbox, Google Drive or AirDrop if you have iPhone & iMac.
  • In videos always leave a margin.
  • Export your videos to the highest resolution whenever you can.
  • If you are not clear about what content to publish, try different videos. Example: tutorial or a workout video. Analyze which works best. You can also start with a video presentation.
  • Do not forget to encourage interactions, ask your viewers to leave comments, tag their friends… etc.
  • Promote your IGTV videos on Instagram and other social networks to get the maximum number of views.
  • Try different durations of your videos and analyze what your audience prefers.

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