It’s a busy time in social at the moment with lots of new services going live. Hot on the heels of Shopping links in Instagram Stories the Instagram development team have rolled out IGTV (Instagram TV), the new long-format video for users.
It’s available in both the native Instagram app and a new standalone IGTV app and is set to give the likes of YouTube a run for its money. The main difference however, is that videos are only available in a mobile-friendly portrait / vertical format.
Anyone on Instagram can create their own IGTV channel, where they can share long-form videos with their followers and for now, videos can be 10 minutes for most accounts, and up to one hour for larger accounts, but Instagram has said that eventually there will be no time limit.
How IGTV works

You can watch IGTV videos in the Instagram app, in the standalone IGTV app, or by clicking the IGTV button on someone’s Instagram profile. When someone you follow posts a new video to IGTV, you’ll get a notification in the native Instagram app.
Instagram will show you videos that match your interests and who you follow, and you can also watch trending videos on the “popular” channel. And just like Instagram Stories, you can also share IGTV videos to your friends through Instagram Direct.
MORE Social Media Video
As we have seen with many of the social media platforms, video content and marketing skills are becoming increasingly important. The launch of IGTV is another reason for businesses to invest in this format and use it to drive brand awareness, engagement and ultimately sales!