Instagram has changed a lot since its inception, from being a place where people share their life moments to becoming a community-driven marketplace. The social network platform has changed, but is it surprising to anyone who paid attention to Instagram’s rise?
When Instagram came, it presented a unique social media marketing opportunity to businesses. It had a vast pool of young impressionable users surfing its platform for extended periods of time, engaging themselves in videographic and photographic content. It was only a matter of time before Instagram would introduce features that would favor videos on its platform.
With the coming of IGTV, Instagram not only changed the game for its competitors but also challenged its own creation – stories. Now IGTV and Story are locked in a fight, and it seems like IGTV is winning.
Better In-Feed Integration
Instagram is a product of convenience which provides the world at the finer tips of its users. Thus it is only natural that the users within the app will also favor the content type that is easier to find and consume.
The home feed of an everyday Instagram user is where they spend most of their time on the social network platform. IGTV has been very efficiently integrated with the pre-existing in-feed content. You would access an IGTV video on the feed the same way you would on any other photographic post.
By design, Instagram Stories lack this familiarity that alienates many users from the get-go. To access stories, users need to tap on the horizontal story-section. This action of clicking atop and swiping left goes against the natural instinct of scrolling down when you open the Instagram app.
Importance of The Explore Tab
The Explore Tab is another quintessential part of the Instagram user experience. Instagram specially curates videographic and photographic content to suit the desires of each individual user. This specially curated content is solely aimed at increasing the time spent and the rate engagement of users on the platform.
Both IGTV videos and Instagram Stories are shown on the explore tab. However, due to the short duration of an Instagram Story, they end up going too fast for the user to critically analyze the content and make a buying decision.
But due to the longer duration of IGTV, it seems to be having a field day with the explore tab as a vast majority of Instagram users use the explore tab to find new and exciting content. Digital marketers can leverage this freefall of users in their social media marketing strategy.
More Engaging
Human beings are visual creatures, we have evolved from primates to perceive our natural surroundings through different types of movement. Thus it is not surprising to understand why video content posses an unparalleled advantage over other types of content.
The fact that IGTV offers businesses the ability to create longer videos aids in the process of crafting a comprehensive marketing plan. Creating original content is the only sure-shot way of building a credible social media brand presence.
Feels More Organic
The vast majority of Instagram users are part of Gen – Z, and what that means for businesses trying to use Stories and IGTV to expand their reach is to be authentic.
Gen – Z is a generation that was born into the digital age, hence it is in their core characteristics to be resistant to general social media marketing strategies. This is where IGTV deals the final blow against Stories.
Due to the oversaturation of effects, filters, and stickers, Instagram stories have turned into a parody of itself. By comparison, the minimal effects and editing options available on IGTV give it a perception of authenticity.
Our Take
As Instagram exists today, it offers a tremendous opportunity to businesses and digital marketers alike to craft a brand.
With millions of would-be users accessing the platform along with it having a community-driven vibe is what businesses can truly leverage. IGTV might have won a competition head-to-head against Stories, but it must be understood that both of these tools are of tremendous importance to businesses.
Brands need to understand this fundamental truth and partner with creative digital marketing agencies that can help achieve big on social media.
