IGTV Will Disrupt the Video Sharing Industry
Why you and you and your brand should be prepared for the switch.
Instagram Has Youtube in its Sights
Recent reports have come out stating that Instagam is planning to not only allow users to post videos up to an hour in length, up from its 60 second limit. But it also looking at releasing its very own video hub akin to ‘Facebook Watch’ and ‘Snapchat Discovery’ .
These videos will be vertically orientated, with 4k orientation and a swipe up feature allowing users to click on a link to websites.
Whilst these features are great, don’t expect to see high quality movie’s as seen in Youtube Red. What you can expect to see is a lot of vlog style content and brand advertisements being uploaded to Instagram’s new hub.
Infleuncers are Leaving Youtube
There has been a general backlash from a lot of Youtube’s influencers due to its recent policy, and general changes, including changes to ad revenue schemes, censoring of content, and a change to the way users have to subscribe to channels.
A lot of these Youtuber’s already have large followings on Instagram, most of which surpass their Youtube following and they actually use Instagram to direct traffic to their channels.
These influencers with large followings on Instagram are currently being paid anywhere from five to seven digit figures. I imagine that the increased use of advertisements and sponsorships on Instagram due to the longer-videos and increased popularity will only see these figures rise exponentially.
So it won’t be a difficult decision for them to opt for using Instagram’s new features for their content, potentially eliminating Youtube from their repertoire altogether.
What This Means For Marketers
Mobile marketing is a rising superstar within the digital marketing realm (Find out how here). But with Instagram’s longer videos and new hub, mobile marketing will experience exponential growth in popularity. These new videoes will allow for more ad and sponsorship opportunities for marketers and endorsers alike.
Currently marketers have to spread their budget across various platforms, Youtube, Facebook, Instagram and so on. However, with Instagram being owned by Facebook it will become a marketing juggernaut for brands, acting as a one stop shop.
Facebook has seen a rapidly declining user base within it’s younger demographics, losing 2.8 million users under 25 in 2017 - in the US alone. Instagram on the other hand is extremely popular with the younger demographics, 59% of 18–29 year olds are on Instagram.
This number will continue to grow as the influencers make the transition to Instagram Videos bringing their audiences with them. Which will likely see Facebook become more popular with millennials once again, being Instagram’s parent company.
Conclusion
Evidently Instagram’s new long-form videos will have a disruptive impact on the video sharing and marketing industries. How big will this impact be, and will we see Youtube eventually de-throned as a video sharing platform? Only time will tell.
But one thing is for sure, marketers who are onto this quick will reap huge rewards. So start working on a new content strategy!
Leave a comment below and let me know what you are most excited for, and tell me how you think Instagram will impact the video sharing and marketing industries.
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