Updated: 26th May 2019
So you’ve been thinking about IGTV and toying with the idea of uploading some videos for your business.
Or maybe you have uploaded some videos, but you don’t want to jump down that rabbit hole without understanding IGTV, or knowing if it’s going to bring you a return for your efforts.
One thing you want to remember is that even though IGTV has been around for nearly a year, it’s still a fairly new platform. People are still getting used to it. Not just businesses, but also quite likely, your audience. And like with any social media platform, you want to have a strategy, and start build up your channel with more than just a few videos, before you judge the return on investment.
So let’s talk about all the things you want to know before you start producing your videos, to make sure your audience is interested in the content you produce. And of course to create an impact for your business. Let’s get going!
Getting Started on IGTV for Business
First things first, as always, it’s all about your audience.
The important thing you want to think about before producing your videos is: Who will be watching this video.
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In the beginning, it’s probably going to only be people who follow you on Instagram, as they will automatically be following you on IGTV. And they are the ones who will get a notification that you’ve uploaded a video.
Choosing your IGTV video content
So what is your Instagram audience interested in watching? If you already do videos elsewhere, you might find your Instagram audience is interested in something slightly different to what you normally present on other platforms.
For example, maybe your YouTube videos are ‘how to’, whereas on Instagram you might be making motivational style posts, and that could be something you could consider for IGTV.
If you’re really not sure what videos your audience might be interested in, you can take a look at your most popular Instagram posts and Stories to see if there’s a clue there.
Take a look at your analytics, is there a type of post or Story that gets the best engagement? Take a cue from your most popular posts and test out some videos around those themes.
From there, you want to create your strategy that’s going to both satisfy your audience, and set you apart from others in your industry. So let’s talk about that now.
Your IGTV Video Business Goals
Of course you want to make sure that you are aiming to achieve your business goals when you’re creating your videos.
Think about what you’d like IGTV to do for your business. It may be brand awareness, creating positive PR for you, awareness around a topic that leads to what you’re selling, and so on.
You want to think about how can you match your business goals with what your audience wants to see on IGTV.
Creating Your IGTV Strategy
You’re creating videos to get your message across to your audience. And to also give them some value and inspiration.
Along with thinking about specific content that your audience will want to watch, you’ll also want to do some research to see what others in your industry are doing. Not to copy, but to see what’s out there, and if there’s a gap in the content that would work for your topic.
One thing you can think about to get those creative juices flowing is: What will this video will do for my audience?
Will it help them solve a problem?
Will it make them feel better about themselves?
Will it help them learn a skill?
Will it leave them laughing?
Will it teach them something new?
Now let’s look at some examples of videos you might want to consider, and what they will do for your audience.
Ideas for IGTV Videos
In May this year, Instagram changed IGTV from only being vertical to also supporting horizontal video. This give you a huge range of flexibility in the sorts of videos you can create for IGTV.
You can use these ideas to match up what your audience wants to see, and what will work well with your business goals.
Motivational videos can provide the push your audience needs to achieve something. Done right, these can provide huge value.
Inspirational videos. If your audience needs inspiration to achieve a specific outcome, then creating videos that shows them the end result, provides not just motivation but also a visual representation of what to aim for.
Behind the scenes. Depending on your business, behind the scenes can answer questions that your audience have, while also being entertaining.
Vlogging. Similar to ‘behind the scenes’, Vlogging can be both helpful and entertaining. Let’s say you’re vlogging at a conference you’re attending. This gives your audience the feeling like they are there, even if they can’t attend themselves. It’s entertaining, and it may help them decide whether they also want to attend the same conference next time.
Storytelling. I don’t need to sell you on the benefits of storytelling, I’m sure you’ve heard it all before. Storytelling captivates audiences, and helps you get your message across in a memorable way.
Interviews. Now that IGTV supports horizontal videos, it makes it even easier to share on the platform. Interviews are a great way to provide your audience with information, while adding to your content mix.
News Roundups. A once a week news roundup (depending on how fast your industry moves) is a great way to keep your audience informed, while setting you up to be the ‘go to person’ for what’s happening in your industry.
Okay, there are so many more different types of videos you can do on IGTV. But these should give you a start in thinking about the message you want to share, and how to deliver it.
Now you have some video topics in mind, let’s talk about creating your videos.
Filming your videos
I’m going to let you off the hook here for a little bit. You’re not creating an Audi commercial. Unless you are a large brand and it’s expected for you to have a super slick video, your video doesn’t have to be cinematic. And while some people on IGTV have gone the route of creating videos that look like mini feature films, you want to remember your goals and why you’re doing this. So unless you’re selling a course on videography, or anything related, then you can relax about learning how to film like Peter McKinnon or Casey Neistat.
Having said that, you want to do your best to make sure your videos are well lit (even if it’s natural light), and have good sound. Lack of technical knowledge is forgivable when you have great content, and people can see and hear you properly. Anything that’s grainy or difficult to hear, will mean losing your audience.
Which brings us to keeping your audience watching. Because IGTV has the ‘swipe across’ feature to move on to the next video, you want to make sure your videos are well edited to keep your audience interested and engaged.
So now your video is done…
What next?
It’s time to upload your video to IGTV. You want to upload each video one at a time. Because the videos are shown to your audience in chronological order, uploading 6 videos at once is going to look spammy. It’s much better for you to upload your videos one day at a time.
By the way, if you’re not quite sure how how IGTV works technically, or how to upload videos there, you’ll want to take a look at my “everything you wanted to know about IGTV” blog post to get all those questions answered.
Now you can start promoting your IGTV videos, to get more views. Spread the word around that you’ve uploaded a video to IGTV.
Once you’ve uploaded a number of videos, you want to look at your analytics. Which videos are doing the best? You’ll want to determine whether it’s the content that created more views, or if it was something else such as the title or location of the video or the time you uploaded it. Knowing which videos do best will allow you to create more content that resonates with your audience.
Okay! Now you’re on your way with building your IGTV channel. If you enjoyed this blog post, but a little hesitant in getting started, then let’s talk. I’d love to hear about your goals, and see how IGTV fits in with your business.