Instagram Aims at YouTube: IGTV

Today Instagram announced a brand new app for watching long-form video on Instagram called IGTV. Videos posted to Instagram have long been limited to only 60-seconds, which means that most users still rely on YouTube for long-form video. Now you will be able to upload hour long videos to IGTV.

Things that make this app unique are:

• Videos are full screen and vertical. Most people prefer watching content the same way they hold their phone, so this is a nice addition and makes for an improved mobile experience.
• Content you may like is surfaced to you automatically- The channels you follow will automatically show you content.
• There are channels (just like on regular TV), which makes it easy to to keep up with content from a specific creator.
• There is a stand-alone IGTV app, but IGTV videos can also be watched through the Instagram app. This makes it very convenient, since users won’t have to download a separate app to enjoy content.

Why does IGTV matter for summer camps?

• The average user spends over 30 minutes a day on Instagram. This is just another great way we can reach our camp’s target audience on a platform they are already spending time on.
• Camps tend to have beautiful long-form videos and this will be a great place to showcase them (tours, webinars, etc).
• Most camps aren’t able to advertise on actual TV channels (high barrier to entry and cost). However, there will (eventually) be advertising opportunities available on IGTV.
• As camps can now post longer videos, they don’t have to provide a link for followers to click on that leads to another page (e.g. YouTube or Facebook). Now, there’s more opportunity for longer engagement.

It will be interesting to see what kind of content comes out of IGTV and how summer camps begin to use this innovate marketing space.