I read an article called, “On Instagram TV, Brands Go Longer and Weirder” by Garrett Sloane. Instagram TV, also known as IGTV, is the new long-form video platform that is inside the Instagram app and has its own standalone app. Instead of the usual Instagram video only lasting one minute, IGTV videos can last for up to an hour. Many brands and publishers such as Netflix, A&W Restaurants and National Geographic are among the first to use IGTV.
IGTV has publishers trying to hook viewers on the vertical format. There are many signs Instagram can entrance viewers. Instagram’s audience topped one billion a month recently and the success of Instagram stories seems to show many people would like the vertical video.
CEO of Delmondo, Nick Cicero, a social video analytics firm, says they’ve found that a segment of viewers will stick around for longer formats. And he agrees that Instagram Stories, which reach 400 million viewers a day, is proof that vertical video is in high demand, too.
Netflix filmed “Riverdale” star, Cole Sprouse, seductively eating a cheeseburger for one hour. The video reached one million views and 6,500-plus comments. This video was done in close-up, which made it harder for viewers to look away. Netflix did not return a request for comment on whether burger eating would ever be a show on Netflix.
A&W Restaurants posted a 10-minute short film about a David Lynchian day in the life of its mascot, Rooty the Root bear. David Coomer, chief officer at Cornett, which handles marketing for A&W stated, “IGTV is a concept we really like, kind of a different lens for looking at social media, It moves us even further away from advertising and into more real content.”
National Geographic put a 45-minute-long show on IGTV called “One Strange Rock”. The show was about the many wonders of planet earth. The show is also available on regular TV, but the network reedited it so it could be viewed in vertical form on Instagram. The sow had 360,000 views in the first 24 hours and now tops 1.3 million views since being posted last month. Buzzfeed even filmed a game of hamster soccer: two hamsters in a ball on a mini soccer field rolling back and forth.
This article stood out to me because I am a social-media fanatic. Instagram is my favorite app because I like to see everyone’s post and what they are doing. With Instagram’s new feature, IGTV I find it very entertaining and a good touch to the app. I enjoy watching videos on Facebook similar to the ones on Instagram, and now with IGTV I can watch it all on one app.