Are you curious about this whole IGTV thing? In this podcast I’ll be helping you finally figure out what’s going on with Instagram TV and how you can get started. We’ll cover the basics of how to create your channel, and how to upload and promote your very first video. I’ve also got a whole load of examples to share of really effective content, which you can adapt and use to show off your own business.
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Vertical Video
When IGTV was first introduced, only vertical videos were supported, meaning you had to upload videos which were tall and thin, instead of short and wide. This was a massive contrast to the way other video platforms expected your to display content. However, Instagram users are holding their phone vertically already, to scroll through their feed and to view Instagram Stories. When they introduced this NEW platform, Instagram decided to keep the user experience as cohesive as possible. As of today, IGTV now accepts landscape videos as well, but most content creators are opting to stay with the vertical format, as it creates that seamless experience for their viewers. I’d advise you to stick with vertical video too.
How to create your own IGTV channel
It’s pretty straightforward to do, once you have your first video ready to go and saved to your phone. Open up your Instagram App and tap on the magnifying glass icon to get to your Explore page. Near the top, you’ll see a little icon that says IGTV, which will take you through that part of the platform. You’ll be able to see your top recommended video plus lots of other suggestions you can browse based on your interests and who you are following.
In the top right-hand corner, you’ll see a + button, and this is where you can upload your first video. The act of uploading your first video will create your channel. You can also go to Instagram.com/tv and do it from your browser too. You’ll then be able to do future uploads the same way, or you can do them from your computer.
Once you have your first video uploaded, you and other users will be able to find all your IGTV videos on your profile. If you tap on your profile picture, in the app, you’ll see that below your bio and story highlights, there are now three tabs where there used to be two. There’s a new one in the middle for your IGTV channel, where people can scroll through all your videos.
Promoting your IGTV videos
When you upload a video to IGTV, you have a number of different fields to fill in, and ways to promote the video. For example, you can and should share your IGTV videos to your feed. It’ll show the first 60 seconds, then the video will stop, and your audience have to click through to IGTV to see all the rest. The caption is simply made up of your video title, and then a divider dot, and then your video description. That means if you want your feed post to have hashtags, you have to include them in your video description, or else comment on the video as soon as its posted with a list of all the hashtags you need to include.
You can also share your full IGTV video to your Facebook page. Make sure your Instagram account and Facebook Page are connected properly if you want to do this one!
How to upload an IGTV video
Click on the thumbnails in the gallery below to see full sized screenshots of all the upload screens for IGTV. Taken in Google Chrome and Android – other browsers and devices may vary!
IGTV profile feed with the upload button on desktop
Upload fields on desktop
Sharing options on desktop
The upload button is on the IGTV homepage on mobile
Videos the wrong length are greyed out on mobile
Error message when video is the wrong length
Select a cover frame or upload one
Input fields and sharing options on mobile
How to create IGTV videos
As always, I love to include listener questions in my videos! Today’s comes from a follower over on Instagram:Do you record your episodes natively on the phone or through an editing workflow? – DavidThere are lots of different ways you can put together your IGTV content, and it really depends on what you want to achieve. Let me give you the specifics of what I’ve been doing so far. First I record all the video clips on my phone, with the help of a mini tripod and a full sized tripod in some cases. Then I save all the video clips to a folder in Google Photos which helps me keep them organised and separate from all the other videos and photos I’m recording. Once I’ve got all my footage, I then download all the clips to my computer and drag them into Adobe Premier Pro – this costs about $20 a month. If you need something free you can get great results using ShotCut or iMovie instead. Also at this stage, I’ll head to Ben Sound or Free Music Archive to find some royalty free music to use. After editing and before I’m ready to upload I get my subtitles sorted. I’ll upload the final cut of the video to an amazing captioning service called Rev.com – It costs just $1.25 per minute of video. For videos less than 5 minutes, I typically get my subtitle files back in less than an hour or two. Subtitles are pretty essential for social media videos, so its well worth the tiny investment needed. Then I upload the subtitle file into Adobe Premier Pro where I can overlay it onto the video. I then export the final, subtitle video, and use the web browser to upload it into Instagram.
Examples of great IGTV videos
- How to use the MVP methodology to kickstart your small business – @GetBullish
- Sgraffito Action – @JoWalkerCeramics
- Brow Tutorial with Benefit Cosmetics (ad) – @SusieJVerrill
Find more on my Instagram profile @thewhinco – look for the wee circle near the top with “IGTV ideas” underneath.
Get in touch
I hope this inspires you to get started with IGTV. When you do, make sure you tag me @thewhinco, or drop me a message to let me know – I’d love to see what you’re getting up to. You can email me if you’d like your question answered in a future episode, and of course please subscribe to Whin Big on Apple Podcasts.
