Instagram is trying to get more people to watch IGTV, the social media platform’s newest feature. Starting last Thursday, Instagram added IGTV ‘previews’ which will appear in users’ timelines in order to entice them to watch the full video on IGTV.
With IGTV, users can upload videos that are less than 10 minutes long to their IGTV profiles called ‘channels,’ which is very similar to YouTube. Selected users can upload videos up to an hour in length.
This tactic will not only attract users who are already interested in IGTV, but will also potentially catch the eye of those who are not interested in checking out the feature at all.
According to an Instagram representative, “With IGTV previews in Feed, we’re making it even easier to discover and watch the latest video content from your favorite follows.”
This is not the first time that Facebook-owned Instagram tried to boost its users’ engagement with IGTV. Previously, the social media platform had also included IGTV in Explore and in the users’ personal Stories. Users were also given the ability to save IGTV videos and to embed IGTV videos in their posts.
When it comes to monetization though, IGTV is still at a loss. As said by Instagram product manager Ashley Yuki, “Right now, we’re focused on delivering on what we said we would — connecting you to creators and content you’re most interested in.”
