What’s better than Instagram? IGTV! It’s been a little over two weeks that IGTV made its debut. Instagrammers everywhere scrambled to upload within minutes of its official launch.

Many fell short. Why?… Because they failed to listen and observe before jumping on. That was me…

I quickly used a video on my phone and tried out the IGTV feature directly through the Instagram app. Man, I couldn’t figure out why it was blown and out. Then I tried to use the Hype Type app and a few others to create a short video and still not what I expected. I quickly pulled the videos off the platform. Then, sat back and watched everyone else.

Observe First, Do Later…

I kept seeing early adopters upload their videos sideways but after swiping through the IGTV channels and videos I started getting annoyed at everyone who was uploading horizontal video sideways. I caught myself tilting my head rather than tilting my phone to accommodate viewing. That got old quick. Then I noticed that others were using the horizontal or as we call it traditional format to fit in the 16:9IGTV aspect ratio. The problem with that is the video was dead center in the 9:16 aspect and there was lots of room left both on top and bottom of the screen. Another issue was the video was too small to watch.

I kept watching my friend Paul Savola upload all day long. His videos were all vertical and he was also trying to figure out his view rate. Which prompted me to ask “what seems to be your best video length?” Paul mentioned his greatest view rate was about the 1– 3-minute mark.

Then I decided to take the plunge. I dove in head first into IGTV.

I posted a quick 1.5 min coming soon video with text. At first, my view rate was 100 percent. Later on, it dropped to 50 percent. I noticed most viewers jump off when they get to the end clip logo bumper. I followed with an actual video 2 days later a and noticed my view rate was about 34 percent.

I kept watching videos and observing the different type of videos. For instance lifestyle “grammers” are creating a whimsical lifestyle day in the lifestyle while others were talking head or text overlays. I tried a cute lifestyle video with a heavy dehaze filter and music over it. To my surprise, it didn’t stick. The view rate on that video was under 20 percent.

I keep observing and here are some tips to get you started on IGTV

1. Unfortunately, the Instagram ecosystem is meant to be used vertically.  For that reason, you need to purposefully create content for IGTV on 16:9 ratio.
2. Although IGTV allows up to 60 minutes (for some profiles, most profiles are up to 10 minutes at the moment) keep your videos between 1-3 minutes to experience the greatest viewing rate.
   The best videos for IGTV have a focus point. Either talking head or product/brand videos with a central focus work the best.
3. The best tools for shooting 16:9 are smartphones. DSLRs work too but its easier to just use your smartphone.
4. Keep videos stabilized. Jerky, bouncy, and noisy videos will not work. Try using a gimbal my favorite is the Zhiyun Smooth 4 (this is not a sponsored recommendation) or a static tripod that can be placed on tables or where ever you need. Also, if talking head is your style make sure to get a microphone there are plenty of inexpensive options on Amazon. 
5. Finally, experiment with the content on your videos. Try talking head versus text heavy videos to see what your audience prefer. Also try out inspirational videos versus how to, product reviews, or day in the life. Stick to your audience genres. If you are a food blogger stick to food reviews, new restaurants to visit, or how to cook quick and easy dishes. This is not the time to try a different genre or topic your audience is not into. For instance, when I posted my lifestyle trip video I had less response than my traditional marketing and business talking-head style videos.

Are you ready to start?

These tips will help you launch your IGTV channel on point. In the first week, I gained over 50 new followers just by launching my IGTV channel on both my personal page @thejfranco and even on my agency page @francoinnovative.

Don’t worry if you can’t post daily. IGTV is not like your feed or stories. It’s an archive a channel where your audience can watch you at their leisure, just make sure you are short and to the point. Build your channel with videos that your followers want to binge on in short 1-3 minute spurts. Anything more than that will have them swiping left.

As with any platform play by their rules!

By following the native guidelines of each platform you increase your presence and followers. Let me know if you started your IGTV channel in the comments and if this guide to IGTV helped. Don’t forget to tag me on IGTV so that I can go scope out your channel.  Check out the rest of the Instagram for Business Series here.

~~ J Franco