Instagram is gradually moving towards monetisation.
It has been integrating new products and features for the past several months. After including shoppable tags and payment, along with new formats of telling ‘Stories’, the Facebook-owned application has now launched the Instagram Television (IGTV).
This visual entertainment platform is available as a standalone app as well as in the Instagram native app.
Users can watch short and long-form videos. Anyone can create their own channel and post videos for the Instagram audience.
National Geographic was the first broadcaster to offer long-form videos on IGTV.
The basic screen has 4 tabs for users.
One recommends channels and videos to the users on the basis of their regular activities on the native app, another tab shows the viewer numerous trending videos. The third tab shows all the videos by channels followed by the user. The ‘Continue Watching’ table the user watch videos that had been left in between.
Users can explore content across several genres over this UI because of its accessibility. IGTV allows users to post videos that are only vertically recorded.
Currently, IGTV doesn’t have remuneration scheme for uploaders or channels. However, Instagram aims to share advertising revenues with broadcasters when the platform amasses a significant audience.
The launch of the IGTV was declared along with the official announcement of Instagram achieving 1 billion monthly active users.
Over the past one year, the Zuckerberg acquired Instagram has been making serious attempts to create robust advertisings as well as an e-commerce play. The company had launched ‘Shoppable Post’ in November 2017 and has recently expanded it to 8 more countries.
With 60 million users, India would be a pivotal market for Instagram’s commerce play. Since its launch in India, it has managed to achieve nearly 10X growth in the country. Advertisers across several segments (majorly fashion and consumer brands) have also been preferring it over Twitter to promote offerings.
Visual storytelling is gradually gaining ground in India. Visual commerce will definitely have more space to thrive in the future. Currently, visuals play a great role in driving transactions for an e-commerce player. Consumers will not hesitate to buy fashion and accessories from the visual social networks if quality and trust factors get resolved.
The launch of IGTV also implies a tougher competition for YouTube, Snapchat, and Facebook Watch.
