IGTV Ads: Helping Instagram Creators Monetize Their Long-Form Content

In an effort to encourage creators to produce more long-form Instagram TV content Instagram has made a game-changing announcement for its platform. In early June, it announced it will begin monetizing IGTV with instream ads that pay its creators, a move that mirrors YouTube’s famous business model, and will likely steal some of its market share.

IGTV has been an important Initiative for Facebook since its launch in 2018 but was slow to pick up steam like the company had hoped for. With so many competing platforms vying for attention, this move will incentivize creators to publish more long-form content, and result in more attention and time spent on the platform. Rumor has it that Instagram will pay the 55% “industry standard” share of all advertising in IGTV to creators (the same rate as YouTube).

As your favorite creators strive to grow their following, this new emphasis on long-form content diversifies the platform’s content mix and may encourage Instagram creators to favor this channel, becoming a ”one-stop-shop” platform with more monetization opportunities. It will be interesting to see if there’s a shift in viewership from YouTube to Instagram. With more content produced for IGTV, we could see a shift in viewership and time spent on YouTube as users move to the IGTV platform.

What else we know:

• The ads will be up to 15 seconds and various options, like the ability to skip, will be tested throughout the year.
• Creators will be able to earn money from Instagram directly, not just sponsors/brands; this has never been done before. 
• The ads will be mobile-optimized vertical videos.
• Testing will begin on a small group of creators and advertisers in the United States.

It’s no secret that Facebook has been prioritizing this., It even created an entirely new app dedicated to IGTV. In June, I noticed that IGTV previews have gone from one minute to 15 seconds, which may leave users wanting more and encourage users to click into the full video. We know Instagram never makes an unintentional change, so we presume this update could have been in preparation for this announcement. A one-minute preview (the original preview length) on a two- to three-minute video would affect how/if the ads would play. A shorter preview leaves more room for intentional viewing and accurate reporting.

Last week, Business Insider reported that Instagram is focusing on another popular creator-led platform, TikTok. It’s speculated that Facebook’s Instagram will be paying popular TikTok creators to transition over to their newly purchased rival short-form-video service, Reels. This development along with TikTok’s US future will be interesting to watch this fall.

As a media buyer, I’m looking forward to this additional placement option for running ads. What do you think? Is this the push IGTV needs to take off?

Link to the official statement from Instagram