What does IGTV mean for creators, brands and premium content providers?

Vidcon 2018 was jam-packed with platform product updates. It’s exciting (especially for Little Dot Studios) that video is evolving, maturing, and becoming the primary way we connect with each other and consume content. But sitting in the Anaheim Ballroom listening to each platform list their upcoming and recently-released features, you can’t help feel like they’ve been copying each other’s notes.

YouTube announced YouTube Premieres, allowing Creators to hype pre-recorded videos to their fans and then watch it with them in real-time using YouTube Super Chat. Facebook reminded us about Facebook Watch Party, a tool that allows Groups to pick a public video on Facebook and watch it together with a dedicated comment reel.

Facebook launched the Brand Collabs Manager, a search engine that brands can use to browse different influencers based on demographic or previous sponsored content, and work out sponsored content deals. And, after Google bought Famebit in late 2016, YouTube seem finally ready to roll out their version of a product that aims to connect brands with the right creators and encourage brand-sponsored content.

Snapchat announced they will roll out Shows - their serialized short-form video product until now reserved for premium content providers such as NBCU or The New York Times - to Creators. And Instagram announced IGTV, their new product that allows users to create and upload full-screen vertical video up to an hour in length.

In a sea of similarity, it’s hard to tell which will succeed and which will fail. Like most people, it’s the last one that got my attention the most. IGTV is a great product update. People spend hours on Instagram (ahem, me) and so far we’ve been watching snackable 15-second videos on Stories or longer videos either watched live or recorded live and watched later. If I was a betting man, I’d say it’s the one that will actually work.

So what does that mean for people who spend time - and hope to make money - on Instagram?

For creators, this means a greater opportunity for monetization. There are rumours that IG will eventually monetize with ads, but given how long it’s taking Facebook to roll out ad products to publishers, I don’t think this is worth listening to in the short term. But it expands an opportunity for brand integration, and longer-term brand collabs, and it will no doubt become a big part of branded content deals in the near future.

It should also help with audience acquisition. IGTV definitely has an overlap with Snapchat Discover - Mike Krieger, Co-Founder of Instagram, observed that this is also about driving more people to the Explore tab, and allowing people to find new accounts to follow. It already includes ‘Popular’ videos slotted in with videos from people you follow so it’s a chance for IG influencers to grow their audience and influence.

For brands, this is yet another chance for authentic influencer marketing – but again I think this has a good chance of actually working. IGTV will allow creators to link out – giving the all-important ‘Swipe up to buy’ that both allows brands to track impact on POS, and Creators to make affiliate revenue. It also has the benefit of being longer than 15 seconds and can remain live for more than 24 hours.

For premium content providers (by which I mean traditional media outlets or new media companies) it is another challenge. It’s another product forcing media companies to produce or repurpose video content into the tricky vertical format, and step down to the lo-fi level of an individual Creator. But it could also be huge opportunity to speak to younger audiences with medium-form content.

Insta got a bit of flak when they released Stories, given that it was so clearly ‘inspired by’ Snapchat. But it worked. Instagram now has 1 billion monthly active users and it is the fastest-growing social platform. It is used by old people (like me) and young people, and is allowing individuals and brands to grow influence and revenues. Given the way it is meeting the needs of creators and brands, and the appetite of audiences and consumers, I think IGTV could be the same story.