The IGTV Show

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Mike Murphy Unplugged

Education


All about Instagram TV.  Episode Summary: What is IGTV? How does it work? Why might you use it for your business & brand? How do I plan on using it for Mike Murphy Co? Follow me on Instagram & IGTV @mikeunplugged. What is IGTV? IGTV was launched in late June 2018 by Instagram. Instagram is owned by Facebook. There are now over 1 Billion users on Instagram. There are over 2 Billion users on Facebook. IGTV is a standalone app, separate from Instagram, but you can access IGTV from the main Instagram app. So what exactly is IGTV? Many are referring to it as TV for mobile devices, aka your phones. The channels on IGTV are you and me. Every content creator is their own channel and it is open to anyone and everyone. IGTV gives you a channel for you to create content that people browsing IGTV and can stop and watch and if they like what they can see, they can let you know by liking or commenting and following you, just like on Instagram. When you open IGTV, videos start playing automatically. Just like when you turn on your TV. Instagram gives you some options to browse including: For You, Explore, Following & Popular and you can search for creators. You cannot search for topics, but you can search for channels. Open the IGTV app and videos will start playing or if you are in the main Instagram app, just look in the upper right for the Orange TV icon and that will take you into IGTV. How Does IGTV Work? IGTV is all about vertical videos for your phone. The correct aspect ratio for IGTV is 9:16. The 9 is the width and the 16 is the height. This is the opposite of horizontal videos you would post on YouTube which have an aspect ration of 16:9. Just think vertical. Taller than it is wide. Tip: Do not place text or important elements or graphics close to the edges when making videos for IGTV or they may get caught off on certain phones. The most common size you will likely use for IGTV is 1080 px wide by 1920 pixels high. This is what your iPhone shoots and is the exact same aspect ratio and size for Instagram Stories. Videos you make for IGTV must be a minimum of 15 seconds long and a maximum of 10 minutes long. For accounts with over 10,000 followers & verified accounts can post videos up to 1-hour long, but for now, the average creator is limited to a maximum of 10-minutes per video. You can upload videos from your phone or in a web browser like Chrome or Safari which is pretty convenient. You can select a Custom Thumbnail or Cover Image. You can add a Title & Description And you have the option to Share to your Facebook Pages. If you do have over 10,000 followers and find you have the option to upload 1-hour videos, you will have to use a web browser. Uploading from a phone is not an option for the long videos. Viewers of your IGTV videos can leave comments that will show up in both IGTV and Instagram. They can also like and share to friends. IGTV also integrates with Instagram Stories in that you can create links in your Stories and viewers can simply swipe up and it will take them directly to any video you link to on your IGTV channel. So Why Should You Consider Using it for your business or brand? For starters, remember the stat about Instagram & Facebook having 3 Billion users, well that is one important reason. Instagram is massively popular and IGTV could be a really big deal for creators and brands to get exposure and market your business. IGTV is the first of its kind to focus on video made for phones (vertical) and mobile devices is how people are currently consuming the most content today, so the bottom line is IGTV is relevant and is adapting to the technology and the end user. You need to be where the eyeballs are, plain and simple and there is a lot of eyeballs on Instagram & Facebook. You cannot win if you do not play. You should consider using IGTV for your business and brand for many reasons, but here are a few: You can tell the story of your brand in long-form videos. You can market and advertise products and services. You can entertain or educate your followers and clients. You can network and collaborate with other brands and businesses. You can paint the picture of who you are and what you are trying to accomplish in your own creative way. Aside: Creating content is hard. Keeping up with the popular social media channel or buzz of the day is exhausting. One week you need to be doing Facebook Live and the next week it’s Instagram Live or Instagram Stories and now it’s IGTV. You can’t do everything and be everywhere at once, but you do need to be smart and be where people are and currently Instagram is wildly popular and influential, so you should not sleep on it. But here’s the secret, you need to get good at making content (writing, making videos, recording podcasts) because those are the core skills required to be relevant online today. Stop worrying about it and just figure out a method that you can get content out to the world that represents you and your business or brand. It does not have to be fancy or high-production, it just has to be uploaded so people can see it. Do not go on IGTV because everyone is doing it or it’s the latest thing. Go on IGTV because it is an opportunity to reach more people and showcase your skills or talents or products and services or whatever you are trying to achieve with your online presence. Maybe you want to grow your podcast audience. Maybe you want to send people to your YouTube channel. It doesn’t matter. It’s a a free and open stage for you to do anything. You just have to be innovative and put in the work. How Do I Plan on Using IGTV: I’m not overthinking and I am putting up content, but I see an open canvas and a real opportunity to showcase everything I am building in my own unique voice and style and to sharpen my skills and talents. I am looking at IGTV like a YouTube channel but with more opportunity to be creative and mix up the content. I plan on posting tutorials and quick tips made for vertical viewing. I plan on creating entertaining and fun animation style videos that range from promoting this podcast to promoting Murphy Concierge that may be marketing my business but also showing my skills as a creative and video creator. I also plan on doing behind the scenes and vlog style videos that are a little more cinematic and interesting. Not overly polished or dramatic, but visually interesting and storytelling in nature with voiceover narratives or music driving the video. I see IGTV as the almost perfect platform for creatives to let their freak flag fly and be unique by doing something nobody else has done before. IGTV is going to be my reality show for Mike Murphy Co and I can tell the story however I want and people will watch if it is entertaining, inspiring or they can make a connection with me. That will take trying new things and experimenting. I’m good with that and you should be too. In short for me, IGTV I am looking at as a story-telling platform for me and my brand. I plan to share who I am am what I am doing in my own version of a vlog. A creative infomercial And to be clear, the content I create may be promoting me or showcasing my skills, but everything I make is with the end user in mind. Will this piece of content teach something or be entertaining or will it inspire people to go create something for themselves. In conclusion: IGTV is a standalone app on iOS & Android Phones that plays vertical videos 24/7 and it and the channels on this TV are individual creators. Everyone is welcome to create content on IGTV. You cannot shoot live videos on Instagram TV. Videos can be uploaded from your Camera Roll on your phone or you can use a web browser on your computer, which is a nice feature. Videos must be at least 15 seconds long and up to 10 minutes maximum. If you have over 10,000 followers or are a verified account you can upload videos up to 1 hour long, but you must use a browser to upload the longer videos. The aspect ratio for IGTV videos is 9:16. The opposite of wide/horizontal videos you watch on YouTube. The size you will most like make for videos is 1080px wide by 1920 px high. Why you should consider using IGTV to promote your business and brand: Because Instagram & Facebook is big. There is a lot of positive momentum. There is endless opportunity for you whether it be to grow your podcast or sell your product or simply build a community. Do not feel compelled to create IGTV because you feel pressured. Do it because you understand that connecting with people and having your message and story be heard is the name of the game, and the easiest way to do so is to go where people are. IGTV may or may not be a big deal in a few months from now and it does not matter. What matters is the practice and exercise of telling your story and building relationships with people who want to be part of your journey. IGTV is giving you a really easy platform for you to do anything you want. You just have to do it. Me on IGTV? I will post tutorials, but I am also figuring out how to double down on sharing my story of building an online business around teaching people how to create content and inspiring people to create the life they want, by demonstrating how I am doing it. I make no bones about it that it is hard and can be frustrating at times and there is tons of self-doubt and uncertainty involved, but I know it will be worth it and I want to take others along the ride for fuel to keep creating and to make an impact. If you have questions about IGTV or anything, you can reach me anytime at mike@mikemurphy.co.