How to Upload IGTV Video on Instagram in 2023 – Boostmeup

How some of us used to have the fantasy to post long videos on Instagram but couldn’t fulfill that dream! Wow, all the same, it is a sweet dream, everyone loves to have it but thanks to Instagram for making Instagram Television available for users.

With IGTV, you can post longer videos that contain every thought you have to share with your customers on Instagram.

Having said that, IGTV has a lot of advantages you and I can benefit from. Keep reading this article to know more about the importance of IGTV features.

We are going to learn how to upload IGTV videos on Instagram. IGTV is a long-form vertical video that can be viewed from Instagram.

It allows brands to create videos to their satisfaction, and equally, an amazing way to improve their engagement, work with influencers, and improve their Instagram marketing strategies.

To begin with, let’s talk about IGTV, and then we will discuss how to upload IGTV videos and then how to use them to our advantage as well.

What is IGTV?

IGTV is a long form of Instagram videos that can be accessed by users from their Instagram accounts. It is a form of standalone video created and uploaded to the IGTV app.

IGTV was launched in June 2018 and since then the opportunity for marketers to upload longer videos was born.

A verified Instagram user can upload IGTV videos for as long as one hour while unverified users can upload videos up to 10 minutes longer than the usual Instagram videos.

One year later, Instagram allowed users to upload one-minute previews of their IGTV videos for their followers to view on the Instagram app, so they won’t have to download the app. That’s an ideal way to help gain your audience’s attention to your brand.

Instagram has recently introduced the IGTV series feature. This allows marketers to upload a series of their videos on a weekly, and monthly bases.

There is a problem! Brands are not turning up using IGTV due to the cost and time needed to create long videos on social media.

If you don’t mind, IGTV when used properly can increase engagement and amazingly build your audience.

Keep Reading!

How to Use IGTV Proficiently?

It is one thing to use IGTV, it is another essential thing to know how to use it proficiently.

First, let’s start with how to create our own IGTV channel, once that is done, we are on the right track to use the app effectively to our advantage.

How to Create IGTV Channel?

Bear in mind that you don’t need to create an IGTV channel anymore before you can upload your videos on the app. Instagram has made it easy to upload videos to your by doing away with the feature of having to create a channel, all you need now is to have an Instagram account.

Instagram now allows you to upload videos to IGTV via the Instagram app or IGTV app. If you don’t have an Instagram account, you can create one and get started, but the scope of this article is for those who already have an Instagram account.

How to Upload IGTV VIdeo on Instagram?

Now we have arrived at the main topic to show you how to upload your first IGTV videos on Instagram.

The steps are not difficult to follow:

1. Open your Instagram app.
2. Go to your newsfeed and tap the + icon at the bottom of your screen.
3. Select a video for 60 seconds or longer and click Next.
4. Choose share as long video to post the full length of the video you selected on IGTV, and the shorter version will be shared on your Instagram feed, and press Continue.
5. From the iFrames available, select your cover photo, or upload one from your gallery and tap Next.
6. Fill out the title and description for the IGTV Video you are intending to upload, you can as well now post a preview of your video to your newsfeed and make it accessible on Facebook for cross-promotion–it is a new option allowed on Instagram.
7. You can equally add the video on the IGTV series from here but if don’t have an IGTV series, don’t worry, we will discuss how to create it in the next few minutes.

Note: As soon as you finish adding the title and description to your IGTV, click on Post in the right corner to publish your first Video. Hurray!

How to Upload an IGTV Video from IGTV?

If you already have the IGTV app, you don’t need to install it anymore. Follow these steps to upload your IGTV video from the app itself.

1. Open the IGTV app.
2. Go to the top right corner and tap the + icon.
3. Select a video 60 seconds or longer depending on your purpose and then tap Next.
4. Pick your video cover image from the iFrame provided by Instagram or upload a desired one from your camera roll, and tap Next.
5. Fill out the title and description of your video. You can also share the preview of your video on your Instagram feed and cross-promote it on Facebook by making it visible on the platform.
6. You can add the video to your IGTV series.
7. Once you are done adding the video title and description, tap Post.

How to Track your IGTV Performance?

It is necessary to see your IGTV Performance so you will know how beneficial it has been for your business so far.

To see your IGTV video performance:

1.  Tap on the video you want to analyze the insight.
2. Click the three horizontal (iPhone) or vertical (Android) dots at the bottom of the selected video.
3. Press View Insights.

Things you can view in the app:

1. Likes.
2. Comments.
3. Saves.
4. Direct messages.
5. Profile visits.
6. Reach.
7. Interactions.
8. Discoveries.
9. Follows.
10. Impressions.

The in-app insight feature may provide some information about the performance of your videos but it is like a drop of water from an ocean, therefore to see the overall performance of the entire content, you may want to try a third-party app.

Note: We are not providing a third-party app for you because the scope of the article is strictly on how to upload IGTV videos on Instagram and other related topics surrounding it.

How to Create an IGTV Series?

Remember, we promised to show you how to create IGTV series, and now, how to create  IGTV series is straightforward.

Where do you want to create the IGTV series? On your Instagram app or IGTV app? It is all the same!

The steps involved in creating IGTV Series:

1. Go to the window or page where you will fill in the title and description of your video.
2. Press create your first series.
3. Fill out your series title and descriptions as you may desire and go to the top right to click the blue checkmark.
4. Ensure you select the part you want your Series video to be, and click Done.
5. You have just created an IGTV series.

All the Specs you need for your IGTV Series

1. The file format should be MP4
2. The video length is at least one minute long.
3. Mobile video length is a maximum of 15 minutes.
4. When uploading a video on the web, the maximum length is one hour.
5. The vertical aspect ratio that is ideal is 9:16.
6. The best horizontal ratio should be 16: 9.
7. The minimum frame rate should be 30 Frame Per Second.
8. The minimum resolution is 720 pixels.
9. The maximum file size for videos that are up to 60 minutes is 3.6GB.
10. The ideal cover photo size is 420px by 654px.

Expert tips on how to use the IGTV to your advantage: Cover pages can’t be edited after uploading them. Ensure it is in perfect shape before using it.

5 Smart Ways to Use IGTV Videos for Business

Host Video Tutorial for Viewers

One of the ideal ways to promote your business on IGTV is to host free tutorials for your audience. Depending on your brand, you can select a day out to teach your customers how to use one of your products.

Marketers that are smart enough use video tutorials to showcase many aspects of their business to a large audience on Instagram TV. As a result, they gain massive leads and engagement after each tutorial.

Let’s say you are running a gymnastics brand, you can create a series of tutorials on different gymnastic styles for your relevant audience to watch. By doing so, you are keeping them to interact with your videos.

If you sell products in your organization, creating how To’s tutorials will be a perfect option. In AL we are saying, to ensure that you create captivating videos for your tutorials.

Post-User-Generated Content

Another advantage of the IGTV series is that you can post any type of video on it provided it does not violate the community standards and the specs match the ones we provided above.

User Generated Content is an incredible way to super-boost your brand’s sales and engagement. If you can be smart enough, gather the various user-generated content like YouTube or Facebook videos people created for your brand and upload them on the IGTV series.

When people watch others’ testimony about your brand, being that it is coming from outsiders, they will react positively and also patronize your business.

User Generated Content includes reviews about your brand, social media posts, blog posts, and more. They are the good things people say about your business.

Host Question and Answer Sessions

To help people know about your business, you need to help them answer some questions about you.

Create a Series of such sessions once in a while by allowing the audience to ask you questions about your product on IGTV.

To make this trip possible, after hosting question and answer sessions on your Instagram story, post them to your IGTV.

You are not only making people know about your business but also driving more users and customers.

Interview Co-Workers and Others

This is going behind-the-scenes stuff. To reveal your transparency, go to your colleagues or people you think to know about your brand.

Interview them to gain more insight about your business and then share the outcome of the interview on your IGTV Series.

People will learn about your business and may take positive actions as the interview is another form of user-generated content.

Stream a Live Event on IGTV

Another smart way to gain trust for your business on IGTV is to upload a live event.

You can host a convention or seminar and upload it to your IGTV. People will learn many things about your brand and also benefit from the great speech of the speakers during the event.

Aside from that, this is an opportunity for viewers that were absent during the convention to watch it virtually. They will appreciate it and as well credit your business.

Host a Talk Show

Hosting a talk show is a straightforward way to promote your brand after uploading it to your IGTV.

You can gather some Influencers or experts in your industry and host a talk show about your brand.

The experts will give more insight into how your business work and how it can benefit the people. This is another smart way of letting people know about your brand.

Best IGTV Practices Tips You Probably Didn’t Know

We are here with some amazing tips for you to promote your business online using IGTV videos.

Cross Promote your IGTV Videos

Don’t streamline your IGTV videos to the IGTV app and Instagram only. You can promote your videos on Facebook or other social media platforms as well.

If Instagram does not allow sharing of your IGTV to other platforms other than Facebook, do a screen recording and share it.

There are some options for cross-promoting your IGTV videos:

1. Share one minute of your IGTV video to your Instagram feed and any profile that sees it will be prompted to view more.
2. Preview and link to an IGTV video from your stories.

Note: This is available to verified accounts only.

1. Share your IGTV videos on your Facebook page.

If you are cross-promoting IGTV videos outside Instagram, which is allowed, use any of these options:

1. Your Facebook page.
2. Email newsletter.
3. Twitter.

Optimize your Videos for Silent Viewing

People that are watching your IGTV videos may have their sound turned on. However, you can’t be sure always.

If you are sharing your IGTV videos on stories, people may not have their sound on.

It is necessary to optimize your video for Silent viewing. This will allow the video to play even when your viewer’s sound is turned off.

Attention is gold these days,  to grab people’s attention, you need to put the most important things up front. While creating your IGTV videos, ensure that you say the most important things from the beginning of the video.

Don’t let the video look boring as well but make sure you deliver the most essential aspect of your video.

For instance, if you are telling people about your brand. Let things like this be at the upfront of your video:

1. What is your brand all about?
2. What can your brand offer to customers?
3. What you can gain using our brand.
4. Why you should use our brand.

Use Relevant Hashtags in your Description

In most of our articles about Instagram business promotions, we have usually used the word hashtags as advice for people to use to increase their presence on the explore page.

It is true! You can include relevant hashtags in your IGTV video description to help nonfollowers to see your videos as well. In that case, you are promoting your brand to be discovered by a larger audience.

As you and I probably know, the Instagram explore page is another PowerPoint to gain massive and relevant followers. Using the advantage of hashtags will be a perfect option to drive an audience for your business.

Don’t just Post Lengthen Videos on IGTV

Give people reasons to watch your IGTV videos. Don’t just post longer videos, they should be relevant and make people follow you.

For example, the video tutorial tip we mentioned earlier can be a reason for people to follow you on IGTV. They have to benefit from the video and not get angry about wasting their data.

Select a Specific Color, theme, and font for your Brand

Don’t let the subheading confuse you. All we mean is that use your brand’s color, theme, and font. You are not representing another company. That means you must let people know you with one identity unless you decide to change it later.

Conclusion

How to upload IGTV videos on Instagram? We have explained the entire steps to upload your IGTV videos on Instagram, therefore we assume that you now can do the same.

There are many benefits of using IGTV videos as a form of marketing strategy to promote our business and the reason is that they open multiple opportunities for us to reach our audience on different platforms.

We can cross-promote our IGTV videos inside and outside Instagram. We can cross-promote our IGTV videos from the app to our Instagram stories, while outside the platform, we use our Facebook page, Twitter, and more.