GINGERBEARD News - Longer Instagram Videos
So recently Instagram announced that it was introducing a gradual roll out for all users to have the ability to upload longer videos.
Moving on from the standard 15 second video clips that we've all had for some time now, the snaphappy platform reported that it would allow users up to 60 seconds of film to be uploaded.
So in this News video, we take a look at why this is happening and some of the impact this will have for businesses.
So let's start with the why's
The change has been pushed because of a number of things, but really the route cause can be identified as two fold. The platform is free for 400 million users and it was purchased by Facebook in 2012.
As we've seen with Facebook - the platform which started and remains as free needs to generate income in other ways. Facebook uses the sale of targeted advertising (using the data it holds on its users) to generate it's income.
We saw this same revenue plan in September 2015 when Instagram announced it was bringing sponsored (paid advertising) posts to the platform.
With an increase in user base (up 15% in 2016) and that the platform has noticed in the last 6 months that users spent more than 40% more time watching videos, the next logical step is what they have recently announced - longer videos that have an option for sponsorship.
What does this mean to business and my small business?
Well, firstly you can get your advertising out to a different market using video, and this time you can do it with longer videos. Expect to see bigger companies take full advantage of this longer time frame.
However - we'll need to ensure this content is engaging ;- after all it's just so easy to scroll past.
Here at GINGERBEARD Media, we also think we're going to see a change in content as well as style. Media content that couldn't be squeezed into 15 seconds, can easily be communicated in 60. Think of your business putting out customer testimonials. However;- just as sponsored pictures have had to align with Instagram's style, we think videos will have to to.
In the long run we're also predicting that, like Facebook, Instagram's new "favouriting algorithm" will mean that videos get preferred treatment over photos. This will be an interesting change for a "photo-sharing" app, and we'll be curious to see if any of the old instagram die-hard fans notice this change.
But these are our initial thoughts and we'd love to hear yours in the comment section below.
As ever if you would like to chat about how video can help you business, please feel free to get in touch.
Bruce Garrod; reporting on more than just a beard.
