Will Video Kill The Instagram Star?
As social media platforms continue to advance, it’s becoming increasingly necessary for business owners to incorporate them into their marketing plans. Instagram has become popular among entrepreneurs due to its visual nature and strong audience base. As of December 2021, Instagram boasts over 2 billion million active users worldwide.
Last summer, Instagram announced that it will be switching to a more video-focused platform. When it launched in 2010, Instagram, initially, focused on images, but in recent years, it has added the ability to post videos and stories to compete with other social media platforms. Initially in 2021, Instagram merged IGTV and Feed videos into a single format: Instagram Video.
Subsequently, Instagram decided to remove the IGTV feature from its platform altogether. Eventually, the company announced that it has decided to simplify video content for feed posts even further. This means Instagram has fully switched its video content into single format, the reel. The change will also affect ads.
Adam Mosseri, Instagram’s CEO says the shift to video is a reflection of how people are interacting with and sharing content on the app. He says more videos are being shared on Instagram, so it makes sense for Instagram to lean into that shift while continuing to support photo content.
As we know, one of Instagram’s biggest competitors is TikTok, which became extremely popular for its short vertical video content. In response to TikTok’s wild success, Instagram started to more heavily feature video content, including introducing their own version of Stories.
This change comes as TikTok itself recently rolled out a big change for their platform, with the ability to upload videos up to 3 minutes long. TikTok is particularly popular with younger audiences and continues to gain ground against traditional social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram.
The change is meant to give users more video options and help them engage with content.
Are you ready for the change?
What does this mean for your Instagram account?
Although users started seeing changes around October 2021, the full implementation did not take place overnight, but rather over a period of time.
The goal was to have all users seamlessly switch their content over into this new format without any disruption to the user experience.
This new change to a single-format video will still distinguish between Reels, Stories, and Lives. However, since the app will now have one video format to post, it will make the process of creating content easier.
Additionally, you should be aware that anyone can use your publicly visible posts, including still photographs, in their own reels unless you prevent it beforehand.
According to Instagram, they improved their algorithm in order to make sure that users see more video content, which should help Instagram accounts increase their organic reach.
Instagram’s parent company, Meta, says videos posted prior to this change will remain as videos and won’t become Reels.
While the app still continues to support photos, Adam Mosseri says, “more and more of Instagram is going to become a video, over time.”
Bottom line: This may just be one of many video-related updates which we can expect moving forward.
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