On Wednesday, Instagram announced that it is now focusing on its influencer community. It is rolling out long-form IGTV videos that allow them to monetize it. According to digital experts, this would mean a perfect opportunity for the influencer marketing industry and the entire platform to grow. Instagram hopes that with the program, it will share revenue with creators through IGTV ads along with badges that viewers can purchase on Instagram Live.
In its announcement, Instagram said starting next week, it is introducing IGTV ads on its long-form video destination. It aims at supporting creator investment on the platform by sharing advertisement revenue with them. “IGTV ads will initially appear when people click on watch IGTV videos from previous in their feed. The video ads will be built for mobile and are up to 15 seconds long. We’ll test various experiences within IGTV ads throughout the year-such as the ability to skip an ad to make sure the final result works well for people, creators and advertisers.”
While explaining how badges will work, Instagram added that badges will appear next to an individual’s name throughout the live video. Fans who have purchased badges on Live stands out from the comments section and have the opportunity to unlock extra features. This includes a creators list of all badge holders and easy access to a special heart.
According to experts including Ashutosh Harbola, CEO and Founder, Buzzoka, the move by Instagram is a positive one as it rolls out exceptional and creative ways to make money from its IGTV content.
Shrenik Gandhi, White Rivers Media, CEO and Co-Founder says IGTV has less than single-digit percentage of all stand-alone downloads, the new move will fuel its real growth.
Sumera Dewan, AVP, an account management expert at Denstu Webchutney, says the move will help IGTV that was struggling for survival ahead of the pandemic. Monetizing from the platform will be a reality for the platform.