With people having such varying attention spans, what is the perfect Instagram video size to hit the sweet spot with your audience? Let’s find out!
Before Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube were the platforms where you could browse for quality video content. Since the past decade, there are twice as many Instagram users as Snapchat users. Moreover, according to Google Trends, the popularity of Instagram stories was a whopping nine times higher than Snapchat stories!
Instagram videos: The secret to organic growth?
When Instagram first launched its video posting feature on their platform in 2013, back when everyone on the internet resorted to YouTube for longer video content, the count was a whopping 50 videos published within the first 24 hours after the feature rolled out worldwide across all OSs.
In fact, in the first quarter of 2017, around 5.2 million people viewed content created by multiple brands across Instagram. Their secret? The length of their IGTV videos was just enough to capture the users’ attention, but not for long. It managed to grab the sweet spot to grab their attention while not letting them feel bored or having their brand come off as clingy.
Let us move on to what these videos are and how Instagram has classified them on their platform.
When Instagram first launched, it was strictly a photo-sharing platform. We all remember the good old days when we used to upload selfies and pictures of our loved ones with cute captions, and that was it. There was no competition for followers, likes, views, nothing.
Instagram video posts witnessed the highest overall engagement rate, and the engagement rate, when compared to pictures, was more than twice in terms of the reach and impressions that each medium made.
With the boom in technology in all these years, Instagram has always strictly been a phone-only app. As time flies, several brands have moved to Instagram. Today, there are more than 2 million active advertisers on the platform, and in November 2017, there were more than 25 million business profiles on Instagram.
People love videos: More so on Instagram!
According to a trends survey done in 2020, maximum people reported interacting more with a brand with video content of an apt length. That did not put them off from visiting more of their brands but, at the same time, made them watch the entire length of the video, absorbing everything they could about the brand.
Instagram Videos: Everything you need to know!
When you upload a video on Instagram, it is not just a simple post with a video in it. Instagram offers you a wide array of video posting features for different purposes. Some are short videos visible only for a limited period, and some can be hour-long and uploaded for a lifetime! Let’s learn more about these different kinds of videos now, shall we?
- Instagram Stories
Stories were first introduced by Snapchat back in 2013 for people to upload short 15 second videos of their day-to-day activities. Taking inspiration from it, Instagram released a similar video tool that, as its original counterpart, would also disappear after 24 hours.
The video length on Instagram went through revision later to be 15 to 30 seconds and in an aspect ratio of 16:9. But they served the same purpose: Short videos for people or brands to tell their audience what their day looks like or what they have planned for the day or any limited edition one day deals that need instant attention-grabbing, stories are the best way to reach those goals! People upload pictures from their photo gallery or posts that they have already made on the platform so their audience could notice it if the algorithm did not present the post to them.
For brands, it is one of the most efficient ways to drive organic leads and conversions. Their updates are instantly visible to their audience as soon as they share them. As they are always visible at the top of the application user interface, they will catch the attention of anyone using the app.
- Instagram Feed Video
In the original video format of the application, these posts are just as you would make any other post on Instagram. The length of these Instagram videos is at least 60 seconds, and their aspect ratios can vary from video to video. Tags with the locations, contacts of any people who are present in the video. Once they are visible to others, people can interact with them as with any other Instagram post.
- Instagram Live
It is said to be the platform to take on live streaming on mobile. Live streaming has been made relevant by Twitch, a live streaming platform working on the entire concept. Instagram Live does not offer much functionality, but it is accessible anywhere. Within a click, you can connect with your audience in real-time, and with the help of your phone, you can live-stream any hot deals that you might drop to create some sudden hype!
- IGTV
The original video posting platform YouTube has always supported long videos, and Instagram did not shy away from it. IGTV helps you upload all Instagram videos with lengths of more than 1 minute to 60 minutes. These videos, however, cannot be shot live and must be pre-recorded and uploaded from the gallery of your phone.
The user has the option to upload a 15-second preview on their home feed, and people who watch these videos can interact with them as they would with any other Instagram post, be it liking, sharing, or commenting on it. Their aspect ratios could vary as they could be in portrait or landscape (16:9 or 9:16).
- Reels
Again, taking inspiration from the famous app TikTok, Instagram released Reels in 2020, and it took over the platform like wildfire. Filmed in a 16:9 aspect ratio traditionally, these are small bits of visual content in a vertical orientation. Because these videos have a short attention span, it acts as a dispensary of information, and has the maximum engagement rate of Instagram so far, based on the usage of many people and brands.
Instagram for Business: Everything you need?
Brands are now moving to phones that are becoming the norm. In this day, if your business is on Instagram, you are already two steps ahead of your competitors.
Moreover, Instagram has changed the rules by reducing competition and having brands collaborate more for healthier and organic growth. With their fresh ways of engaging with your favorite content creators and with giveaways and promotions, Instagram is a booming market for your business to learn who your competitors are and how you can put yourself forward by bringing something new to the table.
The tools provided by the platform are pretty good. But they lack the automation that social media managers need. It can be cumbersome going over the insights of multiple Instagram profiles. It can be a hassle to take over so many tasks at once and can be a burden to a single person alone.
It is where one of the best social media automation tools on the market – SociNator comes in.
SociNator: One Stop Solution For All Your Instagram Automation Needs.
Instagram does provide you with ways for your audience to engage with your audience. As long as it does help you interact a little back with them in return, how often do you find yourself wondering about all those times your business was not active, that your posts could have made the feeds of more people in some other parts of the world? Or to interact with people when you are offline. Sounds bizarre, right?
It is not. SociNator helps you automate everything for your Instagram business and provides you further insights than you already have. According to the Instagram algorithm, growth happens when you interact with the ones who interact with you.
SociNator has features such as:
- Auto Publishing of Posts.
- Automatically replying to comments with a template.
- Automatically following accounts back who have followed you.
- Auto Liking.
- Automated verification.
- Scheduled and automated publishing of posts, so you can post even when you cannot.
- Handle multiple accounts single-handedly with a culminated dashboard.
- Extract statistics on relevant hashtags.
- Get complete reports and statistics on your pages and their performance!
With the help of SociNator, and all the tools that Instagram has, brands have successfully boosted their engagement. With Socinator as your companion, you will be able to push out quality content in little to no time. Content your customers, would love to interact with, curated specially for them. Reassure your followers with humanely generic responses and talk to them only when they need human assistance! Don’t let your audience think you are not paying attention to them!
With the help of Socinator, your audience will feel valued with prompt replies to their queries without you breaking a sweat! It has led to massive revenue generation in the industry!. Check out SociNator now and let it help you skyrocket your reach like never before!