How to Grow Your Business Using Video on Instagram

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Instagram hints they are becoming more of a video-sharing app. Here’s how to grow your business using video on Instagram.

It looks like there are major changes in the works for the giant social media platform, Instagram, as hinted at by Instagram Chief Adam Mosseri.

The points he made have emphasized how important it is to grow your business using video on Instagram and the benefits attached to this approach. In his recent post, Mosseri outlined the company’s plan for the coming years, asserting that Instagram is no longer simply a “square photo-sharing app”.

He went on to highlight how the social media platform will be working towards developing greater entertainment and video content sharing and production, similarly to its competitors YouTube and Tiktok.

Their developers will be “trying to build new experiences primarily in four areas – creators, videos, shopping and messaging”.

Instagram is no longer simply a “square photo-sharing app”

Focus Area 1: Creators

Instagram’s first and foremost priority remains supporting its creators in earning a living through content creation with improved monetization capabilities. Mosseri did acknowledge the movement of power from institutions to individuals throughout businesses, with him wanting Instagram to follow in suit.

Focus Area 2: Video Content

Video is ranked as the second most important factor, and this should come as no surprise as video content has experienced tremendous growth on all major social platforms in the past few years.

According to a recent survey, 60% of businesses use video as a marketing tool. With this trend not dying down, Instagram plans to invest more heavily in video content. Mosseri explained that Instagram will experiment with how video is displayed and interacted with as a content format.

“We’re also going to be experimenting with how we embrace video more broadly — full screen, immersive, entertaining, mobile-first video. And so you’ll see us do several things, or experiment with several things in this space over the coming months.”

Focus Area 3: Shopping Functionality

The third area of focus is an expansion of its shopping functionality, with the COVID-19 pandemic accelerating the shift of commerce from brick-and-mortar establishments to brick-and-click, e-commerce platforms.

From the start of 2020 to now, the digital industry has been propelled forward by several years. Instagram is making the prudent decision to capitalize on these shifts and improve access to shopping capabilities.

Focus Area 4: Messaging

According to Mosseri, the fourth area that Instagram aims to expand is messaging, which has emerged as the major method for individuals to communicate with their close friends on the platform. Lines of communication have transitioned away from feed postings and stories in the last five years, emphasizing direct messaging (DMs).

Instagram Video Content and Business Growth in 2021

Studies have shown that 54% of consumers want to see more video content from the businesses and brands which they follow and support. With the average person spending 100 minutes each day watching online videos in 2021, up by 16 minutes from 2020, as an entrepreneur or business owner, you should start implementing video marketing strategies now to grow your business using video on Instagram.

You may not think your audience is on Instagram so why bother. But consider this: Instagram is currently the sixth most used social media platform in the world (behind Facebook, Youtube, WhatsApp, FB Messenger and WeChat) with 500 million daily active users.

That makes Instagram a great opportunity to expand your audience. And with Instagram’s video capabilities: IGTV, Instagram Live, Reels, Instagram Story and 60-second Instagram video posts, there are plenty of opportunities for small business owners to take advantage of the ability to create a community of consumers.

How to Grow Your Business Using Video on Instagram in 2021

Using Instagram videos to increase consumer interaction and brand exposure is a terrific approach to expand your business. So, with this in mind, we will break down the tactics you can start using today to grow your business using video on Instagram.

1. Instagram Video Posts

The easiest way to get started with using video on Instagram is to post a 60-second video directly to your Instagram feed. You can use this format to develop your company’s corporate identity, recap business events, or even deliver news and updates to your target audience. 60-second videos live in your Instagram feed and offer an opportunity for both entertaining and educational content to be delivered to your audience.

2. Instagram Story

Instagram Stories are short videos that are only available for 24 hours. Instagram Stories are great for behind-the-scenes content, a day-in-the-life of, and Instagram Takeovers. But you can also push pre-recorded video clips to Instagram Story. With online tools such as Canva, posting flyers or sales announcements are also popular types of content for Instagram Story.

3. IGTV

Instagram TV (IGTV) is the most recent type of video capability on Instagram. IGTV provides the opportunity to post longer-form video content on Instagram (up to 60 minutes), which allows you to make content that’s even more valuable to your audience. With IGTV, you can create a series of videos that your committed followers can benefit from. Think about hosting a recurring episodic series, product tutorials or how-to videos.

4. Instagram Live

Instagram Live is a fantastic method to connect with your followers and increase consumer loyalty by providing them with what is essentially the next best thing to a face-to-face connection. Hold a Q&A session to make the most of this format. Ask customers to send in their questions and you’ll respond at a set day and time on IG Live or do a guest interview.

5. Instagram Reels

The latest edition to the Instagram roaster of video capabilities is Instagram Reels, short, 15 or 30-second videos that offer a set of editing tools that allow users to create engaging and fun video footage. Reels can include multiple video clips, filters, captions, interactive backgrounds, stickers and more. With Instagram Reels, you can share educational content, showcase your products, share behind-the-scenes, announce new products or sales and run ads.

With all these options—from quick, 15-second clips on Instagram Reels to longer-form video content on IGTV, it can be easy to want to use the same video on all these in-app platforms, but keep in mind that video content should be produced with their respective format in mind. Your audience wants authenticity and they want to know that you’re committed to being a true publisher and creator when posting content on Instagram.

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Conclusion

Producing video is one of the best ways to grow your business on Instagram. To get started in building out a video marketing strategy that includes Instagram, get in touch with us today.