Instagram is trying to make its video app IGTV more popular. Some new features make for a better user experience and better visibility of channels.
Social Media Today reports the following changes.
New, more user-friendly Layout
A new IGTV layout, already discovered by various users on Instagram, is reminiscent of Snapchat’s Discover page. The videos are displayed below each other in large tiles. This allows the user to see more videos at a glance. Also, the profile view within IGTV has changed: The area with information about the profile gets more space and attention.
Source: Social Media Today
Picture-in-Picture Display of Videos
Tech blogger Jane Manchun Wong also discovered that playing IGTV videos, similar to YouTube, continue to run picture-in-picture even when leaving the app.
Instagram’s IGTV is testing Picture-in-Picture outside of the app! pic.twitter.com/lmeaMBDkwi
— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) 22. Februar 2019
The mentioned new features have been rolled out in selected regions so far and will probably be spread more and more in the coming time.
In-Feed Promo for Videos
At the beginning of the month, Instagram had already rolled out a new feature of IGTV. If a profile that you follow publishes a video, a preview will appear in your feed. A click on it leads you to the full video.
Now, you can preview IGTV videos in your feed. When there’s a new video from someone you follow, you can tap from your feed to watch the full video in IGTV. (👋 @HannahStocking) pic.twitter.com/tkYSchB7E8
— Instagram (@instagram) 7. Februar 2019
Of course, the new options are designed primarily to keep Instagram users on the platform for longer. But from a marketing perspective, they are also great because they make profiles more visible and allow IGTV videos to be discovered by more people.
