With the rollout of Instagram’s newest feature, IGTV, you may be wondering if your creative business should be leveraging this platform and how to even begin using it.

Unlike me, you may be sitting on the sidelines watching everyone else talk about and even jump on board with Instagram’s latest feature. And, while I’ve jumped in head first into this addition, there are a couple key things to keep in mind before determining if this is the right step for you and your business.

Before we dive in, I just wanna throw it out there, that I haven’t always been one of the early adopters. There have been many times I’ve sat on the sidelines and watched others get their toes wet before I decided to join in on the fun. And, trust me, there is no right or wrong here, you have to determine what makes the most sense for you and your efforts. BUT, start by asking yourself these 3 questions before making that decision ????????

3 QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF TO DETERMINE IF IGTV IS RIGHT FOR YOUR CREATIVE BIZ

1 | IS YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE THERE?

First and foremost, before you jump on in or rule it out, is your target audience hanging out on IGTV?

If your audience isn’t hanging out on this platform (and to be perfectly honest, I think it’s a little early to make that determination, as most people are still learning about it), then this is not where you should be spending your precious time marketing your biz. Because, let’s be very real, creating additional content, and showing up on ANOTHER platform is time-consuming – it takes precious time and effort away from other initiatives that could better be serving your tribe and your business.

BUT, if your tribe is hanging out on IGTV, then you may want to entertain the idea of showing up and creating content on this channel. Just remember, you don’t have to.

2 | HAVE YOU BEEN CONSIDERING VIDEO?

I was eager to jump into this long-form video content because it’s already been on my radar. I’ve been planning on starting a YouTube channel to have informative, tutorial type content to further enhance posts just like this. YouTube is a great platform for that type of content, especially because it’s a search engine, just like Google! Perfect for intent, and serving up content exactly when someone is looking for it.

However, it’s been taking me a while to get up and running with YouTube for a few reasons. It’s time-consuming to create and edit video, especially the type of educational, hands-on content I want to create. And, because I don’t currently have a presence on YouTube, so it will take me awhile to get everything truly up and running.

So, if you’ve been thinking about implementing a YouTube strategy, but have been dragging your feet like me, IGTV is a great stepping stone to help get us there.

This is a good opportunity to play around with video in a way that doesn’t need to be as polished and time-consuming as YouTube.

So, if you’ve been considering implementing a video strategy but haven’t jumped in yet, get your feet wet, and play with this new feature on Instagram, where you most likely already have an audience.

3 | TEST TO SEE IF IT RESONATES

This one is more of a tip rather than a question, but it’s so important to remember that most marketing is a hypothesis that needs to be tested, tweaked, and tested again. If you’re curious about the platform and aren’t sure if your audience is there or if it will even resonate with them, test it out. See what works, what doesn’t and adjust accordingly.

You may find that it’s not the platform that isn’t resonating, but the content you’re producing. If you create two different types of video content and one performs way better than the other, do more of the one that performed better.

Marketing, heck, running a business, is not a one-size fit all model. Sure there are blueprints and guides that can lead the way, but everyone’s business and audience is different, don’t look to the left and right to determine what you should be doing, make that decision on your own based on your business priorities and your tribe.

At the beginning of the year, I shared 8 tips to leverage your social media marketing, embracing video was high on that list. There are some other good nuggets of info in there that are still applicable to rockin’ your social media efforts, even if we are already halfway through the year ????

I’d love to continue the conversation around IGTV, let me know what you think about the newest feature and if it’s something you plan on using for your business!

And, well, if you haven’t already, head over to my channel to watch the second episode.

xo,

Sianne