Instagram has completely reorganized the videos in its application to offer a simpler experience. Now, Instagram TV has disappeared and in its place we have Instagram Video, which merges the videos from the feed with those from IGTV. Of course, the options to upload videos to Stories and create Reels are still maintained. Complicated? Don’t worry: we explain in detail everything you need to understand videos on Instagram.
What is Instagram Video? Old Instagram TV or IGTV
On October 2021Instagram announced that combined the old Instagram TV and feed videos into a new format called “Instagram Video”. They have also added a new tab called “Video” in the profile, where these new combined videos can be accessed. In addition, the new video format incorporates features such as trimming, filtering, and tagging people and locations.
With this update, Instagram intends to simplify its video ecosystem and remain competitive against platforms such as YouTube or TikTok. In short, we will have of different video formatseach with its respective tab:
- the Reels (TikTok type) and
- the Instagram videos Video (which can range from short to 60 minutes long).
You no longer need to install a separate app like IGTV was to watch long videos.
Content creators can continue to publish their videos in Stories and share them through direct messages, to take advantage of all the possibilities of interaction with their audiences.
At the statistical level, Instagram has announced that it will merge data from feed posts and videos into a single combined metric for businesses and content creators.
Video ads on Instagram
With this new release, Instagram TV ads are now called “Instagram in-stream video ads”. Brands can place ads on long-form videos to reach the audiences that matter most to them.
Promoted videos (where the brand pays to reach more people) will be limited to a length of 60 seconds.
How does Instagram Video work?
Hereinafter, all videos will be visible as normal posts in the feed. In the case of long videos, we can see a short introduction in the feed and enter them to continue playing them. Video previews in the feed will be 60 seconds long. If the video is eligible to be used as an ad, this length will be limited to 15 seconds.
When entering a user’s profile, in the place that until now was occupied by the IGTV tab, we will be able to see the new video tab with a new icon and name. Here we can access all the videos that a user has published. Users can tap anywhere on videos to play them full screen and scroll down to see new content from creators they might be interested in.
What’s more, the process for creating and uploading videos is also easier, as we now have a single option to upload videos of any length. In the next section you can see how to upload videos to Instagram from your mobile or your computer.
How to upload videos to Instagram step by step
From the phone
You have several options to upload videos from the mobile application, since you can share them directly in your feed, in Reels or in Stories. Let’s see each of them.
Upload videos to feed
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Tap the + icon at the top right of the screen and select “Post.”
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Choose a video saved on your mobile or touch the camera icon to record one.
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Choose the format you prefer: vertical, square or horizontal. Tap “Next”.
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Select a filter and crop the video if you need. On this screen you can also turn the sound on or off. Tap “Next”.
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Finally, on the final screen you can write a caption, tag other people, add a location, add the video to a series, add a fundraiser, share on Facebook, and configure advanced settings (preview, cover page, etc.). profile, comments and captions).
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Tap “Share”.
Upload videos to Reels
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Tap the + icon at the top right of the screen and select “Reel”.
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Choose a video saved on your mobile or touch the camera icon to record one.
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Edit your video with stickers, music, filter, playback speed and other effects. Tap “Next”.
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Write a caption and choose whether to add a cover photo, share the Reel to your feed at the same time, or tag other users.
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Tap “Share”.
Upload videos to Stories
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Tap the + icon at the top right of the screen and select “Story”.
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Choose a video saved on your mobile or touch the camera icon to record one. If you choose one of your mobile, you will go directly to edit the content, if not, the option to record will appear.
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Edit your video with text, stickers, music, mentions, etc.
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Tap “Your Story.”
from a computer
Previously, to upload photos and videos to Instagram from your computer, you had to implement a little trick to access the mobile version of the application. But now it is no longer necessary, since Instagram has included the option to upload content natively from its version for computers. You just have to follow these steps:
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Click the + icon at the top right of the screen.
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Click “Choose from computer” and choose the file you want to upload.
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Drag and drop the video to trim it. You can choose between square, vertical or horizontal format. Click “Next.”
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Choose the cover image, crop it if you need it and turn the sound on or off. Click “Next.”
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Finally, you can tag other people in the video, write a caption, add a location, configure accessibility settings, and turn comments on or off.
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Hit “Share” and voila!
For now it is not possible to upload videos to Reels or Stories from the computer, but this may change as Instagram updates its application.
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