How Many People Use Instagram Television in 2023? (IGTV Rebrand)

Money is in video marketing. Gone were the days when marketers spend hours conceptualizing their posters for social media advertisements.

Today, people do not give a glance at boring content, and videos are one of the best attention-grabbing tools to hook buyers to a product or service.

In this article, you will learn about how many people watch Instagram Television in 2023 – one of the newest internet crazes today.

Other interesting facts will be spilled at the end of the article so make sure to tune in until then.

How Many People Use Instagram Television in 2023?

Research conducted in 2020 showed only 7 million people downloaded the standalone IGTV application during the pandemic year.

This is comparatively lower compared to its main rival, YouTube, which was already close to generating 5 billion app downloads on Google Play alone during the same timeline.

There are two things to this seemingly slow growth.

First, IGTV is still in its infancy.

This is unlike YouTube which has been around since 2005 and has established a great deal of trust among its users over the last 16 years.

Secondly, there is stiff competition with short-video apps. People nowadays have a very short attention span.

This is why many people prefer to use sites supporting this format like TikTok.

Nevertheless, Instagram Television is still on marketers’ radar given its significance, especially in longer advertising formats.

IGTV’s Increasing Watch Rate

Many have branded the app as a “flop” early on its run.

On the other hand, it is proving to be a tougher egg to crack than expected as it increased its watch rate from 17% to 50% in 2021.

It has an average engagement rate of 1.92% which is well situated on the industry average of between 1.0% to 5.0%.

This shows that many are becoming more interested to use IGTV for consuming good quality content as creators post more of their works on the app.

What is Instagram Television?

Instagram Television is among Instagram’s features that require a separate app download to work.

This is unlike Instagram Stories, Instagram Reels, and Instagram Shopping which are already built-in on the IG app itself.

Nevertheless, every download is worth the time as users can post longer videos, with a maximum length of one hour.

It is Meta’s thrust to rival Google’s YouTube which dominates the long video category.

Instagram Television made its debut in 2018 and is currently available in 30 languages across countries serviced by Instagram.

Instagram Television’s Potential

It cannot be denied that Instagram Television is still under the rug compared to its rivals. But we can see a big potential lying to be tapped in the long term.

A recent study shows that there will be more than 2.0 billion video content consumers this year.

Respondents between 18 to 54 years old say they are willing to watch their favorite TV shows using a social media platform, including IGTV.

Given that the platform could accommodate shows running up to an hour, this is already a good advantage point.

Video Marketing Statistics

The majority of marketers are lured by the promise of video advertising.

Here are the top video platforms advertisers love and their percentage of the total market share:

• YouTube Videos – 57%
• Facebook Videos – 50%
• Instagram Stories – 38%
• Instagram Native Video – 26%
• Facebook Stories – 22%
• Twitter Videos – 13%
• LinkedIn Native Videos – 13%
• Instagram Television Videos – 9%
• LinkedIn Stories – 5%
• YouTube Stories – 5%

Despite being a newcomer, Instagram Televisions secured the eighth spot among marketers’ favorite video platforms.

It garnered 9%, topping LinkedIn Stories and YouTube Stories which stalled at 5%.

Instagram Television’s Target Market

Credits: unsplash.com 

It is also best to understand the main target market.

This will help advertisers select the right content to post on the platform.

Here is the secret of the trade. IGTV appeals better to products and services that require more demonstrative advertising.

These include fitness gear, sports equipment, jewelry, and clothing.

Some of the most successful brands that use the platform for marketing are Lululemon, Tarte Cosmetics, ESPN, and Food Network.

Similarly, it appeals more to the younger and curious population of 40 years old and below.

Short IGTV Videos are In

Despite having an hour limit, marketers are reminded to make short and remarkable videos instead of longer ones.

This type of format generates the highest engagements on the app. One to three-minute clips get the most views and occupies 39% of the total.

In 2021, 77% of the entire advertising community have used IGTV at least once for posting content.

The majority of them have used short video formats for their campaigns.

Instagram’s Most Viewed Stories

More than half of Instagram’s two billion population said they like watching videos.

Moreover, 33% of all videos with the highest views on Instagram are from business sites.

Over the years, there has also been an increased amount of time spent watching Instagram videos.

80% of these videos are “how-to” videos which are demonstrative, instructional, and made for IGTV format.

IGTV vs YouTube: Stranger Things 3 Trailer

Even on the release of the Stranger Things 3 trailer, IGTV is giving YouTube a good run for its money. 

The popular Netflix series generated 35 million views and 1.3 million likes on the Google-owned site, with an engagement rate of only 3.71%.

Meanwhile, even after clocking lower views of 2.9 million views and 600,000 likes, Instagram Television’s engagement rate for the Stranger Things ad came at 23.86% which is more important for sales converts.

Conclusion

Instagram Television is still undergoing the birthing pains of being separated from its parent platform.

YouTube’s stronghold on the long-video market and stiffer competition against short-video platforms like TikTok is not making its journey easy. 

On the other hand, it is showing great resilience in terms of engagement rate and overall performance.

This means there is still a large potential to uncover on IGTV if it will be given the right moment to shine.

We hope you enjoyed reading about how many people use Instagram Television in 2023, and other important marketing facts about it. 

Sources