If you have the Instagram app updated, you have certainly noticed that a new icon of a television appeared on the top right. This is IGTV, Instagram's new feature that lets you share longer videos.

By clicking on this icon you will immediately find content divided into four categories:

• For you: Suggested content based on user interests

• Following: content shared by users and followed pages

• Popular: content with many views

• Keep watching: content that has not been fully reproduced

For content creators, the wait for a long-running video format was long. Up to now, Instagram only allowed posting videos with a maximum duration of 1 minute. You can now share videos with a maximum length of one hour.

This new duration limit allows more flexibility and imagination. In any case, Instagram has released an IGTV manual for content creators suggesting an ideal duration of 10 to 15 minutes, that is, similar to YouTube vlogs.

Videos posted on IGTV should be recorded in the vertical format rather than the more conventional horizontal orientation. For now, there are no ads, but Instagram has pointed out during the announcement of the new app that the hypothesis is not totally out of the question.

One of the most interesting aspects of this app is that IGTV is not only an integral part of the Instagram application, it is also available as a standalone application and can be installed through the Play Store, App Store, among others.

And for Marketing Professionals? What does this mean?

In terms of concept, IGTV is similar to YouTubeTV or Facebook Watch. Marketing professionals say it is one more platform to be aware of and to take advantage of. If the growth of the app is proportional to the success of the launch, it will certainly be a very useful platform for companies as a marketing tool.

While there are no ads yet, they are most likely to emerge in the near future and are expected to be managed through Facebook Business Manager. Even if your company does not have the means to produce content for IGTV or is not familiar with this new feature of Instagram, our advice is to download the application and start exploring the features.

Each new platform is a new opportunity to create content and expand the business, attracting new customers and driving conversions.

So far, IGTV has had very positive reviews. Instagram is in its best moment ever, having recently reached one billion users.