Remember when YouTube was the dominant video format to upload and watch content? Viral videos found their home on YouTube long before Vine or Tik Tok became a “thing.” While YouTube has the Google search engine to push it forward, IGTV is gaining steam as its biggest competitor. The Cisco Visual Networking Index estimates that by 2021, there will be 1.9 billion Internet video users and will represent 80% of internet traffic. Since YouTube is a stable video platform and IGTV is an emerging video platform let’s see how they compare. We’ll break down their current features to help you determine which platform is best for your audience. What’s the outlook for each platform in 2020 and beyond? Will each video platform’s features influence whether you upload videos to both or just one platform?
How do IGTV & YouTube Compare?
Ownership
IGTV: Instagram launched in 2010. Facebook purchased it for $1 billion dollars in 2012. Instagram then launched the standalone IGTV app in 2018. IGTV videos can be viewed in its own app and on Instagram.
YouTube: The video-sharing site launched in 2005 by three Paypal employees. Google purchased YouTube for $1.65 billion in 2006. YouTube is known as the second largest search engine, right behind Google.
Channels
IGTV: Each user gets an IGTV channel, just like a TV channel. As explained in the IGTV announcement, “When you follow a creator on Instagram, their IGTV channel will show up for you to watch. Anyone can be a creator — you can upload your own IGTV videos in the app or on the web to start your own channel.”
IGTV does not have a system to monetize through ads. But users and content creators can monetize through brand partnerships and product placements.
YouTube: Create a YouTube channel, subscribe to other YouTube channels, manage your channel and even change its name.
YouTube partners with at least 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 public watches in 12 months have the option to monetize video views. Monetizing can come from video ads, similar to Google Adsense. If your YouTube channel was rejected for monetization, the YouTube help center explains why this could have happened. But you can re-apply to be a YouTube partner after 30 days.
Video Length
Depending on your audience’s age and attention span, they may be more likely to watch longer or shorter videos.
IGTV: One of the appealing qualities of IGTV is its video length capability. In its IGTV announcement, Instagram pointed out “unlike on Instagram, videos aren’t limited to one minute.”
You can upload a video of up to 60 minutes. Think about your capabilities of creating a video show or document a recent travel experience. Record a video of your podcast taping session and upload it to IGTV.
YouTube: Upload a video of up to 15 minutes on a standard YouTube channel. Verified YouTube accounts can upload videos of up to 12 hours or 128G, whichever is shorter.
Video format
When YouTube launched landscape or horizontal videos were the dominant platform because most people viewed them on desktop computers.
IGTV: As a mobile app, it’s optimized for vertical or portrait videos and the way smartphone users hold their devices.
YouTube: Landscape videos are ideal for YouTube, although you may have noticed more vertical videos in your YouTube feed as “stories.”
YouTube has recognized that more viewers are watching videos are on their mobile phones and holding them vertically. It’s clearly following the lead of Instagram stories and Facebook stories which are vertical, shorter videos.
Description box
The description box for videos can be the real “money maker” by providing the option to add links to drive traffic or affiliate links to drive sales. Hashtags and keywords can help new followers find your video content. How much attention do you give to what’s in the description box of a video?
RELATED TOPIC: How to Optimize the YouTube Description Box
IGTV: 2200 character limit
YouTube: 1000 character limit
Do you have questions about how to use IGTV or YouTube?
For help uploading and formatting your videos, visit the Instagram Help Center and the YouTube Help Center.
If you’re planning to create more video content in 2020, we have a gift guide for bloggers and influencers. It has a curated list of accessories that can help step up the production level of video content.
CLICK TO TWEET: IGTV vs. YouTube: How Do the Video Platforms Compare? via @TheNetworkNiche
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