Something new is coming to  Instagram that will affect users and marketers. Instagram is now internally testing ads during Instagram Television (IGTV) videos. IGTV is one of the newest features for video content on Instagram and it seems to be sparked by the rising trend of videos on social media. We’ll dive deeper into the birth of this feature later on along with why Instagram waited to allow ads on IGTV videos.

Instagram has admitted to being afraid of the 2020 powerhouse, TikTok, and was the initial spark behind a new outlet for video content on Instagram. Instagram realized the rapid growth of popularity for this video only social media platform and felt the pressure from their video competitors. Instagram being a huge social media platform, they often find competition with other video-heavy platforms like YouTube and tries to stay relevant with this growing trend.

With the new release of IGTV creators were excited for the possibility for gaining revenue with ads on their videos but months passed and Instagram still hadn’t allowed companies to advertise on IGTV. CEO of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, stated that he wanted to be sure this function was strong enough and that the content was good enough before implementing advertisements. He worried that the content on IGTV wouldn’t be interesting enough to keep people watching through the ads. Instagram is a business. This is why Mosseri has admitted that the delay on ads for IGTV was strategic and that he didn’t want to throw money into something that in the end might not make money back. Instagram is an advertising outlet that has generated 20 billion dollars in ad revenue in the last year. 

With recent updates to Instagram and the IGTV function, there has been a spark in IGTV popularity once previews for videos were placed in the Explore page. With this internal testing, creators can be hopeful for the possibility to make money by getting ad spots in longer videos. For marketers and advertisers, this is great news as they have another outlet to get their message seen by a new audience.