IGTV Ads: Tips for Brands and Content Creators

Despite the fact that IGTV was launched in 2018, the creators have not found an easy way to monetize this channel, beyond the typical promotion of products directly with their followers. However, in May 2020, Instagram announced that it would allow a select group of creators to make a profit on their videos. 

This opportunity is very interesting for any brand that is looking for a new space in which to communicate its offer. For this reason we will review what are the possibilities of IGTV ads and how to take advantage of them.

Everything you need to know about IGTV ads

Since the first week of June 2020, Instagram offers a monetization program for some of its video creators. This program is still in its initial testing stages, which is why it is not fully available for all accounts.

If you have a brand that wants to be one of the first to start using IGTV ads, you will have to wait until 2021, the year in which the company expects the program to be fully operational. Meanwhile, the chosen influencers are testing said ad platform through a partner program.

With the IGTV ad platform comes a monetization system with which the creator can make a profit from the ads presented there.

• How much can a creator earn from IGTV ads?

Instagram plans to share 55% of the proceeds with its creators. This is the industry standard according to Justin Ososky, COO of the company and in effect it is what platforms like YouTube and Facebook Watch deliver to their creators.

• Who is eligible to trade IGTV ads?

Taking as a reference what happens with Facebook Watch, the pages of this platform are eligible for ads as part of its partner program, when they meet the following criteria:

• They have created 3 minute videos
• His videos have generated more than 30,000 1-minute views in the last 2 months.
• They are users with more than 10,000 followers.
• They are located in countries where live streams are available.
• They comply with the Facebook Monetization Standards.

Similarly, Facebook and the industry in general have the following requirements:

• Users comply with community standards: It does not promote hate speech, it does not incite violence and it does not have explicit sexual content.
• Provide original content: This means no copyright or trademark infringement. Use music, videos and images with their proper authorization or license.
• No #FakeNews: Content that appears to be offering false information will be flagged and removed. This is probably going to get stricter over time.
• Create real interactions: This point is important for those who want to beat the system, generating interactions artificially through robots or fake followers.
• Be real users: This means that you must be registered with a minimum of 90 days on Facebook.
• Follow the policy and governance rules of the platform.

• Why is Instagram running ads on IGTV now?

According to Instagram, due to the importance that content creators have for the platform, it is that it seeks to attract creators from other platforms, through the monetization system. This is important as Instagram has had a difficult time getting users to view and post content for IGTV.

• What will IGTV ads look like?

Although the ads in this app are likely to come with something new, they most likely respect the current ad dimensions and features for Stories.

However, the main difference with existing ads is probably that all content must be animated or video, so you will have to think about your ads so that they comply with the specifications of the platform.

If you want to have an idea of what the specifications of the Instagram videos are, I leave you the ones that currently apply on the platform:

Recommended size: Upload your video at the maximum resolution complying with the limits.

• Minimum: 500 x 889 pixels.
• Aspect ratio: 16: 9 to 4: 5 and 9:16
• Recommended specifications: .MP4 or .MOV formats with a maximum of 120 seconds and a maximum size of 30MB
• Instagram makes the same recommendation as Facebook to upload video. Upload it to the highest resolution possible, which fits within the file size limit, H.264 compression, square pixels, fixed frame rate, progressive scan, and compressed 128kbps + AAC stereo audio.

• How to create an IGTV ad?

As I said before, it is not yet possible to create an IGVT ad. However, considering what the current Instagram ad creation process is like, we can have a good indicator of what to do when you're ready.

To do so, you need to set up a Facebook page and enter through the Ads Manager. Once there you must configure the budget, the type of ad you want to run and upload the video clip, photos or images and the copy.

In any case, we will have to wait until the program is fully operational to know for sure the specifications of this release. In the meantime, it only remains to prepare to fully capitalize on this platform from its inception.