Conviva, the continuous measurement platform for streaming media, released its 2021 IGTV Benchmarks report today, detailing how brands are using IGTV as well as how Instagram’s long-form video feature is faring overall. The report, which analyzed more than 25,000 accounts, 54,000 IGTV videos, 400 million engagements and 4 billion video views, found IGTV has grown rapidly since its 2018 release, up from a 2% share in 2019 to a 10% share of Instagram posts in 2021.

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“Video is core to every social platform, delivering significantly higher engagement rates and providing a fresh and creative way for brands to reach new audiences”

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“Video is core to every social platform, delivering significantly higher engagement rates and providing a fresh and creative way for brands to reach new audiences,” said Keith Zubchevich, CEO, Conviva. “New, longer-form formats like IGTV in particular offer a way for companies to create a deeper connection with viewers who can fully immerse themselves in the brand.”

Newer Instagram Formats Reign Supreme

Carousel posts (posts with multiple photos or videos) grew from under 15% of all posts in 2019 and 2020 to 20% of all posts in 2021. Together, carousel and IGTV posts accounted for 30% of all posts in the first half of 2021, double the share commanded just two years prior. Carousel posts had the highest engagement rate of any post format, ranging from 1.2% for brands to 5.4% for sports accounts. Carousels including video resulted in 17% greater reach, 16% more impressions and 12% more engagements than image-only carousels.

Unsurprisingly, standalone photo posts declined from 56% share in 2019 to just over half of all posts in 2020 and 2021, while standalone videos dropped from nearly 30% share in 2019 to 18% in 2021.

IGTV’s Engagement Long Tail

While the majority of video engagement on Instagram traditionally comes on day one of a post, Conviva found IGTV posts have a surprisingly long shelf life. IGTV videos receive only 63% of their total views on the first day of posting, compared to 85% for carousels and 72% for standalone Instagram videos. Carousels get 7% of their views on the third day and beyond, videos 19%, and IGTV a significantly higher 29%.

Short Descriptions Win

IGTV posts with the shortest descriptions earned the highest engagement, yet these shorter descriptions are rarely used. Conviva’s analysis of the engagement rate of 54,000 IGTV videos found the highest engagement rate for posts occurred when descriptions were between one and 50 characters. No description, or 0 characters, also performed well while descriptions with 100-800 characters had the lowest engagement.

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