The quickly trending video sharing app, TikTok, has captivated the attention of over 500 million users across the world – and Instagram has taken notice. Now trying to compete with TikTok’s strong stance and video marketing footsteps, Instagram has shifted away from IGTV (Instagram’s mobile-first short video format experiment) to Reels to rival TikTok head to head.

Instagram’s IGTV was the platform’s first experiment utilizing full-screen videos, followed by the platform’s release of mobile-first short video format, Reels, a rival to TikTok. Now, Instagram is ready to make a major shift.

Adam Mosseri, Head of Instagram, recently announced that Instagram will be leaning into entertainment and video, inspired by the success of TikTok and YouTube.

These announcements, shared on Mosseri’s Twitter and Instagram, stated:

“At Instagram we’re always trying to build new features that help you get the most out of your experience. Right now we’re focused on four key areas: Creators, Video, Shopping and Messaging….we are no longer a square photo-sharing app. The number one reason people say that they use Instagram in research is to be entertained…there’s stiff competition and there’s more to do then we have to embrace that. And that means change.”

Over the next few months, Instagram will be applying a variety of tests – from adjusting what content users see in their recommendations and which types of content categories viewers would like to see more of, as well as adjusting video in the full-screen view to entertain the idea of making the app mobile-first AND video-first.

This news release and heads-up have content creators and advertising agencies thinking hard about their next move and their strategies ahead of time, excited over the benefits of longer screen time but weary of the ad interruptions. Mosseri goes on to explain that Instagram plans to be very transparent on how they navigate these changes over the next year.

In response, TikTok, the rapid-fire entertainment app, has been experimenting with 3-minute videos as opposed to the original 60 second limit.

“With all the ways our community has redefined expression in under 60 seconds, we’re excited to see how people continue to entertain and inspire with a few more seconds – and a world of creative possibilities.” – Drew Kirchhoff, Product Manager, TikTok.

Splendor understands how vital social media is to the success of our clientele, and we have seen it first-hand. Splendor’s Social Media and Design team has been working diligently to curate high-impact, unrivaled video content and will continue to expand this initiative over time. As our team looks forward, we also celebrate the promotions of Diego Zubieta-Soto, our now Designer and Motion Specialist, and Brianna Hubit, our Social Media Manager.

“At Splendor, we pride ourselves on being a full-service, strategic social media agency. Social media has grown to be one of our core services for our clients across all platforms. We are constantly looking at these platforms and the types of services we provide for each brand, what content attracts and holds engagement. Prior to the recent announcement of Instagram’s video focus, we’ve been looking at Tik-Tok and how this channel would be suitable for specific brands. In general, we think videos are one of the most high-impact tools to captivate potential clientele. We will miss the square-photo focused app that Instagram once was, but we think video is one of the best things that could happen to help elevate our client’s brand and bring their content to the next level!”- states Alexandra Venier, Vice President of Splendor.

Stay tuned for what the future holds for Instagram!

Sources:
The Verge
The Washington Post
Tik Tok
Business Insider
Stratechery
Hootsuite
Entrepreneur 
Social Media Today
Search Engine Journal
DPReview