Hoping to cash in on consumers’ growing appetite for video content, Instagram has announced that it will soon allow users to upload long-form videos to the social network. As of 20 June, Instagram users can post videos up to an hour long.
According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, Instagram’s decision to allow longer-form video content comes roughly two years after it first launched its successful Stories feature, which lets users add photos and 15-second video clips that disappear after 24 hours. Instagram now estimates that nearly 300 million users post Stories daily.
The move also follows changes to the Facebook algorithm, which puts a greater emphasis on video content. With more focus on video, both Facebook and Instagram can capitalise on the earning potential of video advertising, which typically sells better than more traditional ads.
Users will only be able to upload and post pre-recorded videos. They will not be able to shoot and post long videos in the app.
Instagram officials say that while it expects some regular users to post long-form videos, the feature is actually geared toward digital and content marketers, publishers, social media figures and influencers.
According to TechCrunch, the feature is more focused on the sort of videos that you see from YouTube creators. These will often last from five to 15 minutes in length, and are shot with good-quality cameras and lighting, but not a huge Hollywood production crew.
Eventually, Instagram hopes to monetise long-form video content for creators and publishers, though specific details about how this can be done are not clear.
