Instagram Reportedly Planning Hub for Longer Videos to Compete With Snapchat Discover

[MacRumors]

Instagram is gearing up to launch a hub for "longer-form video," according to multiple sources speaking with TechCrunch, in an effort to continue its competition with Snapchat and the "Discover" tab, as well as YouTube.

The dedicated space will feature scripted shows, music videos, and more, which will all be vertically shot and viewable in full-screen 4K on compatible smartphones.

The announcement could come as soon as June 20, and Instagram is meeting with social media stars and other video partners ahead of the reveal.

Videos are expected to be 5-15 minutes in length with a spotlight section highlighting popular videos, and a "continue watching" area for quickly jumping back into videos that users start but don't finish in one session.

Outside of the hub, these longer clips will be able to get featured on the creator's profiles near Stories Highlights at the top. It appears that there will be heavy oversight by Instagram, since creators won't be able to fully shoot and post these longer videos on their own, "as the section will only allow pre-made video uploads."

As of now, no name for the hub or where it will be located in the app have yet to be given. The sources did state that Instagram is planning to let creators eventually earn money off the videos through advertisements.

Instagram is preparing to unveil a home for longer-form video -- a YouTube competitor and its take on Snapchat Discover. According to multiple sources, Instagram will offer a dedicated space featuring scripted shows, music videos and more in vertically oriented, full-screen, high-def 4K resolution.

The public shouldn't expect Netflix Originals or HBO-level quality. This is not "InstaGame of Thrones." Instead, the feature is more focused on the kind of videos you see from YouTube creators.

The push into longer videos for Instagram comes after Facebook debuted the "Watch" tab in its own app last year. In Watch, Facebook users can watch original TV shows, jump in on live broadcasts, save items to a watchlist, check out sports coverage, and more.

Snapchat's Discover tab has a "For You" section that highlights the latest Stories from publishers like the NBA, IGN, VICE, The New York Times, and more. Users can subscribe to these creators and get new updates pushed to a subscription box in the tab.

Instagram's long-form video hub will likely take ideas from both of these platforms when it launches later in the summer. Snapchat has had a rocky few months and seen its "slowest user growth rate ever" in the wake of the app's controversial redesign. As TechCrunch points out, "Instagram and its massive user count may be able to seduce publishers to bring longer videos to its app instead," just as it did with users and the Snapchat Stories format in 2016.

Article Link: Instagram Reportedly Planning Hub for Longer Videos to Compete With Snapchat Discover

 

[OldSchoolMacGuy]

Engagement with longer video (up the the current 15 second limit) is already far lower than very short video. Adding long form video isn't going to benefit most accounts. Instagram users have an incredibly short attention span (shorter than Facebook and others). They're not looking to watch a 20 minute video on the site.

 

[tzm41]

Engagement with longer video (up the the current 15 second limit) is already far lower than very short video. Adding long form video isn't going to benefit most accounts. Instagram users have an incredibly short attention span (shorter than Facebook and others). They're not looking to watch a 20 minute video on the site.

Currently video experience on Instagram is tailored towards short videos. Wonder if that would change if they add long videos function.

 

[Mizouse]

No to vertical videos

 

[OldSchoolMacGuy]

Currently video experience on Instagram is tailored towards short videos. Wonder if that would change if they add long videos function.

15 second videos perform far more poorly than shorter videos on the platform now. Unless something changes greatly, the current state is unlikely to change. People have incredibly short attention spans on Instagram (more so than the other networks actually). They're unlikely to suddenly change that and engage with long-form content.

 

[Blkberryaddic]

Instagram is gearing up to launch a hub for "longer-form video," according to multiple sources speaking with TechCrunch, in an effort to continue its competition with Snapchat and the "Discover" tab, as well as YouTube.

The dedicated space will feature scripted shows, music videos, and more, which will all be vertically shot and viewable in full-screen 4K on compatible smartphones.

The announcement could come as soon as June 20, and Instagram is meeting with social media stars and other video partners ahead of the reveal.

Videos are expected to be 5-15 minutes in length with a spotlight section highlighting popular videos, and a "continue watching" area for quickly jumping back into videos that users start but don't finish in one session.

Outside of the hub, these longer clips will be able to get featured on the creator's profiles near Stories Highlights at the top. It appears that there will be heavy oversight by Instagram, since creators won't be able to fully shoot and post these longer videos on their own, "as the section will only allow pre-made video uploads."

As of now, no name for the hub or where it will be located in the app have yet to be given. The sources did state that Instagram is planning to let creators eventually earn money off the videos through advertisements.
The push into longer videos for Instagram comes after Facebook debuted the "Watch" tab in its own app last year. In Watch, Facebook users can watch original TV shows, jump in on live broadcasts, save items to a watchlist, check out sports coverage, and more.

Snapchat's Discover tab has a "For You" section that highlights the latest Stories from publishers like the NBA, IGN, VICE, The New York Times, and more. Users can subscribe to these creators and get new updates pushed to a subscription box in the tab.

Instagram's long-form video hub will likely take ideas from both of these platforms when it launches later in the summer. Snapchat has had a rocky few months and seen its "slowest user growth rate ever" in the wake of the app's controversial redesign. As TechCrunch points out, "Instagram and its massive user count may be able to seduce publishers to bring longer videos to its app instead," just as it did with users and the Snapchat Stories format in 2016.

Article Link: Instagram Reportedly Planning Hub for Longer Videos to Compete With Snapchat Discover

All we want is to get the pictures back in chronological order...

 

[ovo6]

I like vertical videos idk about 15 minutes videos , Snapchat discovery is cool but they not that long . Ig stories to me new their own section too

 

[CarpalMac]

No to vertical videos

Agreed.

 

[timbutt2]

Agreed.

I'm so happy to have discovered this video! Thank you for sharing.

As a video professional let me weigh in on Vertical video: NO! Professional editing software isn't properly designed yet to handle editing vertical video properly. Especially since you're editing on a computer that has a horizontal screen. However, there's another aspect.

Professional video cameras are designed to be shot horizontally. There is no metadata tag to tell the editing software to interpret the footage as vertical. So if I did turn the camera on the side and shot vertical, the footage would still have to be manually rotated and resized for every clip. This makes editing such video a real pain in the behind.

In all seriousness we need to stop with the Vertical Video craze. I just did a test for a client and ended up saying that I would have to charge more to deal with Vertical Video because of the fact that it takes more work right now when using a professional camera and professional editing software. There's no easy setup to do it. It takes a lot more work and time to get the camera and software to be able to do it. So it would result in more time which means more money.