Help! Who Am I? The Art of Writing Your Agent Bio

Ah, yes, the “About” page on your website. I believe writing a bio is a relative source of stress for most people, whether you’re gifted with words or not. There’s no doubt you’re an expert on yourself, but figuring out how to best detail your experience, accomplishments and general awesomeness in a couple of paragraphs can be daunting, to say the least. Most people dread writing about themselves, quickly become at a loss for words, don’t want to be overly confident, or too self-deprecating. I get it. I write bios for a living and still cringe when I have to compose my own.

G Disain (1).jpg

To combat your bio writing anxiety, I encourage you to put yourself in your client’s shoes; if you were shopping for a real estate agent, what information would you want to read in your future agent’s bio? Perhaps instead of iterating a laundry list of accolades or accomplishments, focus on how you develop connections with your clients. What makes you particularly unique? What techniques or strategies do you use to create efficient and seamless transactions for your clients? Why do your clients keep coming back for more? If you specialize in a certain area or discipline of real estate (like condos versus single-family homes), say so. If your passion for kayaking the coastline has given you insider knowledge about selling waterfront homes, let your clients know. 

In a time where everyone (agents and clients) is an expert, your task is to figure out how to distinguish yourself from the competition. My two cents: be really real, use humor (if appropriate) and be honest about yourself and your strengths in a way that only you can. Over my years of writing bios, I have developed a few tips to help make bios stand out. So, the next time you’re writing, rewriting or editing your agent bio, get excited! Not only do you get to revel in all the ways you’re unique and special, you also get to have a little fun.

G Disain (2).jpg

5 Tips For Writing An Impactful, Engaging Bio: 

  1. Begin with the most important stuff. Attention spans are short these days so open your bio with the most relevant, catchy info

  2. Write to your audience. If you’re a real estate agent, your goal is to acquire and retain clients; what kind of information will help you do that?

  3. Talk yourself up. It’s okay (and encouraged) to call attention to your accomplishments, by all means, just balance them with your shining personality

  4. Keep it personal. Many agents have similar accolades and skill sets, so insert some fun or quirky facts (bonus points if you can relate them to real estate)

  5. Have fun and be creative! Bring your personality and humor into your bio; people want to connect with YOU, so show them all the ways you’re an awesome person AND a superstar agent


Agent Bio Examples

It’s always helpful to see things side-by-side for comparison’s sake. This isn’t a study in right or wrong or a bio-bashing session, just some examples to help get your bio-writing juices flowing. 

G Disain (5).jpg

EXAMPLE 1

Before

A real estate broker operating in the sprawling Phoenix Metropolitan area since 2013. He graduated from Colfax College with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Entrepreneurship, giving him knowledge that was vital in helping set up his successful Realtor practice. Larry offers real estate services in multiple states, but specializes in the Phoenix area due to his comprehensive knowledge of the city and housing market.

As a member of Russ Lyon | Sotheby's International Realty and Gibson | Sotheby's International Realty, Larry has developed white-glove skills to cater to high-end clients. He has demonstrated his innate talent for realty once again by successfully handling complex and intricate luxury real estate market. His professionalism, immaculate manners and crisp charm has made him a favorite of the highest echelons in the city.

Larry maintains and enjoys a healthy lifestyle - either at the gym, the great outdoors and hiking the endless trails that Arizona has to offer.

After

As a longtime resident of Phoenix, Larry Jones has an exceptional understanding of the Phoenix Metropolitan real estate market dynamics and its diverse communities. His success is attributed to his dedication to go above and beyond for his clients, always striving to exceed their expectations.

Larry is a member of Russ Lyon | Sotheby's International Realty and Gibson | Sotheby's International Realty, and has developed the expertise to help clients buy and sell premier properties in a complex real estate market. Additionally, Larry is a savvy marketer with a keen understanding of what it takes to position a property locally, and paired with an award-winning residential brokerage with the international reach of Sotheby's International Realty brand, the exposure he offers is unparalleled.

Larry graduated from Colfax College in Massachusetts, one of the most prestigious entrepreneurship colleges in the United States. His education has been vital in helping Larry develop, cultivate and quickly expand his successful real estate career. When Larry isn’t helping clients, he enjoys an active lifestyle that often includes taking advantage of Arizona’s vast and beautiful terrain.

G Disain (3).jpg

EXAMPLE 2

Before

The Finest in Northwest Living Sarah Smith epitomizes the true Connoisseur of Life. Sarah is passionately involved in the arts, entertainment and social events where she has earned much deserved respect for her generosity and enthusiastic approach to every venture she commits to. Sarah combines her passion for living with her dedication to residential real estate while staying current in the financial sector, keeping her clients best interests in mind. She is a top performing broker in the Greater Seattle Area ensuring her clients receive the best care and assistance throughout their entire transition in life. Sarah also enjoys the challenge of specializing in the luxury real estate market, representing a diverse range of buyers and sellers of waterfront estates, one-of-a-kind homes, and in-city penthouses. She has a strong understanding in that unique properties call for a unique approach, consistently exceeding her client's expectations with her commitment to creating success through the use of many focused marketing platforms and the unparalleled networking capabilities she has to offer. In addition, Sarah is often cited by local media for her experience with current markets including publications in the Puget Sound Business Journal and Seattle Times. Sarah's life experiences have included involvement in the music industry, entertainment, professional athletics, and celebrity productions backed by a third generation family business. Her diverse professions presented the opportunity to travel the world, creating valuable lifetime relationships from coast to coast; Los Angeles to New York and Hong Kong.

After

What do you get when you combine the loyalty of working in a family business, the thrill of traveling and exploring, a love of art and culture, and more than 20 years of premier, personalized residential real estate service? An agent who can connect with everyone, is passionate about the real estate process and who uses her life experience and expertise to overcome anything in her path.

Sarah Smith was born and raised in Seattle and worked in the family business, Smith Incorporated, for 25 years. She began her career in real estate in 2004, working her way up through Windermere Real Estate in West Seattle to become a managing broker and a top salesperson in the company. In 2010, Sarah shifted her career to Realogics Sotheby’s International Realty in Seattle, which was new to the area, and also catered to Sarah’s passion for art and art collection. For seven years, Sarah rapidly grew her real estate business, including her own rental property portfolio, along with creating recognition for the local Sotheby’s brand. Beyond helping clients buy and sell real estate, Sarah was involved in numerous philanthropic endeavors, one of her favorites being Dancing With The Stars (Seattle), where she won “People’s Choice” and helped raised over $100,000 for homelessness in Seattle; and she was also featured on the cover of the Puget Sound Business Journal.

In 2017, Sarah took a breather from real estate and traveled to Italy where she lived in Florence. During this time, she met the love of her life, married, moved back to the states and purchased her dream home in Walla Walla. She now splits her time between city living in Seattle and Walla Walla, where she loves her neighbors, the small town feel and fresh air. Her new company, Real Estate, LLC, combines all of Sarah’s passions and expertise and has boldly propelled her into a new phase of her life.


Thanks for reading! And, as always, if you prefer to focus on other aspects of your business, we at G Disain would love to help with your agent bio, as well as any other marketing needs.

Top 4 Social Media Tools for the Modern Real Estate Agent

HOW DO I LOOK?

As a real estate agent, connecting with your clients is key to your business’s success. Attracting qualified real estate leads through social media is possible when utilizing your social media correctly.

You never know when a potential client may be doing their homework by scrolling through your Instagram or viewing your Facebook reviews. You want to look your best by looking organized, utilizing newest social media trends and close with an invitation to learn more (call to action).

Maintaining your social media profile doesn’t have to be daunting, which is why we curated a list of the most useful social media tools for the modern real estate agent. The following apps are not additional social media outlets, but valuable enhancements to help boost and streamline your current social media process.

Bitly.jpg

BIT.LY

Sharing relevant information with your followers keeps them up-to-date on real estate trends, your listings, innovative trends or local happenings. A great way to do this is by sharing a website link in your post. It is free tool used to shorten website URLs before sharing them. And not only does Bit.ly reformat URLS into a condensed link, but it can track the amount of times your link was clicked on. Great for traffic reporting and you can create these links quickly on your phone. More than 300 Million BitLy links are created monthly by its users. Here’s a free guide to “37 Ways How Brands Use BitLy”:

Before: https://www.gdisain.com/blog/2019/3/26/top-4-social-media-tools-for-the-modern-real-estate-agent

After: bit.ly/2HSVbpW

 
Feedly.jpg

FEEDLY

Never miss an important story! If you are spending a significant time locating articles worthy of sharing, this next tool will come in handy. Feedly is a content aggregator that helps you organize and share what matters most to you and your clients. Feedly for mobile and desktop are free for up to 100 sources and up to 3 feeds.

Gathering information on niche and broad publications, blogs, social media posts, RSS feeds, YouTube channels and everything that matter to you, Feedly is a one-stop shop for content and will save you the time and hassle of searching multiple sites for relevant topics.

 
Linktree.jpg

LINKTREE

With your newfound access to a multitude of articles, the next step is finding a way to share them all.

Insert LinkTree —the FREE tool to optimize your Instagram traffic and send followers to multiple destinations (links) from your Instagram bio link. Easy to use and colors can be customized.

This app aims to “let your content live longer than the feed” by allowing one link where you can house all the content you would like to share. The app also keeps statistics on the clicked links, letting you know what your followers are interested in.

 
Instagram TV (2).jpg

STORIESADS

Instagram Stories has quickly changed online advertising with reports expecting it to surpass traditional feed sharing. With 400 million people use Instagram Stories every day, it’s time to starting using your Stories!

Creating stunning Instagram Stories ads for your open house events or new listings, all made easy though StoriesAds. Their user-friendly program walks you through step-by-step creation on adding color, font, and graphics to your images to bring them to life.

For more on how to use your Instagram Stories, visit our blog.
Feel free contact us to help you navigate these platforms. We would be delighted to assist and answer any questions.

What Does The American Dream Mean?

I am pleased to share my Q&A story in this month’s Commercial Executive Magazine. It is a story about how I grew up to be fiercely independent, raised to chase after my own success and why I left home country (Estonia) when I was 18 on my own. My parents passed shortly after I made it to the U.S. and the strength in me was strongly challenged. Hard work was my sharpest tool which allowed me to move forward and achieve many “American Dream” successes.

Read Full Article

Say It Right

Why how you say something is just as important as what you say.

Ah, the power of words. Some people love them, some people hate them. And we’ve all been in those situations where we’ve said or written exactly what we’re thinking or feeling, and it just comes out all wrong. Yeah, you know those times. Well, we can’t promise to help you right your personal word wrongs, but we can make sure your business and marketing communications are clear, concise, and compelling.

G Disain (5).jpg
 

Say It Ain’t So.

You may or may not consciously know this, but you love reading good writing. Writing comes in many forms: taglines, emails, advertisements, marketing, short and long form journalism, novels, magazines - even a naming structure or title requires the right words. Words are everywhere! A phrase can be grammatically correct and void of typos, but that doesn’t always mean that it’s accurately or effectively conveying a message.  

Consider these examples:

  1. ”Find Your New Home” vs. “Helping You Make The Right Move”

  2. ”Amazing New Home For Sale” vs. “Contemporary Concordia Bungalow For Sale”

Both of these phrases are essentially saying the same thing, but which ones are more descriptive and interesting?

The right words have the power to make or break your message. Compelling statements capture your client, are memorable and can even help generate new business.

G Disain (2).jpg
 

Show, Don’t Tell (sometimes).

The goal of most writing is to give the reader an experience. Let the reader decide for him or herself what kind of journey they wish to go on by setting a scene or a tone. Instead of telling your audience what to see, hear, and feel, use words to convey actions, thoughts, a setting. This isn’t to say there isn’t a time or a place for telling - sometimes it’s necessary to move a story along, or to convey factual, brief information in an efficient way; being able to strike a balance is the key to great writing.

Here are two examples of showing vs. telling (excerpted from JerichoWriters.com)

1. Telling: The night was cold and moonlit. The sleigh moved fast through the forest.

Showing: Ekaterina was shocked by the cold. She’d known winters before, but never this far north and never this deep. Burrowed under furs as she was, she still felt her eyelashes freeze. There were crystals of ice on her face where her own breath had frozen solid. It was a clear night, and they raced through the whispering pines, like a feather drawn over a sheet of silver. It seemed magical. Impossible. Temporary. Forbidden.

2. Telling: The parties were dazzling and opulent. They spilled out of the house, into the  garden and even the beach.

Showing: In his blue gardens men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars. The last swimmers have come in from the beach now and are dressing up-stairs; the cars from New York are parked five deep in the drive… floating rounds of cocktails permeate the garden outside… the lights grow brighter as the earth lurches away from the sun, and now the orchestra is playing yellow cocktail music, and the opera of voices pitches a key higher.

G Disain (1).jpg
 

10 Tips For Worthy Writing.

As you’re working on your next piece of writing, be it a marketing piece, bio for your website, your latest blog post, or any other text, keep the following tips in mind to help guide you:

  1. Have a plan

  2. Know your audience

  3. Use the right style (ie., conversational versus informational)

  4. Be wary of lists

  5. Use adjectives sparingly

  6. Be specific

  7. Vary sentence structure

  8. Less is (usually) more; don’t ramble

  9. Avoid redundancy

  10. Edit, edit, edit! (or ask someone else to)


Ready to write that novel? We thought so! Or, if you’re like many people and want to avoid crafting written material like the plague, you can always rely on the wordsmiths at GDisain for a little assistance. Write on!

How Things Get Done in The Greenhouse

MEGAN FLYNN

I’ve always been inspired by the creative process. Growing up, I was constantly finding new ways to express myself, whether it was designing magazine cut-out collages, putting together mixed CDs for friends, or writing an autobiography in high school, I enjoyed defining myself through creativity.

Devil’s Bridge, Sedona, AZ

Devil’s Bridge, Sedona, AZ

As an adult, my mediums and technologies within which to be creative have changed, but that has allowed me to be even more innovative with expression. I have had many unique and varied endeavors, including publishing a craft beer lifestyle magazine, writing product copy for Nike, designing and producing jewelry and leather handbags, and dabbling in real estate--all of which have given me the opportunity to explore my passions with freedom and vision.

Being a freelance writer and editor lets me use my skills and talents to help others express themselves, their passions, their businesses through words. I love that I get to work in inspired spaces, whether at home, in my favorite coffee shop, outdoors or across the globe while traveling. One of the best aspects, though, is getting to collaborate with clients to bring their vision and goals to life. Oh, and not waking up to an alarm in the morning is pretty great, too.

P.S. Read Megan’s blog post “72 Hours in Sedona & Hike to Devil’s Bridge”


Bipartisan Cafe in Portland, OR

Bipartisan Cafe in Portland, OR

KATE ANDREWS

One of my favorite things about freelance work is the ability to work from wherever feels the most inspiring. I’m currently in a temporary living space and therefore don’t have a real dedicated “office” right now. I like to get out of the house and find a quiet corner of a coffee shop when I need to do some real writing. Even though the surroundings might be a bit more distracting than my dining room table (where I often work from when at home) I like the background buzz of activity to give me a sense of liveliness and energy. When I get stuck or feeling uninspired, I will often scroll Pinterest, Instagram, or even utilize Google search (one of my favorite key-word searches right now is “minimal design”), to get my creativity flowing again. I also am a big fan of the Later.com blog, which keeps me up to date on all things Instagram; as well as DesignWeek.co.uk for more general design inventiveness.


RACHAE PISANO

Inspiration is the foundation for design. My inspiration for design comes from various creative avenues from magazine ads, to color and patterns found in the pages of interior design catalogs. My favorite places for inspiration are the color palettes found during my travels.

The beauty of working remotely is the freedom to create in any space which has allowed me to pull inspiration from new and foreign places. Something as little as the bright color of a door or shape of a metal railing can spur new ideas for a project.

While finding inspiration can come from anywhere, I find motivation must come from within when working as a freelancer. To stay organized and efficient, I utilize planners with reminders as well as programs to track my work. The freedom and flexibility of a freelancer has been incredibly rewarding and motivates me to stay organized and meet deadlines our clients.

Hotel Wiechmann in Amsterdam, Netherlands

Hotel Wiechmann in Amsterdam, Netherlands


GERDA KAUKS

What causes creativity to spark, peak or fade? I find my inspiration many ways: browsing through well-designed marketing materials, reading colorful Pinterest boards, paying attention to nature. New ideas can even come from something as simple as a restaurant floor tile. I’m never sure when and where creativity will be sparked, but if I stay open and aware, it’s amazing what the mind captures.

Talking Stick Golf Club in Scottsdale, AZ

Talking Stick Golf Club in Scottsdale, AZ

When I sit at my desk, staring at a blank screen, knowing all the elements I need to incorporate, I sometimes find myself asking, Where do I even begin, or the exact opposite happens and I can’t stop the ideas and design from flowing. What I’m saying is that creativity is a process, and no two days are the same. Personally, I’m a big planner and I love checklists. I organize my week into specific days. For instance, I have a business development day, accounting day, design day, etc. But, as much as I try to plan, the key is to stay flexible and allow my mind to determine what I am best at today. And at the end of the week my ultimate goal is to make sure that everything I’ve promised to clients has been delivered.

So, as with most things in life, timing is important, a space in which I can focus is vital, and being able to continually put a project down and reevaluate is a crucial step in my creative process. Design is not about how much you can get done, for me it’s about how well I can utilize my talent and design skills to interpret what a client needs to help meet their goals. I also love and value the freedom that freelance design allows me. Being able to work from home or while traveling, and collaborating with my awesome team, feeds my spirit and fuels my creativity. I cherish my work, I appreciate it, and I encourage everyone to find their journey to balance.


ROI Series: The Social Media Game of Quality vs Quantity

Introducing ROI Series. In these series, we will discuss Reflections. Opinions. Insights of all things marketing and business. We hope you find these reads helpful in your daily work-life balance.

G Disain (2).jpg

How often do you scroll through your social media followers, comparing this number to the number of people who follow you? Or worse, comparing your number to the followers of your peers / colleagues / friends / family? It’s so easy to get caught up in these numbers, but we are here to tell you (and at the same time hopefully relieve some social media angst) that those are not the numbers to be watching.

Do you get sucked into following any and everyone who follows you, as a thank-you gesture or an act of social media goodwill? It’s not necessary. To get results via social media, it is not always about quantity, but quality and consistency of your message that will help propel your message / goal / business forward.

Yes, there are many Instagram accounts that have tremendous followings (3,000+ followers), “Master Accounts” which have more than 100,000 followers, and a ton of other accounts that have anywhere from 5 to 500 followers. While exposure is great, it’s the quality of your followers that really matters. Are most of your followers friends, family, colleagues, clients, friends, and acquaintances? If your answer is mostly yes, then you are already ahead of the game. These people already know, like and trust you, and want to see and engage with your posts. Sure, it’d be great to have 10,000 followers, but how many of these people really engage with your posts and generate leads?

G Disain (3).jpg

Many clients who beef up their social media strategy or hire a company to take over their social media have high expectations of growing their followers immediately. While this is a worthy goal, a great social media manager will help you develop your message, style, and frequency of posts that will obtain the highest quality followers versus the highest quantity — and this does not happen overnight.

With the following suggestions, you can release the pressure valve on your frantic social media strategy to rapidly grow your follower base and instead focus your energy on creating strong, relevant posts. And then have fun watching your fans grow, organically.

STICK TO YOUR MESSAGE

These days, as you well know, everyone is bombarded with content 24/7, including, photos, vidoes, text, advertising, and more. Our suggestion: develop your message and stay on track. The more clear you are about what you’re trying to convey to your audience, the better your message will be received. Variety is important so that your posts don’t get boring, however, you can create variations in your content but still stay on track with your main message. Having a well-recognized message helps cement your mission into your followers’ brains — they don’t have to work overtime to understand your posts. They will appreciate this without even knowing they do — and they’ll want more!

G Disain (1).jpg

CONSISTENCY IS KEY

We can’t stress enough that gaining traction and exposure through social media is not about posting 20 times a day. Rather, focus on posting relevant, compelling and on-brand content, on a consistent basis. This may mean posting once a day, or once a week. Your posts should all look relatively the same, meaning have the same filter, or use the same photo template that is in accordance with your brand. Again, your followers may not understand why they like seeing your posts, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is that they see them and engage. So remember, don’t get overwhelmed thinking you must post 10 perfectly witty posts a day. Contrary to popular social media belief, less can be more. Pick a posting schedule and stick to it; you can always adjust later. To be a successful social media marketer, and to create strong social content, focus on creating quality messages that align with your brand and voice.

KNOW YOUR FOLLOWERS

To optimize engagement on your social platforms, understand your followers. By using simple analytics tools like the free Instagram Business account, you will receive data and stats on your weekly impressions, posts with the most engagement and statistics about your followers. So, instead of playing the comparing game and hoping for any and all followers, focus on growing your core audience. Learning what your followers like and dislike and when they are viewing your content allows you to tailor your message (while staying on-brand), and you will be able to post more efficiently and effectively.

g Disain.JPG

Quick Tips For Boosting Your Social Media Strategy

  • Develop your unique identity and stay true to yourself/your message

  • Get to know your audience

  • Focus on gaining a quality audience and avoid noise (quality vs. quantity)

  • Figure out what time most people are checking social media so that your posts have the greatest chance of getting the most eyes

  • Be consistent, both with how often you’re posting and with your message/brand

  • Engage with others: Who’s day can you make by engaging with a positive comment on their post?

  • Consult with social media strategists (interview 3-4 individuals) and see what they offer and suggest

  • Think outside the box: If social media didn’t exist, how would you engage your target audience?

  • Rethink. Reset. Reinvent your relationship with social media

Managing and Utilizing Instagram Stories

It may seem like an arbitrary feature, but Instagram Stories are a highly useful tool for those looking to increase engagement and work their way into people’s feed. Instagram is constantly updating and adding new features to their Story section, so we’ll go over a few items that you should test and try out.

GO AHEAD. YOU CAN DO THIS.

First, take your photo or video. Then you’ll find all kinds of options for emojis, stickers, filters, and text to add to the media you’d like to share.

Step 1: Tap the camera icon in the top left corner of the Instagram app to open your Story.

Step 1: Tap the camera icon in the top left corner of the Instagram app to open your Story.

Step 2: Select an image from your gallery or take a new photo or video, then find the sticker options icon (circled in green in this image).

Step 2: Select an image from your gallery or take a new photo or video, then find the sticker options icon (circled in green in this image).

Step 3: Select a sticker option to add to your selected image or video.

Step 3: Select a sticker option to add to your selected image or video.

 
G Disain (3).png

THE FINAL COUNTDOWN

A more recent addition to the Story stickers is the “countdown.” By adding a countdown clock (that updates in real time!) your followers can turn on reminders and share your countdown to their own Story. Fun ideas for countdowns might be for a product launch, open house, new listing, vacation, birthday, work-related event you’re excited about, the start of summer, etc.

Qs

Another easy sticker option that boosts engagement is the “questions” sticker. This is a more open-ended poll option where you can ask a question and your viewers can answer it; or you can open the floor to your viewers to ask you questions and then you can share your answers. We’ve seen many different uses for this sticker (like caption contests!) and it seems to lead to loads of engagement.


YAY OR NAY?

One of our favorite items to add to an Instagram Story is a “poll.” This is another sticker option that goes over an image and includes a single question and two answers (that you can edit). Once it’s posted to your story, viewers can choose their answer from the ones you’ve supplied. The Instagram algorithm loves to see engaged viewers, so getting your followers to click an answer shows that people are interested in your content.

PASS THE SLIDERS

A more open-ended sticker option for encouraging engagement is the “slider” sticker. This is most frequently accompanied with a question in the title of the slider. You can even change the emoji people use to answer with.

HAVE FUN WITH IT

Whatever items you use in your story, the ultimate goal is to get your viewers to engage by clicking, voting, writing an answer, sending a response, etc. Engagement can also be achieved by adding hashtags, mentioning other users and profiles, and tagging your location. This may feel like it’s creating a busy image but we encourage you to get creative and test the different colors, backgrounds, and extra shapes. Most importantly, have fun!

 

Feel free contact us to help you navigate these features. We would be delighted to assist and answer any questions.

Everything You Need to Know about Instagram TV (IGTV)

WHAT IS IT?

IGTV is the best of several social worlds in one; it has the video sharing capabilities of YouTube with the social aspect and ease of Instagram. Videos posted to the platform are saved to a feed and don’t disappear like Instagram Stories. Those with IGTV accounts can see the number of likes, comments, and views on their uploaded videos, much like Instagram Stories. When users tap into the IGTV tab in Instagram (it’s a separate app from the regular Instagram app but is also integrated) they can expect to see a video pop up and start to play immediately, like a traditional television, and from there can browse videos that are suggested or posted by accounts they already follow. This longer, vertical IGTV video integration allows for users to get in front of a broader audience and is meant to be a simple and intuitive extension of the Instagram app.

Instagram TV (2).jpg

WHY DOES IT EXIST?

Instagram’s IGTV is a direct answer to users’ demand for longer videos. The platform was first released in June of 2018 and is integrated with Instagram but is also a separate application. The IGTV app can host videos up to 10 minutes in length (and keeps them on your profile). More recently, IGTV began allowing larger accounts and verified accounts the ability to post videos up to 60 minutes long, though they need to be uploaded from a computer. These videos must be uploaded from the IGTV app, or website, but can be viewed by your audience through the Instagram app in the top right corner next to your direct messages icon, or often in the “Explore” tab of your Instagram account.

As of early March 2019, Instagram has started rolling out clips of IGTV posts in the regular Instagram feed, with the ability to click through to view the full length video. The integration allows for the opportunity to use paid promotion on your IGTV videos as well as sharing a notification about your IGTV uploads directly to your Instagram Story, where viewers can “swipe up” and be directed to the full IGTV video. (This “swipe up” feature is typically reserved for users with over 10,000 followers but anyone can use it for IGTV video-to-story sharing.) Currently, IGTV is the only option for uploading one, continuous clip longer than 60 seconds.

Instagram TV (1).jpg

WHO DOES THIS BENEFIT?

Marketers seeking the widespread reach of Instagram with younger generations can utilize IGTV to get their commercials, behind-the-scenes videos, product launch announcements, company updates, directly in front of clients. Video is one of the fastest growing mediums for personal and business use. IGTV for business is still a newer concept, so getting creative with how you use it can really make you stand out. IGTV is a perfect answer to hosting and promoting longer edits of real estate videos, music videos, baking how-to’s, behind-the-scenes office tours, photoshoot sneak peeks, and more.

IGTV.png

TECH SPECS

Requirements for IGTV video are as follows: must be portrait orientation, 9:16 ratio, and 1080 pixels wide x 1920 pixels tall. (These are the same pixel dimensions as Instagram Stories.) Videos must be MP4 file format. Find more requirements and information on the IGTV help page or feel free contact us to help you navigate this new platform.