Instagram Plans to Take on TikTok With Full-Screen Video Content

Instagram will start hosting full-screen videos as part of a major shakeup of the social platform, as the Facebook-owned company seeks to make itself more relevant in an era dominated by TikTok and YouTube.

That’s the major take-home from a video shared on Wednesday by Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram. In the video posted to his Instagram and Twitter account, Mosseri said that the social platform no longer wants to be thought of as the “square photo-sharing app,” and will instead lean more into entertainment and video.

Instagram is no stranger to video content, previously offered through things like IGTV, Reels, and Stories, but Mosseri said Instagram would be “embracing video more broadly” going forward, starting with “full screen, immersive, entertaining, mobile-first video,” which sounds a lot like TikTok, whose popularity Mosseri concedes is something Instagram wants to emulate.

Instagram will also start testing recommendations over the next couple of months, showing users in their Feed what they may not be following yet. (The platform actually began testing in this department just this week, with the introduction of topics, which users can opt to see more or less of.)

Users should expect plenty of experimentation in this area “over the coming months,” said Mosseri, and Instagram intends to be more public about what it’s doing and why in the increasingly competitive social media space.

After 20 years of evolving technology, shifting market trends, and adapting to changing consumer behaviour, the media landscape has nearly reached saturation.

We’ve optimised to the fullest, providing advertisers with abundant choices across technology, platforms, data-driven marketing, CTV, OTT, DOOH, influencer marketing, retail, etc.

Media specialists have diversified, but with more options comes the challenge of maintaining income growth. The industry is expanding, but revenue isn’t keeping pace.

Now, we’re at a TURNING POINT: time to explore and harness new sustainable revenue streams. While GroupM forecasts a 7.8% global ad revenue growth in 2024, challenges like antitrust regulation, AI and copyright issues, and platform bans persist.  

Collaboration is key: partnerships that thrive on synergy, shared values, and aligned goals are becoming increasingly essential.

Hence, the Malaysian Media Conference, in its 20th year, has assembled the partners and players under one roof on October 25 for a day of learning, sharing, and exploring.

 

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