By: Nick Gambino
It seems every time I turn around, Instagram is making major updates or adding some much-wanted features to their platform. It has to be at least a weekly occurrence at this point, not that I’m complaining. Well, they’re back at it again. Now you can share IGTV videos directly to your Instagram Story.
IGTV was launched in June as both a standalone app and a feature inside of the native Instagram app. It’s an effort to create shows and allow brands to make longer and more engaging videos. I for one, don’t find myself exploring it very often, but I can see that many might. Though, we don’t really have any feedback from IG on whether or not it’s popular.
This new feature will help create a bridge of sorts from IGTV to the main Instagram app by integrating their functions. Up until this point, business accounts were able to post links on videos that would allow users to swipe up to go to IGTV to watch the full video. This was obviously limited and cut out individual users.
Now you can share your favorite IGTV videos to your story. Tap the paper airplane at the bottom of the video you want to share. When friends see your story, they can tap the preview to watch the whole video in IGTV. pic.twitter.com/oaatUoOqZY
— Instagram (@instagram) November 1, 2018
To use the new feature and share IGTV videos to your Story, here’s what you have to do. Listen closely because it’s a bit complicated. Tap the little paper plane icon in the bottom left. Then tap “Add video to your story.” That’s pretty much it. So, maybe it wasn’t very complicated.
Anyone who sees your story can tap on the preview if they want to go to IGTV and watch the full video. This is similar to the feature that business accounts already had, but now the little people can join in on the fun.
Now, if that wasn’t enough, Instagram added yet another feature. You can now share songs you Shazam to your Story. Once you identify a song through the Shazam app, you tap the share button and select the Instagram Story option. The song cover art is posted to your Story with a link back to Shazam. It’s currently only available for iOS with plans for Android coming soon.
Instagram Stories have proven to be very popular so expect more news on this front.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Nick Gambino is a regular script writer and tech beat reporter for NewsWatch. He lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and daughter.
