Published on September 10th, 2020 | by Ana Mayer

5 Expert Tips For Writing Killer IGTV Titles

IGTV has become an important tool for anyone using Instagram marketing as a part of their social media campaign. The problem is that not everyone knows how to create killer titles for their IGTV descriptions which is why these five expert writing tips will help you craft the most effective IGTV titles.

What Is IGTV and Why Are IGTV Titles Important?

IGTV is a feature on Instagram that is somewhat similar to YouTube. The feature allows you to upload long videos that can then be displayed on a kind of “channel” available on your Instagram profile. Regular Instagram posts only let you upload videos that are less than 1 minute long which makes IGTV an invaluable feature for those who want to upload longer videos. What sets IGTV videos apart is their format: these videos are presented vertically.

Like regular Instagram posts, IGTV videos can have captions that are, in fact, titles. This means that you can’t really write a lot when captioning your videos. What you can do, however, is attract as much attention as possible to your videos by creating interesting and engaging titles that will prompt your potential viewers to click on and watch the videos.

#1 Use Keywords

First and foremost, you need to use the right keywords in your titles. Even though these keywords won’t work the same way they would in terms of SEO in articles, they will still serve several crucial purposes. Firstly, these keywords will reflect what your videos are about. Secondly, these keywords will catch the attention of your potential viewers. Thirdly, these keywords will help you get a better idea about your content.

Understanding your content is essential for the success of your videos. These keywords are exactly the elements that will help you better structure your videos and decide which topics your audience is most interested in. For example, if you made a video titled “5 Pizza Types and How to Make Each One At Home” and it did well, you might want to continue with a video like “5 More Pizza Types and How to Make Each One At Home” or “5 Pie Types and How to Make Each One At Home”.

#2 Be Descriptive

The second thing you should do when writing your IGTV titles is to be descriptive. This doesn’t mean that you should be writing as much as you can to get down every detail because this will simply make your title too long. Instead, you need to make a title that addresses what exactly your video is about rather than being as vague and unspecific as possible.

As Mark Collins from Best Writers Online says, “Writing IGTV titles is crucial for your videos because these captions are exactly what will attract your audience and prompt it to watch your videos. You need to be honest in your titles. So, if your video is a product review, don’t make a title that refers to it as a list of top ten products in a certain category. You never want to misguide your potential viewers and customers by writing poor IGTV titles.”

#3 Use Power Words

Along with using keywords, you need to use the so-called “power words” that will make your titles sound different from all the other similar titles. But what exactly are power words? Basically, these are words and phrases that are synonymous with the words you would usually use for a title. These power words are meant to transform your titles into ones that stand out of the crowd more than ever.

For example, a title for a video about how to correctly brush your hair could be something along the lines of “How to Brush (and How NOT to Brush) Your Hair”. With power words, this title could be remade into “How to Brush Your Hair Without Killing It”. When you use “kill” to refer to certain ways of brushing hair, you instantly focus your audience’s attention on the fact that they are spoiling their hair beyond repair when doing certain things with it.

#4 Be Brief

Being brief is something often forgotten by marketers and business owners alike. As noted earlier, being descriptive with your IGTV titles doesn’t mean that you should write as much as possible. Instead, you need to focus on being brief and getting to the point as quickly as possible. After all, you don’t have that much time to get your potential viewer interested before they shift their attention to a different video or post.

Always remember that Instagram marketing, like any other kind of social media marketing, needs to keep in mind the limited attention timespan of the platform’s users. One way to make your titles shorter is by writing down every main point of your video and then making that simpler and simpler until you reach the right balance and have a title that is brief yet descriptive and engaging.

#5 Have “Your” Voice

Last but not least, don’t forget to have “your” voice when writing IGTV titles. Of course, your titles can be brief and descriptive, engaging and eye-catching, but if they don’t have that distinctive voice that the viewers can associate with your brand, your titles will probably not stand out as much as you’d want them to. That’s exactly why finding “your” voice is so important – just as important as using it regularly.

How do you find your brand voice? If you already write your posts and articles in a certain style (e.g. serious and professional), you should use the same style for your IGTV titles. But if you don’t have a uniform writing style yet, try to analyze your brand and find the best brand voice for your company. For example, if your brand sells toys for children, you will probably want to have funny and simple IGTV titles.

Final Thoughts

All in all, creating killer titles for your IGTV videos is crucial for the success of your Instagram campaigns. Use the tips in this article to craft the most effective IGTV titles for your Instagram brand account.

Tags: expert, IGTV, killer, tips, writing

About the Author

Ana Mayer

This article was written by Ana Mayer, a project manager with 3+ years of experience. While projects can do without her participation (which means almost never), she likes to read and create expert academic materials for the professional dissertation writing services website.