Instagram’s parent-company, Facebook, announced this morning that they are going to be adding captions to their videos. Videos are a big deal to Facebook. In 2015, the company made $17 billion from video ads, and it looks like making video a priority is trickling down to their other apps like Instagram. The company announced on Thursday that they are bringing view counts to video posts in the app. This will show you how many people are watching the videos you post on your account.
These new video counts aren’t coming to the app today, in fact, Instagram hasn’t mentioned when they are coming. Just that they are coming in the “next few weeks”. The view count will replace your likes on the app, however your likes won’t be completely gone. If you tap on the view count, you’ll be able to see your likes as well. So they are just hidden now, and not completely gone. Definitely a good thing for those that love to see how many people like their videos. You’ll also still be able to see who liked your video, however you won’t see who watched it (obviously those that liked it did watch it, at least some of it). Views will only be counted for those that watch at least 3 seconds of the video. So those just scrolling through their timeline and see your video, won’t be counted. Similar to how Facebook counts video views on their site and mobile apps.
In this post on their blog, Instagram also notes that it has been about two years since they launched video – as well as their video apps Hyperlapse and Boomerang – and users have posted a ton of video on the network in that time. Using Instagram video to tell stories, whether it’s at the Super Bowl, NBA All-Star game, New York Fashion Week or any of the many other events that take place throughout the year. Videos have also helped Instagram bring ads to their platform, which is an important part of monetizing the platform and preparing for the future. These view counts will likely be part of an upcoming update.