Before we directly address the question, let us first understand the importance of Instagram videos and how they have become an effective marketing tool.
Every day, Instagram Stories is used by more than 500 million people. These Instagram users are keen to keep up with new trends and products. 58% of those who have seen a brand or product in Stories say they are more interested. Half of those surveyed said they have visited a website to purchase a product or service since seeing it in Stories.
Instagram Stories are full-screen vertical photos and videos that disappear after 24hrs. They are displayed at the top of Instagram rather than in the newsfeed.
These interactive tools include polls, stickers, and Instagram Story filters that make your content pop.
Why are Instagram videos important:
Unlike the past algorithm, the current Instagram algorithm prefers video content over text and photography. There are many published Instagram engagement reports which will second the same fact. This is because Instagram videos provide a great opportunity for business owners to stand out with video content. There is no second opinion about the fact that an image is a powerful tool when it comes to social media marketing but when it comes to videos, nothing can compete with them. This is because ideas are more likely to receive more comments, interactions, and shares. Another reason for videos to stand out is basic biology. We are programmed a certain way that they retain moving visual content better than still images.
Aside from this, the list of topics for Instagram videos is endless. This provides the content creator the room to talk about anything which guarantees business objectives and brand objectives.
For instance, you can try uploading inspirational videos. If it were for a picture, this type of content would fail to make an impact. On the contrary, an inspirational video will surely make a lasting impact.
Interview videos are also another great source of video entertainment and information which Instagram offers. If it were for a simple photograph of the interviewee with a caption, the impact generated would be negligible. However, when it comes to video interviews, nothing can compete with it. It engages the audience in a way that they feel the person being interviewed is directly talking to them. The video interview performs even better when a short snippet is uploaded before you upload the entire piece.
Now that we have talked extensively about the utility of Instagram videos, let’s address the question “How to make videos play automatically on Instagram”
How to make videos play directly on Instagram:
You may have noticed that whenever you have mentioned on others Instagram posts, you can share it directly to your Instagram story irrespective of whether it is a photo or a video. However, sometimes the video you shared on your Instagram story doesn’t play automatically. The only thing which is displayed is a picture and a link to the original post. To top it off, there is no official remedy offered by Instagram. That being said, there are some hacks to circumvent such a situation.
1. Never share IGTV videos:
Yes, it is true. You are highly advised to not share IGTV videos. This is because whenever you will share an IGTV video on your story, it is highly likely that all of your followers will only see an image.
2. Only share video files:
Like I said earlier, sharing IGTV videos will bring more harm than any good. Normally, Instagram allows its users to share multiple photos and videos with its followers on Instagram. People at times share a post that contains both, the photos and the videos. To counter such a situation, you must share a post that only has a video in it. Anything apart from a video in this post will more likely cause it to malfunction.
3. Length of your Instagram video:
In all fairness, this, not a very valuable remedy but can work for various users. Instagram at times does not play a video automatically on your story if its length exceeds more than 10 seconds. This is why if you try to upload a video of more than 10 seconds, it does not play. To avoid such a situation, always try to upload a video which does not exceed 10 secs in duration.
4. Play the video before uploading:
Another hack you can try to circumvent the situation is to let the video play completely before uploading it. This is because many times due to connectivity and other issues, the video does not load properly. This is why it is advised to let the video play completely before uploading it on your Instagram story.
5. Try making a new account:
If worse comes to worst, and the video does not play, you can always try creating a new Instagram account. While this solution may look weird overtly but it can sometimes rectify the situation. This is because creating a new account on Instagram provides you with access to various new features. However, there is no guarantee that the outcome of creating a new Instagram account will be favorable. That said, you can always try these options to check if they work or not.
6. Update the app:
As a last resort, if nothing works, you can always try updating the app. Access to features is indeed contingent on the geographical location of the users because the app provides access to different features based on their geographical locations.
This may not be relevant, but you can do it very conveniently if you wish to stop videos from automatically playing on Instagram. Also, it doesn’t matter whether you are an iOS user or an android because the steps are the same for both. You will simply have to go to your profile page on the app. From there, proceed to the settings menu. Then proceed to account and click on cellular data use. From there on, click on the useless data feature. Once you are done enabling it, the videos won’t play automatically.
Final Words:
Glitches in any of the social apps can be troublesome. However, there is a high probability that the aforementioned remedies will fix the Instagram video story glitch.
