Facebook had added the video view count feature on its website in September 2014 and has now brought the same to its Instagram service as well. Instagram users will soon be able to see how many times a video has been viewed by others. The view counts will appear below the video post along with other regular options such as likes and comments. According to Instagram, the feature has not been rolled out yet but will be reaching users over the next few weeks. Users will also be able to view the number of likes a video has received by tapping the ‘views’.
With the inclusion of video view counts, Facebook’s Instagram seems to compete Twitter’s Vine video streaming service and Google’s YouTube. Vine in July 2014 introduced video loop counts in its application. The new feature for Instagram might not be making a ground-breaking difference, however it will be important for Instagram video creators. Several popular Vine celebrities can see this as an opportunity to expand their reach and track how their videos have been performing on the platform. This could also work as a tool for online promotion of various events, businesses and pretty much everything else.
The company blog post said – Since launching video two years ago and introducing Hyperlapse and Boomerang, you’ve made video storytelling on Instagram take off. Whether sitting front row at Fashion Week or spending a day on the beach, nothing brings moments to life like video. Adding view counts is the first of many ways you’ll see video on Instagram get better this year. According to this blog post, there seems to be many more things in store for videos on instagram. Only time will tell what those features are. At the moment, we can explore this new feature till the others are rolled out one by one.