December 5, 2023
For years, platforms like YouTube and Instagram aimed to challenge TikTok’s dominance by copying its short video style. Now, TikTok seems to be shifting its strategy, encouraging its creators to explore longer content similar to what you find on rival apps.
TikTok hosted an event in late October, gathering many creators at the New York office. The primary objective was to motivate creators to craft videos lasting at least a minute. Throughout the event, TikTok executives emphasised that longer videos could help creators make more money and convey their messages more effectively.
Insiders highlighted that TikTok users now spend half their time watching content lasting over a minute. More interesting is that over the last six months, creators posting videos longer than a minute saw an increase in followers five times more compared to those focused solely on short videos.
It looks like TikTok’s strategic shift reflects its evolving approach and mirrors a wider trend in social media following user preferences in consuming longer content. This action would tackle the main edge YouTube has over TikTok in this area. YouTube creators can make money by sharing ads before and during their videos, something TikTok can’t do with mostly short 30-second clips. So, TikTok is now aiming to change how people use the app to focus more on longer videos. This shift aims to bring users and creators together on longer content, possibly to expand TikTok’s advertising opportunities.
Perhaps TikTok’s future path leads it to become a hub for longer content, fitting better with its identity as an “entertainment app” rather than a social network. Essentially, TikTok has already initiated a significant change in making entertainment the main focus of social apps, progressively reducing the “social” aspect.
Surely, TikTok will require some time and adaptation to introduce more direct advertising choices based on this shift. However, it seems to be the primary focus going forward, as it encourages creators to embrace longer content trends.
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