Is TikTok still a venue for short-form video? It appears to be less and less so now that the corporation has declared that the maximum time for uploads will be increased to 10 minutes. TikTok has been experimenting with lengthier uploads for years, most recently launching three-minute films in July, but this is the most significant increase yet, and it will now be rolled out globally.
In a statement to The Verge, a business representative stated, “We’re always thinking about new ways to offer value to our community and expand the TikTok experience.” “We added longer films last year, allowing our community more time to create and be entertained on TikTok,” says the company. Today, we’re excited to begin rolling out the ability to publish movies up to 10 minutes long, which we think will give our creators throughout the world even more creative freedom.”
According to social media strategist and analyst Matt Navarra, some users received the news as a notification within the app:
Although TikTok’s meteoric rise to popularity was built on an endless stream of short videos designed to capture users’ attention, the company has been pushing longer content for some time now. Longer videos allow TikTok to compete with YouTube (which favors lengthy content), as well as attract an older audience and increase overall app engagement time. At the same time, a shift to longer content may harm the company by limiting the amount of data it can collect on users’ viewing habits, which allows it to tailor the algorithms it uses to attract users in the first place. In other words, getting the length of content just right is a balancing act.
Ironically, as TikTok expands to provide creators and fans longer material, its competitors have done the exact opposite, driven on by TikTok’s success. Instagram’s Reels, YouTube’s Shorts, and Snapchat’s Spotlight are all examples of short-form video platforms. All of these businesses are attempting to perfect the formula.
Longer-form content is “easier to monetise and keeps people on platform longer,” according to Navarra, who spoke to Techtalkarena. TikTok, on the other hand, will have to figure out how to arrange and present these films on its platform, according to him. “They should need a specific home for longer-form information,” he argues, “since it doesn’t sit well in the vertical stream with shorter stuff consumers are used to flying through at speed.”
