Short-form video definitely takes center stage in terms of preferred content medium right now. With new engagement behaviors taking hold and attention spans decreasing, it would seem like short-form interaction is here to stay for a good while. Especially now that the majority of the online audience is made up of those belonging to younger demographics, almost every platform is following TikTok’s lead, heading into the next stage of digital connection.
More Tiks on the Clock?
TikTok, successful as it may be, has one glaring weakness – it lacks a strong monetization framework. Short-form video has always been hard to effectively monetize, something that TikTok’s predecessor, Vine, found out the hard way. As it stands, you can’t really insert pre or mid-roll ads into very short clips. With a lack of monetary support, the top stars went on to find greener pastures.
TikTok is, of course, aware of this and looks to offer more attractive, direct monetization options. How so? By introducing new 10-minute video uploads, that’s how! Once again, social media expert Matt Navarra posted an alert on how TikTok users are currently being notified. TikTok has since confirmed the option’s full rollout to TechCrunch.
“We’re always thinking about new ways to bring value to our community and enrich the TikTok experience. Last year, we introduced longer videos, giving our community more time to create and be entertained on TikTok. Today, we’re excited to start rolling out the ability to upload videos that are up to 10 minutes, which we hope would unleash even more creative possibilities for our creators around the world.”
This is a step beyond the previous 5-minute clip extension that TikTok introduced back in August of 2021. Now, users will be able to upload significantly longer clips, opening up new opportunities for both content creation and consumption on the app. The question is, will users maximize its use? TikTok does offer longer live-streaming options, which have not run into any engagement bottlenecks thus far. Furthermore, some creators have been able to upload longer clips for some time now, noting that sister company ‘Douyin’ has recently enabled 15-minute uploads for users since 2019.
At least TikTok isn’t going in blind here. The app has a somewhat baseline understanding of how users are likely to respond, as well as how to best present longer clips in-stream. What would be interesting to see is whether or not this will actually impact user behavior and interest, and whether or not TikTok successfully extends user engagement on its platform, inadvertently leading to better advertising and monetization options.
With all other implications aside, prime monetization seems to be the real push here. Going up against a heavy hitter like YouTube, TikTok knew that it wouldn’t be able to rely solely on its short-form format forever, lest it runs the risk of losing its top talent. True enough, YouTube’s supplementary tie-in platform, its TikTok-inspired ‘Shorts’, has become its fastest engagement growth element. Despite being the ‘Blueprint’ for most other platforms when it comes to short-form content, not even TikTok’s $500 million Creator Fund and Tipping options come close to matching YouTube’s $28.8 billion revenue in 2021, 55% of which directly go back to creators.
TikTok was already feeling the pressure, and it didn’t help when known creator Hank Green posted a video that outlined TikTok’s somewhat skewed funding model. This might well be TikTok’s best bet to try and remedy their growing monetization issue.
The Wrap
Whether or not this actually works is up to time. Users regularly engage with long-form content on YouTube, but that’s because it’s known that that is YouTube’s niche. A different set of motivations and cues dictate content consumption and engagement on TikTok, so introducing longer videos pretty much equates to a gray area. At the very least, it marks the next phase of TikTok. Luckily, TikTok isn’t going ham on a full release and it’s wise in settling for a staged approach. Like it or not, longer TikToks are coming and with them, new trends and shifts.
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