You Can Now Make 10-Minute TikTok Videos, But Should You?
TikTok now allows users to post videos that are as long as 10 minutes, taking a shot at YouTube's dominance in the segment. TikTok started with short-form videos of up to 15-second runtime, a limit that was soon expanded to 60-seconds. But the viral social media app, which Instagram has shamelessly imitated on multiple occasions, didn't stop there.
In July last year, TikTok started testing videos of up to three minutes. Back then, the company argued that extending the maximum permissible length for videos would give creators the "canvas to create new or expanded types of content." The idea made sense for both creators and TikTok from a business perspective. TikTok is now going a step further.
The company has started rolling out the ability to post videos of up to 10 minutes in length. The argument is the same in 2022, with TikTok claiming that longer videos "would unleash even more creative possibilities for our creators around the globe." Users will get an in-app notification about the extended length of videos, and it will be reaching out globally in the weeks ahead. Social media evangelist Matt Navarra shared a screenshot confirming the same on Twitter. It is worth noting here that TikTok ended 2021 as the most downloaded app and the highest-grossing non-gaming app. Now, the extended video runtime has both pros and cons, and it would ultimately boil down to the perspective from where it is seen.
It would mean a creator no longer has to post multi-part videos of smaller duration, which can be quite a hassle. On the flip side, fewer videos suggest the net audience engagement numbers also go down, which happens to be a critical metric for advertisers to forge partnerships with creators. Posting a longer video will allow creators to tell a more fleshed-out story, and it would be more convenient for the audience to watch it all in one go. However, doing so also comes at the cost of generating hype and anticipation that would otherwise be possible with multi-part short videos spaced by a few days, weeks, or even months. TikTok also has a well-documented misinformation problem, and longer videos will only make things worse.
Then comes the part about ads. TikTok hasn't revealed its advertisement strategy for videos longer than three minutes. At this juncture, creators will have to decide if they can bring in enough revenue from interstitial ads in longer videos or if pre-roll ads and sponsor words from multiple shorter videos are the better option. However, the payout is still going to be significantly smaller than YouTube. Another headache for TikTok is the brand's signature appeal. The app exploded in popularity with short videos that users can quickly watch and get to the next one. There's not much of an attention span or long-term engagement issue here. Pushing 10-minute videos into the feed of users who are only on the app for brief bursts of fun will find the whole transformation odd.
Source: Matt Navarra / Twitter
Source: Screenrant
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