There is now a decisive innovation on the short video platform Tik Tok. After a test phase, all users can now also post longer videos. This could change the platform decisively.
One minute. That was previously the maximum length of a video on Tik Tok. In this time span, funny dance videos, serious political messages and even emotional reading tips have been created in recent years.
But from now on, longer videos will also be available on Tik Tok. With a new maximum length of three minutes, posts can be three times as long as before.
This was officially announced by Tik Tok today.
Longer videos available to all after test phase
The platform, previously known for its short videos, has been testing longer video formats with some creators since last year.
Now Tik Tok has apparently decided to make longer videos available to all users. The company wants to give its users more leeway, more flexibility and more creative options.
This is in response to the wishes of many users who wanted longer videos on Tik Tok, for example for cooking videos or beauty tutorials.
What will happen to the multi-part videos?
So far, users have solved the length problem with multi-part videos. In fact, video series have become a popular format.
Video creators attract attention with an initial video and then use teasers to entice their viewers to watch further episodes. Because they end up with more views, this format could remain popular.
But at least users now have the option to simply post a longer video.
Tik Tok plans to gradually roll out the feature worldwide in the coming weeks. Users will then receive a notification as soon as it is available to them.
Tik Tok: Longer videos also have calculus
The company says it is excited about the new opportunities for creative expression thus available.
After all the ways our community has redefined expression in under 60 seconds, we’re excited to see how people will continue to be entertained and inspired with a few extra seconds.
But there’s certainly some calculation behind the longer videos on Tik Tok. Longer videos also mean longer time spent on the platform, which is an important argument for advertisers.
It’s a strategy that we’ve also seen in the past on YouTube. So it will be interesting to see how the Tik Tok algorithm will rate the longer videos.
In the process, it’s entirely possible that we’ll see fewer of the funny, concise short videos that have made Tik Tok so popular as a platform in the future.
