Big changes are coming to TikTok! The company is increasing the max length of videos to 10 minutes.
Until now, the max video length sat at three minutes which means it’s now tripling in length. It’s quite a jump considering that the last update was in July of 2021 when TikTok increased the max video length from 60-seconds to three minutes.
In an article from Variety.com, a representative from TikTok explained “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.”
No word yet on when all users will have the 10-minute option, but some users are already reportedly seeing the option to upload the extended video format length now.
While it is a great option for users and brands who wish to create longer formatted videos, we can’t help but wonder: Is there a more profound meaning behind it than just entertainment purposes? Our social team believes so.
What Our Team Thinks
Until now, TikTok short-form video format has been a great tool to capture users’ attention. With this new longer-content format, it could put the app in direct competition with YouTube or Instagram. We asked a few members of our social team to provide their thoughts and here’s what they had to say:
“This is a way for TikTok to slowly ease into the YouTube-dominated world (which took over from Vine) of introducing a method of programming. For example, YouTube has shows that are watched weekly and on a daily, that average around 15-20 minutes. Good Mythical Morning with Rhett and Link is a great example. This is a way to bring programming like this over to TikTok (where these Facebook personalities have already established a presence in the short form). TikTok already started this in 2021, with streaming Broadway shows.”
Julius Vaughn
Digital Media Specialist, Chacka Marketing“It is a play by TikTok to come for YouTube as Google is the most visited video site but recently has lost top billing to Google. In the past, we have seen companies like Meta try to recapture TikTok’s lightning in a bottle with Reels, but TikTok has a captive audience. As they look to diversify their content into a longer format, we will likely start to see a broadening of their ad formats into non-skippable inventory not to mention the way this will impact user-generated branded and sponsored content.”
Shane Ragiel
Senior Director, Digital Media, Chacka Marketing“It is very suspect that this information is coming out a day after Instagram announced that it will no longer support its YouTube competitor, IGTV. The IGTV app did not take off as was intended, so Instagram is pivoting to hosting all its video content under the mainline app. It appears that with the disappearance of IGTV, the longest video form on Instagram will remain 60 seconds (technically users can upload 10 consecutive clips for a total of 10 minutes). With this move by TikTok and the disappearance of IGTV, it will be interesting to see how Instagram will respond through its main app. Overall, it appears that TikTok learned from the misstep of IGTV – in breaking out long-form video into a separate app and is making the wise move to keep everything under the same TikTok umbrella.”
CJ Gorelik
Senior Digital Specialist, Chacka MarketingWhat Next?
We’ll be sharing additional updates regarding TikTok’s video length changes and any ad formats that could come along.
Does your business need help with leveraging TikTok? Our team of experts can help – learn how we helped create scalable growth for a leading photo-services company.
TikTok Case Study
Chacka Marketing’s understanding of the consumer leads to an 84% lower CPI on TikTok than on Facebook.
