TikTok is going longform—marketers aren’t

TikTok threw more weight behind long-form content when it announced on Tuesday that its revised creator fund—which pays creators for making videos more than one minute long—is coming out of beta in the coming weeks.

The new program, which is being named the Creator Rewards Program, calculates creator payouts based on an “optimised rewards formula focused on…originality, play duration, search value and audience engagement.” 

It has been in beta since February 2023 and replaced TikTok’s original $1 billion Creator Fund, which was shut down in December 2022 after it was criticized by creators. TikTok claims the new program increased creator revenue by 250% in the past six months.

TikTok rose to fame with advertisers and users in 2018 thanks to its seemingly endless stream of viral 15-second clips, but has been encouraging users to post longer videos in the past few years to compete with YouTube. TikTok caps videos at 10 minutes long.

Since rolling out longer videos in 2022, TikTok claims users spend half of their time on the platform watching content more than one-minute long. Viewership of long-form videos has increased by almost 40% over the past six months, TikTok stated in its announcement on Tuesday.

Creators also continue to invest in short-form videos to pursue more viral moments, since shorter content tends to perform better on TikTok. 

Marketers also shared how they decide when to post content on TikTok or YouTube.

The following responses have been edited for clarity:

Danielle Wiley, CEO of Sway Group

Long-form on any platform is not super appealing to brands because it is so expensive to sponsor a video of that length. Additionally, followers are not interested in long-form sponsored content — it feels like an infomercial.

On long-form YouTube videos, the only sponsored option that is affordable to clients and appealing to followers is a mention, and this is not something most clients are interested in. They don't want to share space with other content.

For YouTube, our most popular option with clients is YouTube Shorts, and this will be the same for TikTok. While long-form TikTok content might prove to be very popular with consumers, I don't think it will be heavily branded anytime soon.

Erin Amend, SVP of creators and casting at Day One Agency

As TikTok continues to make long-form content a priority, creators are seeing more rewards from the platform and more engagement from followers with this type of content. And while consumers are getting used to and even craving this long-form storytelling, we still find that short-form branded content is performing best on TikTok, while YouTube continues to see more success for longer, more in-depth storytelling.

That said, with the rapid growth of YouTube Shorts and the evolution of long-form content on TikTok, the lines between the platforms continue to blur for both audiences as well as marketers.

Kyle Dulay, cofounder of Collabstr

We’ve seen more creators diversifying away from reliance on strictly doing brand deals and earning money through programs like the TikTok Creator Fund.

However, a majority of our creators and brands are still pushing out short-form content much more than long-form: 90% of the content exchanged on Collabstr is short-form content and TikTok's introduction of long-form has not impacted this at all.

The primary reason for this is that short-form content has more viral potential and the attention span of consumers has become accustomed to this format. Most creators still use short-form as a way to reach new audiences and increase their audience. 

You can think of short-form content as casting a wide net to attract people in your niche, and long-form content is what keeps them around and makes them loyal to you as a content creator.

If you’re shooting longform vertically then you put it on TikTok. If you're a creator, you probably put more highly produced and edited long-form content on YouTube, but if it’s long-form vertical you go to TikTok for discovery.

Jen Thorsheim, senior account manager at Open Influence

As a result of TikTok’s push into long-form video, creators who have become accustomed to quick, engaging videos may be struggling to retain user attention, leading to lower viewer retention, completion rates and engagement metrics. Because of this, long-form content should have key brand or product messaging up front before viewers drop off. Branded content should be under 30 seconds.

When it comes to deciding between TikTok vs. YouTube, it’s not necessarily difficult but nuanced. Creators should:

• Prioritise TikTok when tapping trends because the algorithm favors evergreen and cycling content.
• Consider brand KPIs—if engagement is a high priority, gear content towards TikTok, as YouTube is more focused on content consumption and views rather than interaction with the platform.
• Consider target audiences: There is a younger demographic on TikTok compared to YouTube. You can likely reach a broader audience on YouTube depending on the creator.