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TikTok hands out 10 tips on how to make long-form videos
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According to TikTok, long-form videos get up to 5x more engagement than short-form videos.

  • TikTok is now prioritizing videos over a minute long.

  • These videos receive up to five times as much watch time as short videos.

  • At a recent creator summit, TikTok gave tips on how to maximize long-form engagement.

TikTok is known for short-form videos, but in recent years, the app has made a concerted effort to incentivize longer, more in-depth videos, increasing the maximum video length to an hour and handsomely rewarding creators who make videos over a minute long

It seems like this focus is paying off. According to TikTok, the watch time of content over one minute was five times that of short videos (although the inherently longer videos might have something to do with this) and creators who focus on high-quality long-form videos earned 15 times more per month than their counterparts. 

Luckily for us, TikTok handed out ten tips on how creators can best maximize their long-form returns at their creator summit in Los Angeles. 

The tips come from creator manager Norissa Samuels:

  1. Have a clear beginning, middle, and end.

  2. Keep your audience engaged throughout.

  3. Use a strong hook to grab the viewer’s attention.

  4. For the hook, consider answering a question, teasing the end result, or using humor.

  5. Be liberal with your editing. Move locations, use trendy sounds, and don’t skimp on effects.

  6. Go in-depth. Teach people something new. There’s a reason why educational videos are consistently popular.

  7. Solve a problem for the viewer. This could be busting a myth or sharing a simple quality-of-life hack.

  8. Prioritize your production value.

  9. Think like a director, which means planning out your costumes, lighting, and sound beforehand. 

  10. Maintain a consistent aesthetic across your videos. You want to be instantly recognizable.

The overarching lesson here is that the meta for long-form videos is very different than the meta for short-form videos. Whereas the best short-form videos are typically lightly edited, the best long-form videos more closely resemble the heavily edited videos you’ll find on YouTube.

None of this means that short-form videos are dead. They still get great engagement, and because they are much easier to make, you can get many more shots on goal. 

But, if you have some editing talent, long-form TikToks are the current asymmetric opportunity.

Photo of Stephen Flanders Stephen Flanders

Stephen Flanders is an Indie Hackers journalist and a professional writer who covers all things tech and startups. His work is read by millions of readers daily and covers industries from crypto and AI to startups and entrepreneurship. In his free time, he is building his own WordPress plugin, Raffle Leader.

  1. 1

    Great tips! I hear from many creators that 1 to 3 minutes work great. But more than that isn't getting good engagement. I also don't see those videos much, but maybe that's changing...

  2. 1

    TikTok has shared 10 tips for creating engaging long-form videos, aiming to help creators improve content quality and engagement. Key recommendations include focusing on storytelling, capturing attention within the first few seconds, and using visual effects to maintain viewer interest. TikTok also emphasizes the importance of maintaining a consistent theme, experimenting with different formats, and optimizing video titles and descriptions for searchability. Additionally, creators are encouraged to interact with their audience through comments and collaborations to boost video reach and engagement.

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