TikTok starts encouraging horizontal video creation to rival YouTube
TikTok has started a campaign to encourage the creation of longer, horizontal videos, content creators report. The platform promises to boost content that meets criteria for 72 hours after publication.
“Post videos longer than a minute and horizontally to increase your views”, points out a TikTok message shared by informant Matt Navarra, on Threads. In the same pop-up, the network lists criteria that the content and creator must follow to be eligible for the program.
Published by @mattnavarra
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Among the criteria are:
- Videos must be more than 1 minute long and horizontal;
- Content must follow Community Guidelines;
- It must be original content;
- May not contain advertising.
In the same message, TikTok informs that content involving lip syncing or random recordings is not encouraged, however, they are not prohibited. The company also created the hashtag “#longervideos” to catalog this type of content.
TikTok vs YouTube
TikTok has been trying to become more like YouTube for a long time. In February 2023, for example, the platform announced the “Creative Program”, a monetization method aimed at creators focusing on content longer than 1 minute in length.
Now, with the incentive to create content with a 16:9 aspect ratio, TikTok takes another step in this transformation. For now, the incentive is just in reach, but it is possible that this is just an introduction to a more intense campaign.
Longer horizontal videos are YouTube's standard format, which dominates the segment. Google's platform also tries to compete with short videos through YouTube Shorts.
Until now, TikTok has not publicly commented on encouraging the new video format. Therefore, it is possible that this is a campaign with limited reach.
