Manifest

Creative Pushups by Manifest

At Manifest, our purpose is clear. We make brands unmistakable to their audiences, through content that serves and inspires, on platforms that deliver distinct experiences and with personal impact that is precisely measured. We know that “good enough” is not enough. Together we will make unmistakable things.

Long-form content is dead, you say? TikTok (and our head of social Josh Druding) say not so fast. Not only is “lean-in” content becoming the norm on the platform, it’s getting longer. 

After quickly becoming the leading platform in short-form content, TikTok introduced enhanced 15-minute time limits back in October 2023. And as of January, 30-minute uploads were already in beta testing. 

To put this in perspective, your favorite episode of The Office is roughly 20 minutes.

Select creators have also received alerts from TikTok incentivizing posts over a minute long in landscape. You read that correctly — horizontal video. According to the platform, qualified videos will receive boosted views within 72 hours of posting.

How we got here:

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 TikTok has evolved into an infinite number of niche communities, carving out a space for everyone from pimple-popping doctors to gut health “experts” and for every topic from #parenttok to sustainability trends. 

👨‍💻 Like they do on YouTube, users on TikTok log in not just for entertainment and escape, but also to learn and be informed — in many cases, all of the above (aka edutainment). 

💸 TikTok responded to user behavior by phasing out its original Creator Fund in favor of its Creativity Program Beta, under which creators will have to make videos longer than one minute if they want to get paid by the app.

🕵️‍♀️ TikTok quickly earned the title of one of Google’s top competitors, and not just in terms of video. Recent studies found TikTok to be the favored search engine for more than half of Gen Z —  another indication that users are regularly seeking information on the platform. 

Lean-in content is also finding success on other platforms:

📄 LinkedIn has always been a safe space for long-form content, and even more so with the addition of articles, newsletters and docs. 

🗞️ Instagram also extended its video length, added more external link options and increased its character count to 2,200. And editorial-type accounts are getting more creative with distilling feature pieces into 10-frame carousels.

How brands should respond (spoiler, a lot of the same rules apply):

Start by identifying past top-performing content and exploring ways to reshare it with added context. Video can be intimidating for brands, so consider partnering with creators, testing editorial-style carousels, and don't be afraid to use your phone for editing with tools like CapCut. 

And don't forget, the same rules apply when making social content:

✅ Quickly establish value: Prove you’re an authority on the subject and inject a unique point of view, advice, tips, etc.

✅ Niche down: ﻿Be an authority on what matters to your audience and zero in on those conversations.

✅ Keep it entertaining: Entertainment can come in many forms. It doesn’t always have to be humor. Even punchy editing tactics can make content more entertaining.

Want to explore more ways lean-in content can help tell your brand story? Let's chat 🤝 

Happy Leap Day. Here are twenty-nine thoughts, four years in the making.

Whether today sets your heart soaring or makes your eyes roll, we love it when you feel all your feelings. Wishing our clients, partners and Manifesters a happy #valentinesday ❤️ 

Save the Date! We're back in Austin on March 9th with a brand new Creative Pushups by Manifest experience for #sxsw2024 🎨💪

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