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Since the beginning of the new year, TikTok has announced plenty of reports, findings and new features that are sure to keep the app at the top of the charts – and top of mind. As a leading social media firm in NYC, we’ve compiled the most important TikTok updates thus far. Plus, on Wednesday, March 23rd, we’re hosting a webinar on social-first video content to answer all of your TikTok questions – and more. Register here.

They’re Finally Here: 10-Minute TikTok Videos

In July 2021, TikTok began rolling out the option to create videos up to three minutes long. Since then, the app has tested even longer videos, ultimately releasing 10-minute long videos to all users today. Some users were notified directly on the app within the Account Updates section, with an announcement that read, “Upload videos up to 10 minutes long from your device. Make sure you’re using the latest version of TikTok before trying out the feature on your app or tiktok.com.” Having started out with only one option for 15-second videos, TikTok has recognized the need to continuously expand capabilities to gain more attention from users and brands alike. 

Read the full article here.

TikTok Releases New Insights Into Culture Drivers

TikTok recently published the second iteration of the What’s Next report, sharing key user trends and shifts in order to guide marketers towards success in 2022. The report includes rising hashtags, case studies and tips for brands for each of the following categories: Beauty & Personal Care; News & Entertainment; Financial Services; Food & Beverage; and Gaming. The report also provides a deep dive into community commerce, the evolution of sound, creator community and brand safety.

Read the full report here.

Evolving Safety Tools & Policies

Throughout the month of February, TikTok made several announcements regarding safety, security, and well-being on the app. They started with updates to their Community Guidelines, focusing on their dangerous acts and challenges policy; expanding their approach to eating disorders; providing clarity on hateful ideologies prohibited on the platform; and expanding their policy to “protect the security, integrity, availability, and reliability” of the platform. Soon after, they launched a new Brand Safety Center, which “will serve as a central hub for all insights, articles, partnerships and other information related to brand safety and transparency at TikTok.” 

Read the articles here and here.

Introducing: TikTok Instant Page

Designed to streamline the customer journey on TikTok, the app’s new Instant Page shopping display option is “a lightweight native landing page…that loads up to 11 times faster than standard mobile pages.” Now available for all In-Feed Ads formats worldwide, Instant Page allows users to “view videos and images, swipe through carousels, or click on buttons to explore another destination – all without leaving the TikTok app.” Instant Pages can be used for all campaigns measuring Traffic, Conversion, Reach and Video Views.

Read the full announcement here.

TikTok’s Impact on Offline Sales

In January, TikTok released findings from a series of offline sales lift studies with NCSolutions, as well as takeaways from marketing mix modeling meta analyses in partnership with Nielsen. The main goal of this work was to “understand TikTok’s ability to generate incremental return for consumer packaged goods advertisers.” Both studies demonstrated TikTok’s ability to generate incremental sales and positive ROAS for CPG advertisers, with key findings as follows:

• TikTok drove a 14% higher paid media ROAS versus all digital media measured in the models across the CPG vertical in the U.S.
•  TikTok drove 2X the offline sales efficiency compared with all digital media measured in the models across the CPG vertical in the U.S.
• In the U.S., advertisers could increase in-feed impression volume by 50% while maintaining efficient offline sales lift.
• Among the 16 commissioned NCSolutions studies, 14 generated significant sales lift.
• The average ROAS for the NCSolutions offline sales lift studies was 2X the NCS median campaign performance benchmark.

View all results here.

TikTok’s Retail Path to Purchase

Following a global research study conducted with Material, TikTok claims that its retail path to purchase is an infinite loop, empowering “brands to establish more meaningful relationships with consumers that result in communities of brand loyalists, repeat purchases, and greater spending.” High level, the study uncovered three major themes of TikTok’s path to purchase that drive results: TikTok impacts every stage of the purchase journey; TikTok’s influence continues after the purchase; and TikTok’s consumer journeys are powered by joy. We’ve included additional results below:

• TikTok is 1.7x more likely than the other platforms to be the source for product discovery.
• TikTok users are 1.4x more likely than other platforms’ users to buy a product/brand they find on TikTok.
• TikTokers are 2.4x more likely than other platform users to create a post and tag a brand after buying a product.

For brands looking for big results on TikTok, the team recommends building brand presence, integrating natively with user experiences, partnering with TikTok creators, tapping into trends and engaging with the community.

View all findings from the TikTok Marketing Science Global Retail Path to Purchase Study 2021 conducted by Material here.

Rumored Platform Updates

In addition to confirmed platform changes and new features, there is no shortage of rumored tests and potential platform updates. Unconfirmed updates include avatar tools, audio-only live streams, an integrated Stories experience and an opt-in function that would allow users to see who is viewing their profile (and vice versa). We’re keeping a close eye on these updates and will share more details as they become available.

Considering TikTok for your 2022 marketing strategy? Get in touch with our experts at info@socialflyny.com and register for our webinar on social-first video content.

Written By: Breann Antokal, Business Development & Marketing Manager