As a business owner, you know that social media is a great way to connect with potential and current customers. You also know that creating engaging content is key to success on social media. But what do you do when you have something longer than 15 seconds to share on TikTok? In this blog post, we’ll guide you through the process of creating a TikTok video longer than 15 seconds and how to optimize it to get the most watch time. By following these steps, you’ll be able to create engaging content that will keep your audience engaged and coming back for more. So let’s get started!

A Technical Understanding of a TikTok Video longer than 15 seconds:

If you are struggling with the TikTok app itself, here are a few tips on how to begin your journey on TikTok. First, go into the TikTok app and at the bottom of your screen, you should see the “+” sign right in the middle. Go ahead and tap that button to begin.

Above the big red record button, there are 3 options- 3m (3 minutes), the 60s (60 seconds), and 15s (15 seconds). These buttons represent the different timeframes TikTok allows you to record videos for upload. The maximum time for a TikTok video is 3 minutes, but we recommend keeping your videos shorter than that so that you can keep your viewers engaged. A HUGE piece of the TikTok algorithm is watch time. This means how long your viewers actually watching your video matters. If they are dropping off within 3 seconds of your video, TikTok is not going to push your view or content out to fresh people. Remember, they are a business and their one goal is to keep people on their app. If you want to be successful on TikTok, you must help them achieve their goals and they will reward you by pushing you out to their whole community. It must be a win/win situation. With all that said, if you want to make a video longer than 60 seconds, you will need to use the “3m” button. From there, you can edit it to however you want the video to be.

Preparation of a TikTok video longer than 15 seconds:

Many people like to just “wing” TikTok videos. This might be a great strategy for some but when it comes to business owners trying to promote their products or services, preparation is key. This is effectively free advertising so you should in theory put the same amount of effort and consideration into your TikTok videos as you would your paid ads. You don’t need a fancy new phone or expensive studio lighting. What you need is a clear understanding of the message you want to send out. These are short-form content so you can have fun with them and not stress about a script. Even though they can be more playful, they still need to be thoughtful and hook people to keep watching through the end of your video.

With the average attention spans shrinking every year, making sure you capture the audience early is very important. Your TikTok videos should begin with your hook. This is why knowing what you are going to record before you do so is incredibly important in your TikTok strategy. Your videos should follow this formula: Hook, authority, value proposition, and then call to action. Let’s break down each of the following:

The Hook:

This is the single most important part of your video. We will say this again and again, attention spans are shrinking every single day. There is SO much content available on the internet where if you don’t capture someone fast, they are on to the next person or business who will. Really think long and hard about what you want your hook to be. What we tell our clients is that your hook will be the complete opposite of how you would show up in a normal content video or blog post. This has to be something that “Wows” someone and might be almost unbelievable to the audience who is watching it. This is what will capture their attention and make them stay to hear what you have to say. Testing and stepping out of your comfort zone will be important to nail your hook.

Authority:

Here is a little bit of your own sales pitch. In order to get people to listen to your message or jump on your call to action, they need to know who you are and what you can do for them. Let us repeat that again- what you can do for them is all they care about. Some social proof is key at this stage. I see so many “influencers” showing bank receipts, standing in front of rented sports cars, or bragging about how they got their client to 7-figures in a weekend. This type of social proof lacks authenticity and is a cheap way to get a quick dollar from someone who is desperate. When building authority, come from a place of service, not from a place of bragging. Let us give you an example of an approach that is incredibly powerful:

One of our clients was a debt relief company. The founder found himself 10 years ago with over $300,000 of credit card and student loan debt and was able to get himself clear of that debt within 3 years. Through these strategies, he now works with people who are in a similar situation and gets them out of a really terrible situation. His messaging was bringing his own story into the equation. He spoke from the heart and related to the person on the other side of the device who might have felt hopeless. He didn’t have to talk about the Porsche he drives or the million-dollar home he now currently lives in. He just needed to make his potential client feel safe and that they weren’t alone. This was his real-life authority.

Another obvious form of authority is if you have an educational background or professional experience in your field. For instance, if you are a medical doctor, you may be able to speak from a place of authority around health and wellness. You need to show the audience that you have credible information and a fail-proof process that can be replicated. This is what will keep people focused on what you are saying and make them watch your videos all the way through.

Value Proposition:

This section is critical. This is where you are teaching the audience what you have to offer. Let’s go back to our previous client example. At this stage of the video, this is where our debt relief client tells their audience exactly what they need to do to get themselves out of debt. Give a high-level breakdown of what strategies would move the needle. Provide actual value at this point. To use debt relief as an example, don’t say “skip the Starbucks” as your value proposition. This is something that is often used by financial advisors and quite frankly, doesn’t move the needle for most people who are $50k+ in debt. Give information that if the audience implements right away, they will get instantaneous results. This is also an opportunity to give information that they have not heard anywhere else! Give them a taste of your company’s secret sauce. This is how you will get engagement and followers that can then turn into paying clients and customers.

Call to action:

This is your final step for a TikTok video longer than 15 seconds. What do you want the person watching the video to do? Is your company offering a free webinar, do you have a mailing list that includes coupons for your products, or do you want to primarily grow your presence and following on TikTok? How do you want these people to take action for your offer? This is that time to funnel them in. Your call to action shouldn’t be the same on every video. If you are making multiple pieces of content, AB test which call to actions works. You can figure it out through your analytics and then double down on whatever is driving the most engagement to an offer. Your call to action is powerful for your company so whatever you choose to promote will be invaluable to visibility and sales.