Are you up to date on changes from TikTok? Wondering which recent TikTok updates are important to marketers and business owners?
In this article, we explore TikTok changes that affect your marketing.

#1: TikTok Feed
TikTok Launches New Feed Customization Tool
TikTok has introduced a new “Customize Feed” option that lets users provide text guidance on what content they want to see more or less of in their main “For You” feed. The tool includes a text field where users can enter requests like “show me more content from creators I follow” or “show me less of this type of video.” Users can also ask to see different types of content for set periods of time. The customization process aims to provide users with an easier way to specify their preferences without only relying on how they engage with videos in-app.
Our Take: We believe giving users more influence over their feeds is a smart move by TikTok. Historically, the algorithm has made TikTok addictively good at showing relevant videos. However, spam and irrelevant content sometimes slip through. The new feature allows users to specify in natural language what they want to see more or less of. This chatbot-style input should empower users to improve their feeds. As marketers, we're also intrigued by the opportunity to encourage our audience to use this feature to see more of our content.
#2: User Behavior & Experience
TikTok Shutting Down $1 Billion Creator Fund
TikTok has announced it is shutting down its $1 billion creator fund on December 16th, 2023. A TikTok spokesperson said creators in the US, UK, Germany, and France will no longer be able to monetize content through the original creator fund after that date. However, TikTok creators in Italy and Spain will not be affected by the change. The fund was intended to support and incentivize creators on the platform.
Our Take: We believe TikTok's move from the inadequate Creator Fund to superior monetization models is an excellent development. The Creator Fund notoriously underpaid creators relative to their viewership. Huge accounts with billions of views sometimes earn just thousands of dollars. The new models appear far more equitable. Anecdotally, many creators also reported dips in viewership upon joining the Creator Fund, perhaps indicating viewers were served more ads. While the causality is unproven, the correlation indicates issues with the Creator Fund. Guest Tiktok expert Austin Armstrong quickly determined the Creator Fund wasn't beneficial, and he exited the program.TikTok deserves praise for this progression toward appropriately compensating creators. With higher earning potential, top creators will be incentivized to remain active on TikTok, likely further boosting TikTok's dominance as the platform reshapes social video.
Expanded Video Length on TikTok
TikTok has informed users that they will now be able to upload videos up to 15 minutes long, a major expansion from the original 15-second clip length restriction. This change reflects TikTok's ongoing evolution, with the app having gradually increased allowable clip lengths over time – first to 60 seconds, then 3 minutes, 5 minutes, and 10 minutes in 2022. It remains to be seen whether the new 15-minute maximum will be well-received by users accustomed to TikTok's short-form video format.
Our Take: TikTok's shift to longer videos presents a major opportunity for marketers. Historically, short videos drove TikTok's growth, but now the platform encourages videos over 1 minute, with experiments up to 15 minutes. Half of the time spent watching is already on longer videos. This extended time allows for more layered storytelling to continually intrigue viewers. However, the first 30 seconds remain critical to hook the audience. TikTok expert Austin Armstrong would advise marketers to repurpose existing long-form content from YouTube or adapt it to vertical video. Eligibility for TikTok's new monetization model also incentivizes creators to create longer videos. The continual expansion of possible video length indicates TikTok understands users enjoy more layered, serial-style stories. Marketers should leverage this insight and develop captivating narratives spanning the entirety of max video lengths. Well-structured 10-15 minute brand stories could deeply engage users.
TikTok Says Users Are Now Spending Half Their Time in the App Watching Minute+ Long Clips
TikTok hosted an event for popular creators in New York in late October, encouraging them to make more videos over one minute long. TikTok executives highlighted the greater money-making potential and message capacity offered by longer videos. They noted that TikTok users now spend half their time watching videos over a minute, and over the past six months, creators posting longer form content have seen five times the follower growth rate compared to those posting shorter clips. TikTok is clearly invested in shifting creator content towards longer videos while retaining users accustomed to its signature short-form style.
#3: TikTok Ads
TikTok Launches “Out of Phone” to Expand Platform Beyond Mobile
TikTok has introduced a new offering called “Out of Phone,” which displays TikTok content on screens in the real world, outside of the app. The three main components are Billboards, Cinema, and Other Screens. With Billboard, brands can extend existing TikTok campaigns onto physical billboards globally. Cinema replicates the TikTok experience on movie theater screens before shows, enabling brands to advertise alongside top-performing TikTok videos. Finally, Other Screens allows out-of-home partners like bars, airports, retail stores, etc., to showcase TikTok content to their audiences on their existing networks. TikTok tailors the Out of Phone experience and content for each specific location and partner. This expansion beyond mobile looks to capitalize on TikTok's engaging content by displaying it on billions of public screens across the world.
Our Take: TikTok's new “out-of-phone” ad campaigns present a creative opportunity for marketers. Allowing ads on billboards, in movie theaters, bars, retail stores, and gas stations cleverly brings TikTok into the physical world. Marketers can now potentially expose consumers to branded video ads throughout their daily journeys. This omnipresence in both digital and real environments strengthens ad impact and recall. The convenience of managing these diverse placements through one TikTok Ads interface also streamlines execution for agencies handling multifaceted campaigns. Watching funny or captivating TikTok videos while pumping gas could prove an ideal exposure moment. By meshing the digital and tangible so seamlessly, TikTok continues leading innovation in social video marketing. These ambient video campaigns can permeate consumers' lives more profoundly than any platform has accomplished before. Marketers who leverage the out-of-phone ads early could gain a significant first-mover advantage.
Enhanced Attribution Metrics for TikTok Advertisers
TikTok has introduced new attribution measurement capabilities for advertisers to better quantify the platform's impact on driving app installs and purchases. This includes Self-Attributing Network (SAN) integration, which surfaces conversions influenced by TikTok ads beyond the typical last-click model used by mobile measurement partners. TikTok has also introduced Engaged View-Through Attribution, allowing advertisers to measure conversions from video ads viewed for over 6 seconds. Together, these expanded metrics provide fuller visibility into how TikTok ad exposures at various touchpoints contribute to downstream conversions across a customized time window. The enhanced methodology accounts for direct clicks/views, engaged views over 6 seconds, and additional assisted conversions observed within TikTok's platform.

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TikTok Launches Consolidated Events API Endpoint
TikTok has launched a unified Events API endpoint for advertisers to share marketing data from web, app, and offline sources. Previously, each data source required its own endpoint integration. Now, with the consolidated Events API, advertisers only need to integrate once to securely send data from multiple sources directly to TikTok's servers. This streamlines implementation and enables advertisers to more easily leverage online and offline signals for optimization and delivery of TikTok performance ad campaigns in preparation for a cookieless future across the digital advertising industry.
Our Take: TikTok's updated tracking and attribution capabilities provide marketers with valuable optimization insight. The secure Events API and self-attributing ad network allow clearer connections between ad exposures and conversions. Rather than solely last-click attribution, marketers can now track metrics like 6-second views and increased time on-site to determine the true ad performance drivers. With privacy restrictions limiting previous tracking methods, these solutions help sustain the transparency needed to refine campaigns. The expansion also enables TikTok to be tied directly into leading CRM platforms like HubSpot and Salesforce. For marketers continually seeking to enhance results, these upgrades are essential. By moving beyond limited click-based attribution, TikTok empowers optimizing ad strategies to maximize ROI. The ability to accurately evaluate conversion influence across awareness, consideration, and decision journey stages is invaluable. For any marketer struggling to determine campaign effectiveness, leveraging TikTok's expanding measurement capabilities is a must. The more definitive the data, the better campaigns can be.
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GET THE DETAILS#4: TikTok Creative Tools
TikTok Introduces Holiday Creator Cards
TikTok has released specialized Creator Cards to assist brands in developing engaging holiday content across five categories: Community cards offer ideas to foster audience dialog; Edutainment cards provide creative product showcasing approaches; Creator Tools cards detail platform features to maximize views; Trends cards suggest timely meme and hashtag tie-ins; and Storytelling cards share concepts for building connections through personal content. Together, these holiday Creator Cards aim to help brands craft relevant, relatable video content that resonates with the TikTok community during this festive season.
Our Take: TikTok's creator cards offer valuable sparks for idea-starved content creators. When facing the all-too-common content block, these cards suggest best practices tailored to brands' unique positioning. Categories range from community engagement to leveraging platform features to trend applications. Running out forces trying new formats that may resonate unexpectedly. However, the cards provide productive thought-starters when invention eludes. They prompt reflection on untapped topics and approaches aligned to your differentiation. Holiday editions inspire seasonal content possibilities as well. While having an excess of unused ideas, hitting an occasional wall can drive beneficial innovation. Sometimes, an external nudge gets the wheels turning again. Whether an agency or a solopreneur, having prompts to stimulate ideation is invaluable over a long-term content calendar. The creator cards offer welcome, personalized brainstorming assistance right within the TikTok platform.
TikTok Launches Mobile Effect Creation
TikTok has introduced an in-app mobile effect editor to enable creators to build effects directly within the platform. This provides an end-to-end effect creation experience on mobile without needing separate apps or tools. Creators worldwide can now access advanced special effects, templates, and over 2,000 assets to craft interactive, culturally impactful effects. Combined with Effect House for desktop creation, TikTok now offers full effect development capabilities natively, empowering its community to shape trends through effect innovation.
Our Take: TikTok's new mobile effects editor offers agencies and brands a distinct innovation opportunity. As filters and effects intrinsically drive TikTok culture, easy creator access allows custom offerings to stand out. Potentially viral branded effects present valuable exposure, engagement, and authority establishment. We advise developing exclusive effects for intrigued clients, highlighting the platform's visibility benefits. If an effect takes off, bonuses tied to usage thresholds could incentivize initial buy-in. Agencies specifically can differentiate through leading-edge, platform-endemic service expansions like this. Austin Armstrong would keep initial pricing low to spur experimentation; a supplemental viral performance model seeds future repeat business as clients witness the brand lift. Whether a spur-of-the-moment video or an integrated campaign, the effects editor places trendsetting in any marketer's hands. Effect creation familiarity will steadily become an agency expectation as well. Getting in early allows shaping best practices while clients still see these enhancements as novel.
Austin Armstrong is a TikTok expert, marketer, and founder of Socialty Pro, a holistic digital marketing agency that helps businesses drive leads and sales with TikTok. His podcast, BusinessTok, shares case studies from businesses that have successfully leveraged TikTok. Austin is also co-founder of Syllaby. Find Austin on TikTok and across social networks @socialtypro.
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