Second on the list of popular social media apps, YouTube is the most used search engine after Google, its parent company. According to Statista, in 2024, adults in the U.S. will spend an average of 48 minutes daily on the video-sharing app. TikTok is coming for YouTube’s crown. The social platform stands out from the crowd with an extraordinary growth rate, and its user base is expected to reach 2 billion active members this year. User growth comes from clever tech implementations, such as the algorithm that creates highly tailored and immersive experiences.
TikTok is looking more like YouTube these days. If you spend a lot of time online, you’ve probably noticed that the short-form video hosting service now supports horizontal, YouTube-style, full-screen videos on the platform. Copying a competitor’s strategy is the oldest trick in the book, and it’s not even the first time we’ve seen it happen. After getting many people interested in vertical videos, TikTok is now trying to promote horizontal videos. Basically, it wants to get users to turn their phones around and shoot videos horizontally.
TikTok Drives Consumption Patterns in A Very Real Way
TikTok is the go-to platform for teens and young adults, allowing them to express their personality and show their prowess. Engagement on TikTok is stronger than on any other social media app, which features a seemingly endless supply of captivating videos. Consequently, the social platform is redefining the way users consume content. Creators are at the heart of TikTok’s video consumption habits; they’re no less than celebrities in today’s modern world. The way TikTok teaches people how to consume video is immensely popular, and there’s no doubt about it. The question now is: What does TikTok ask for?
TikTok Encourages Creators to Post Videos That Can Be Seen Horizontally
TikTok has reached out to some of its users to submit horizontal clips that are more than a minute long. Most laptop screens have a width greater than the height, i.e., they’re in landscape orientation. The screen is wide, not tall. Mobile devices, on the other hand, can be rotated to show videos in both landscape and portrait orientations, so content creators must account for these differences. Any video recording meeting the stated requirements will be boosted in the app within 72 hours of posting.
Creators who’ve been active on TikTok for 180 days or more are eligible to “boost” their views, provided the videos aren’t ads or clips from political parties. At any rate, it’s an interesting switch from TikTok’s traditional focus. The move puts the short-form video hosting service in direct competition with YouTube because it seeks to attract longer-from video creators to post on the platform. TikTok has made great efforts to overtake YouTube as the go-to video-sharing platform, and raising the bar for creators to earn money on the app is a significant move.
TikTok Is Mostly a Mobile Experience – For Viewers on Phones and Tablets
You open TikTok, and a video immediately starts playing. The social media app breaks all design guidelines and best practices with text overlaid on live video. Users can create, watch, and share clips shot on mobile devices, even adding effects like filters, background music, and stickers. Using a computer isn’t a good choice for uploading videos – it’s too hard to get views when you do it, so it’s really frustrating. Most people use TikTok on their phones, which is suitable for the vertical video format. If your device has stopped rotating its screen (or doesn’t rotate at all), don’t panic. The settings are built right in.
Horizontal Videos Aren’t a New Thing. You See Them on Your Feed All the Time
Not that long ago, holding the camera horizontally and recording horizontal videos was out of the ordinary. Nonetheless, video consumption trends are constantly changing, and marketers must react accordingly if they want to garner regular visitors and loyal followers on TikTok. Landscape videos aren’t new to the platform, so you’ve most likely come across them in your feed in the form of clips of movies and TV shows. Users can click on the tilt button to make a video full-screen and watch it like they would watch a YouTube video.
Indeed, vertical video is TikTok’s primary offering, and the prevalence of that format in the app has incentivized almost every other social platform to follow in TikTok’s footsteps, at least experiment with their own displays. It’s doubtful the short-form video hosting service will move away from its core offering, but it wants to post more YouTube-like content on the platform. In other words, TikTok is trying to be more like YouTube, which is ironic given that YouTube is actively promoting YouTube Shorts that look awfully like TikTok.
Chances are this is an attempt to promote TikTok as the future of TV, which wouldn’t be unthinkable given that young generations are scrutinizing entertainment in the virtual spaces they reside in. Maybe TikTok is preparing for viewing in headsets, using a combination of strategies aimed at content creators. The VR (virtual reality) experience is designed to be viewed in a horizontal format to create a realistic experience. Getting back on topic, this isn’t the first time TikTok has urged creators, who have a lot of power and influence, to post YouTube-like content.
Concluding Thoughts
All in all, YouTube and TikTok have distinctive roots, the former created for use via a web browser, while the latter was meant for use on mobile. Over the years, the distinction between the two has blurred, with both trespassing on each other’s space. Content creators, who need people to see and follow them to make money, are compelled to submit videos that can be viewed horizontally, even if their followers aren’t interested. The introduction of the screen-tilting feature cements TikTok’s attempts to become the top social media platform in the market.
Whether or not TikTok sideways will become a thing, only time will tell. What’s certain is that TikTok has a good chance of surpassing YouTube as the video app with the highest average watch time.
