Don't miss interesting news
Metricool recently conducted an extensive social media analysis based on data from 87,600 personal and professional accounts, one million videos, and 73,000 carousels. All this to answer the question: “What does it take to get videos into recommendations?”. Spoiler alert: it’s not daily posting and videos under 15 seconds. From this material, you will learn:
Why carousels and images are important for promotion; What is the optimal video length; Which format is most engaging for users; Useful tips to help with promotion.
Everyone knows that video length and posting frequency affect the likelihood of getting into recommendations, but few people know exactly how. Let’s take a look at the figures offered by Metricool’s research.
Hint. It depends on the length of the video whether the user will watch it to the end or quickly skip ahead. Many bloggers argue that watching to the end and repeated playbacks help promote videos in recommendations – algorithms find them interesting. That’s why videos shouldn’t last longer than 30 seconds, and ideally, 15 seconds.
In fact. Metricool’s research completely refutes these assumptions: the best duration is from 2 to 5 minutes. On average, such videos get about 50,000 views.
Very short videos, up to 10 seconds, get the fewest views – an average of 11,110 for personal and 14,256 for professional accounts. Videos that are too long, from 5 to 10 minutes, also don’t perform well – 37,058 and 49,480, respectively.
In-depth research has revealed a link between account size and video length. Each category has its own ideal duration. For example, for newcomers to TikTok, videos from 1 to 2 minutes are suitable, and for medium-sized accounts with 2,000-10,000 subscribers, 31 to 60 seconds are suitable. For large accounts with more than 50,000 followers, the ideal length is 2 to 5 minutes.
Assumptions. TikTok experts believe that you should post one video every day, i.e. 7 videos per week.
Fact. Studies show otherwise: for small and medium-sized accounts, it is enough to post 2-3 videos per week, while those with more than 50,000 subscribers should post at least 7.
Assumptions. Bloggers claim that sharing is the most valuable form of interaction with content.
In fact, it is. They are not mistaken here. According to the analysis, reposts really increase the attractiveness of videos for algorithms, as they help to popularize the platform on other social networks.
Comments are next in importance – they are left less frequently, but they indicate user interest, which makes the video more visible.
Likes are the least valuable because they are usually given as a sign of approval or support, which has little to no impact on promotion.
The engagement rate, known as ER (Engagement Ratio), averages 5.47% for personal accounts and 4.26% for professional accounts.
To calculate your ER, sum up the likes, comments, and reposts, divide by the number of views, and multiply by 100.
TikTok has three main sources of impressions: recommendation feed, subscription feed, and search. Additionally, hashtags and sounds work.
The recommendation feed provides the largest reach, and, according to the study, priority is given to new and small accounts. In other words, the platform tries to give everyone an equal chance to become popular.
Views in the subscriptions section increase with the growth of subscribers for large accounts. Hashtags and sounds have almost no effect on promotion. Search looks promising, especially since the developers are currently working on improving it to make it a full-fledged search engine with videos, where users can find answers to any questions.
The time of publication also plays an important role. According to statistics, the best days for professional accounts are Monday at 03:00 and 05:00, Tuesday at 02:00 and 04:00, Friday at 02:00, and Sunday at 02:00.
For personal accounts, these parameters are slightly different. Compared to professional accounts, there is more time for a “shot”. The ideal moments are: Monday at 01:00, 03:00, and 04:00, as well as Saturday at 03:00.
In general, the best day for personal profiles is Friday, and for professional profiles – Tuesday, because these days bring the most views.
So, it turns out that staying with a personal account is more profitable, as there are more chances to get into recommendations.
The carousel format and the publication of images on TikTok appeared only two years ago, but instantly became popular among users in post-Soviet countries. In the US, the situation is different – a carousel is published on average once a week.
Metricool’s research found no connection between the frequency of posts and the number of views. Instead, the number of subscribers has a significant impact on views.
The most common reaction to carousels and images is a like. The second most common is reposts, which are twice as many as comments.
The engagement rate (ER) for image carousels is higher than for videos – 5.85% for professional accounts and 7.06% for personal accounts.
Professional accounts with less than 2,000 followers have the highest ER – 7.36%, and large personal accounts with an audience of more than 50,000 users – 8.11%.
The main source of views, as in the case of videos, remains the recommendation feed, accounting for 74% of all views. Small and new accounts have an advantage when posting carousels compared to more popular profiles.
The time and day for posting carousels are different from those ideal for videos. Images get the most views on professional accounts on Wednesdays at 2:00. In general, carousels do not receive much attention regardless of the day or time of publication, possibly due to a lack of analytical data.
On personal accounts, the distribution by day looks more dynamic. The best days for posting are Monday at 1:00, 3:00, and 5:00, as well as Saturday at 3:00.
In Western countries, the carousel format is inferior to traditional videos. According to statistics, users interact with videos 60% more often than with images. However, carousels attract 25% more interaction, which proves their appeal.
Based on all the data, video remains the dominant content format on TikTok for international audiences.
Statistics are good, but practice is key. To succeed, you need to listen to the recommendations and adapt them to your content. Here are some tips from Metricool.
A good example is the account of the University of Tampa in the United States, which alternates useful content with entertaining. Short videos with jokes and memes have a better dynamic than long interviews or Q&A sections.
Both videos and carousels have their advantages, so use both. For example, the popular travel account “gihihihina” uses both formats evenly and gets equally good results.
Don’t forget to focus on your audience and goals. For a jewelry brand, for example, aesthetic photos are better suited than videos.
TikTok’s algorithms are focused on providing users with content that they are interested in. It is important to include keywords everywhere: in subtitles, on the screen, in the title, description, and even profile. This will help algorithms identify your content and direct it to the right audience.
It’s also important for internal search, so users can find content on demand.
Followers also play an important role in account growth. Create content that is valuable to them, encourage interaction with questions and calls to action, and use different formats.
Sound plays an important role in the popularity and virality of a video. Trending sounds grab users’ attention because they already know what to expect.
To stay on top of trends, use the TikTok Creator Search Insight tool. It tracks popular trends and user searches.
Beating TikTok and its algorithms is not easy, but it is possible. Experiment with the timing, frequency, and duration of your videos, and keep a close eye on your statistics to help bring your content to the top of the recommendations.