TikTok News: Timeline of the Network’s Evolution 

Snapchat’s greatest success, which Instagram has also incorporated, has become one of the most-used content types, stories. TikTok decides to go for them as well, and so comes TikTok Stories. Although it hasn’t had the same success as Instagram, it has still been established as a unique way to share content on TikTok.

In the beginning, TikTok’s main purpose was to share short-form videos, with a maximum of 180 seconds (3 minutes). However, in 2022 the network decided to extend this possible length to 10 minutes, coming after YouTube. Yet, the average length of viral videos is 41.8 seconds.

With Shopify and TikTok’s partnership success, TikTok launched the TikTok Shop tab, which is dedicated to displaying products and items that may interest users. This tab is available to the right of the “For You” page.

Was BeReal a surprise? Well, actually yes, and since it was received so well by the audience, TikTok decided to also invest in this feature. Thus, the network launched its own version of BeReal, called TikTok Now. With this, the app will notify you randomly in the day to capture a photo and upload it immediately to the network.

Similar to how we see them on YouTube, playlists are useful for sorting your content into different categories. Thus, TikTok launched playlists so content creators can create their own playlists by adding related videos and adding a custom name.

TikTok continues to grow its monetization features to attract new users. With this in mind, the network launched TikTok Series, a way for creators to monetize their content through providing subscriptions to their fans. One Series can have up to 80 videos, with each video a maximum of 20 minutes.

Another tool and platform to generate income from TikTok videos is TikTok Amplify. This is a program that offers videos to brands that want to carry out advertising campaigns. Then with Amplify, brands can choose which videos they want to use for their ads, and the creator will receive compensation in return.

Last year TikTok announced Live Subscription, a monthly subscription program that allows followers to show support to their favorite TikTokers. Similar to Twitch, users who subscribe have certain advantages such as badges and personalized emojis.

Searching to expand the app’s features and convert this into more than just a social network, TikTok aligns with Shopify to enter the world of e-commerce. This integration would help TikTok streamline the process to become a shopping platform.v

Live streams on TikTok turned out to be a great way to share content and connect with followers. So, TikTok created the TikTok Live Studio, a tool similar to OBS Studio, that allows you to broadcast live from your computer or TV screen. Another step towards being the total-package app.

In 2020, the app started granting TikTok account verifications to the most “important” accounts, a process that has since been changed over the years. In the beginning, the app provided account verifications to a few accounts that they found “important” enough. Now, creators can send a request for TikTok to review their account and see if it meets certain requirements. 

Today, live streams are one of the most popular content formats. During the COVID-19 pandemic, TikTok was starting to become one of the most widely used social media platforms. To facilitate “quarantine” interactions, the network launched the live broadcast feature, called TikTok Live. 

How could the network continue to attract content creators? The answer lies in content monetization on the app. Thus, the TikTok Creator Fund was created, a monetary fund provided by the network, so that content creators can earn money through their videos. 

TikTok has already locked down creators, but what they were lacking were the brands to seek out brand partnerships and influencer marketing. To solve this, they launched the Creator Marketplace, a platform that connects brands and creators to collaborate. 

Although the foundations were in place for TikTok to become a reality, it wasn’t officially launched until August 2018, when TikTok and Musical.ly’s merger was complete. They decided to stick with the TikTok name, and that was that. 

TikTok began to incorporate new features to maintain high user retention. One of the first, a milestone in content types, were duets on TikTok. With this content type, you can record yourself reacting to a video. When posted, TikTok displays a split screen, with your content as well as the video you reacted to.

By the end of 2018, the social network was already known around the world but didn’t have the fame that we see today. Still, TikTok surpassed 800 million registered users after less than two years on the market. 

In 2017, TikTok was released outside of China and landed in other regions such as Indonesia and some European countries. This was also the same year that they bought Musical.ly, a similar app to create short-form videos, add effects, and edit content. However, this merger wouldn’t be publicly released until the following year. 

In September 2016, the first version of TikTok, known as A.me, was released to the Chinese domestic marketplace. Technology company ByteDance was quick to change the name and renamed it in December 2017 to TikTok.