TikTok, being one of the most used social networking platforms, is a good way to promote products, services, and content. Podcasters have been uploading snippets of their episodes to show a glimpse of them to a wider audience, and now they'll be able to upload entire episodes for users to listen to.
Podcasts on TikTok
Podcasts have been growing in popularity, whether they are hosted by well-known celebrities or privileged crypto bros giving advice on how to get rich. They appeal to different audiences as each show discusses various topics.
Sometimes, TikTok users come across a clip from a podcast that leads them to listen to or watch the entire episode on another platform. That will no longer be the case as TikTok now allows content creators to upload entire episodes.
It will be located in the RSS feed, which can be linked to their short-form videos. When a user decides to listen to an entire podcast, all they have to do is click on the link and they won't have to leave the app to do so unlike before.
Podcasting 🤝 TikTok
— Brett Dashevsky (@brettdash_) August 8, 2023
Creators can now upload entire episodes to TikTok via an RSS feed and link them to their short-form clips.
One click and boom. Dive into the entire episode.
Why is this a big deal?
For TikTok — users can tune into full episodes without leaving the… pic.twitter.com/Waf2v4pxi3
Given that the social media site has more than a billion users worldwide, it is yet another way for fledgling podcasters to reach a larger user base quicker. As posted by Brett Dashevsky on X, clips on TikTok now serve as gateways and not just teasers.
This also puts TikTok ahead of other competing platforms as it adds another feature that helps with discoverability. Users are also more inclined to stay in the app since they will have more content to listen to aside from just watching short-form videos.
So far, the app only has two major competitors. One is YouTube, which has had podcasts for a while now. The other is Spotify, which even has its own section dedicated to podcasts. Meta actually has podcast episodes, but they are presented as normal videos like any other.
Meta Needs to Catch Up
There has been ongoing competition between TikTok and Meta when it comes to catching the attention of users online. In an effort to pull viewers back, Meta launched a feature called Reels, which is very similar to TikTok's short video format.
Both Facebook and Instagram have the feature. According to Barrons, users have since been spending 24% more time on Meta platforms after Reels were introduced, which means that they have effectively established both apps as a place to post and view short videos.
It's probably still not as in demand as TikTok when it comes to short clips, but it's likely that Meta pulled away a few viewers from the formerly mentioned app. Needless to say, Meta still has a long way before it could surpass TikTok.
Although even with its popularity, the short-form video app is still in trouble when it comes to the US, which Meta has almost no problem with. American viewers make up a huge percentage of TikTok viewers, and it will surely put a dent in its records if the app was banned.
