Every Third Post On TikTok Is Sponsored
Brands and content creators alike have noticed significant changes in TikTok's algorithm recently. The reason? The surge of advertising.
Did you know that nearly every third post on this platform is now sponsored?
As TikTok and the market evolve, more brands are stepping onto the platform to advertise. This shift significantly reduces the chances of videos going viral organically. In the past, creating a large number of videos with the hope that some would go viral was a viable strategy. However, with advertising now playing a dominant role, the rules of the game have changed.
Adding to this challenge is the well-documented decline in attention spans. The likelihood of a viewer leaving the platform before even encountering your video is increasing. Nevertheless, if a video’s topic is compelling enough to land on the For You Page (FYP) and engage users long enough to watch it to completion—or at least for an extended duration—there are still organic opportunities for success.
With this in mind, the question arises: in TikTok’s new era, what is the better content creation tactic—quantity or quality? How much budget is necessary to succeed now? And when should new strategies be implemented?
Our approach, shaped by these changes in the advertising landscape, focuses on balancing quantity with quality. We’ve adjusted our strategy when working with clients, reducing the number of videos produced each month to focus on curating high-quality topics. Instead of creating 15–20 videos monthly, we now produce 8–10. Of these, some are crafted with the intent to go viral through engaging, relevant themes, while others are supported with content boosting.
Although it’s increasingly difficult to guarantee organic views, videos with strong, appealing topics can still achieve excellent results without any budget. That said, the advertising option cannot be overlooked. Brands that are early adopters of TikTok advertising stand to benefit, as competition among advertisers remains relatively low. As more brands begin to advertise, costs such as cost-per-click (CPC) are expected to rise. Therefore, now is the ideal time to enter the TikTok advertising space. Currently, with just a few hundred euros, you can achieve over a million views!
As always, our team is here to address your questions and concerns. Together, let’s make the most of TikTok!
Text by Marko Anđelković, digital team lead, smartpoint adria