For now, TikTok’s new Photo Mode is being compared to Instagram’s carousels. The app, considered the ruler of condensed video formats, is now giving it back to Instagram (or so people say) with the addition of this new feature.
According to TikTok, “Photo Mode allows you to share carousel posts of still images that automatically display one after another. You can add music to soundtrack the images, which viewers can swipe through at their own pace.”
Photo Mode is available only on the mobile app but might soon be upgraded to other platforms. Users can share multiple photo stills alongside captions that run as long as 2,200 characters (that’s a big jump of 300 characters). There is a slew of editing tools available as well. Modify the clip, set a background score, or add text. Several overlays are available for visual stacking and framing content while zooming in and out.
It seems like short-form video platforms are indeed playing a significant role in information and content discovery. Recently, Google observed that Instagram and TikTok are being used by about 40% of the younger generation instead of Google itself. This is more so because this type of content comes with a better description, more keywords, and better search matching. Even if Google seems to be playing up competition or maybe a real trend is picking up, TikTok is still leading the search-and-find race
Every new component has potential, and it will be interesting to observe how users adapt to TikTok’s image carousels in particular.
