TikTok announced last week that users will soon be able to publish videos up to 10 minutes long, up from a maximum of three minutes currently, one minute prior to that, and 15 seconds at launch. The move is further evidence that video is critical to the present and future of social media.

“We’re always thinking about new ways to bring value to our community and enrich the TikTok experience,” the company explained. “Last year, we introduced longer videos, giving our community more time to create and be entertained on TikTok. Today, we’re excited to start rolling out the ability to upload videos that are up to 10 minutes, which we hope would unleash even more creative possibilities for our creators around the world.”

The change suggests that TikTok isn’t satisfied with being the world’s number-three social media platform behind Facebook and Instagram. Longer videos – which have already been adopted by Facebook, where users can post videos up to two hours, and Instagram, where videos can be up to 10 minutes – are a great way to keep users engaged and on-platform for extended periods. TikTok’s current model allows creators to post series of three-minute videos; the end of each video is an opportunity for users to navigate to a rival platform.

The reason TikTok wants to keep users on-platform, of course, is to bolster its case as a leading digital advertising platform and essential component to any social media marketing strategy. From an advertisers’ perspective, the move to 10-minute videos will enable repurposing of existing video assets originally created for YouTube or Facebook, even if tweaks will be needed to assimilate with TikTok’s unique ecosystem.

Further, TikTok’s announcement solidifies that video has become increasingly central to all social media creation, and that longer-form videos are perhaps the way of the future. While not all advertisers need to jump into long-form-video-creation tomorrow, it may be worth banking ideas for coming campaigns.

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