• by Colin Kirkland , Yesterday

In an effort to champion more episodic content on its platform, TikTok is inviting marketers to develop and publish branded microdramas powered by new AI-powered ad features.

Through TikTok's “Mini Dramas” feature, brands now have the option to create and publish short-form episodic promotional content within one of two in-app hubs: the “Minis Center” or the “Drama Center.”

TikTok designed its Minis Center hub as a place where users can discover episodic content and advertisers can generate revenue from their branded microdramas.

Brands make money when audiences either pay or watch embedded ads in order to unlock additional episodes.

If brands want to promote their microdramas directly in their TikTok account, they can publish through the Drama Center and generate revenue via built-in monetization opportunities across their episodic content.

Branded microdramas can also be promoted via “TikTok Growth Max,” a new ad solution designed to help advertisers scale “high-engagement verticals” – especially microdramas and microgames – by using AI to accelerate users’ discovery to conversion journey.

According to TikTok’s early testing, “Growth Max campaigns drive a 52% increase in incremental audience reach beyond off-platform acquisition campaigns.” Whereas promoting on-platform microdramas and off-platform apps “drives a 10x increase in advertiser scale.”

Over the past few years, soap opera-style microdramas have become a hit on TikTok, generating $1.3 billion in the U.S. in 2025 via direct payments from viewers, according to a recent Business Insider report.

To harness increased fandom surrounding serialized video content on the app, TikTok launched a “Series” feature in 2023, which allows creators to package collections of premium long-form content behind a paywall.

Last year, the company also launched its dedicated Minis Center and a stand-alone mini dramas app in the U.S. and Brazil called “PineDrama.”

Earlier this month, when Meta launched its own “Series” feature, TikTok launched a micro-series writing program in partnership with the Sundance Institute, focused on helping creators develop scripts for original “serialized, story-driven content.”

Now, TikTok wants brands to make use of the same episodic content strategy that creators have been expanding for the past few years, giving advertisers monetary incentives to invest in an alternative, longer-form ad format.