Do Your Videos Really Work?
What We Learned from Analyzing Thousands of TikTok Segments

In today’s creator economy, video is king—and creators and brands alike are deeply attached to their content. After all, a well-edited TikTok or Instagram Reel can feel like a tiny masterpiece. But what if that masterpiece is actually working against your goals?

At Trendio, we’ve previously shown that longer videos tend to outperform shorter ones in video shopping—more time means more storytelling, more hooks, more conversion moments. But that doesn’t mean every second is pulling its weight. Even high-performing videos can contain segments that under-deliver, distract, or simply waste precious seconds of viewer attention.

So we decided to put this to the test.

We analyzed thousands of shopping videos and used predictive models to assess which parts of a video actually drove conversions. Rather than evaluate full videos, we broke each one down into 5-10 second “segments”—self-contained clips that together form the full video. A typical TikTok shopping video contains 5 to 15 of these segments.

The Results: Not All Segments Are Equal

Our analysis (Exhibit 1) revealed that video content is far from uniformly effective. In fact, only 14% of segments were highly effective, while 40% contributed to conversion more moderately. On the flip side, 37% were neutral, and a concerning 9% were detrimental, meaning they actively hurt performance.

What Makes a Segment Effective?

The best-performing segments had a few things in common:

• Clear product demos – showing how something is used, applied, or worn
• Ingredient or feature highlights – specific and relevant details
• Before-and-after moments – visual proof of results

By contrast, ineffective segments often veered off-topic—into personal stories, tangents, or jokes that didn’t relate directly to the product. While these might seem entertaining, they often caused users to lose interest and scroll away.

Worse yet, detrimental segments included low-quality content: poor lighting, shaky footage, awkward silences, or moments where the product was criticized. While this may boost the creator’s authenticity, it rarely benefits the brand.

Timing Matters—A Lot

One of the most surprising findings was that ineffective and detrimental segments weren’t just buried at the end of videos—they were evenly distributed throughout. In many cases, the first 20 seconds of a video contained underperforming segments, while stronger moments came later.

That’s a problem. TikTok viewers often make snap decisions within seconds. If your video doesn’t grab attention and deliver value up front, you risk losing the viewer before your best content even plays.

The Solution: AI That Edits with Results in Mind

To help brands and creators maximize performance, Trendio developed proprietary video AI designed not to replace human creativity, but to amplify it.

Unlike generative AI tools that simulate creators, our technology starts with real, human-made content. It acts like a ruthless, objective editor—scanning every video, identifying its self-contained segments, scoring each for performance potential, and then auto-editing a tighter, more effective version. It’s built to answer one question: Which version of this video is most likely to convert?

Every AI-edited video goes through human QA before it’s published, ensuring the final product maintains logic, coherence, and brand voice.

Available Now

Trendio’s video AI tools are included in all our packages. They power TikTok Shop optimization, influencer video performance tuning, and our Trendio Direct solution, which brings high-converting short videos to Product Detail Pages across eCommerce sites.