The incredibly popular social media app is facing a potential ban in the United States.
After facing a recent ban on government devices and even on some college campuses, the social media app, TikTok, is now facing even bigger consequences. The Biden Administration has proposed a nationwide ban if the company, ByteDance, does not sell its stakes in the platform.
If the app does get banned in the United States, brands and marketers who have relied heavily on the app for promotional purposes are likely to find themselves at a crossroads. In today’s blog, let’s discuss TikTok’s popularity and what the potential ban means for both businesses and marketing efforts.
TikTok’s Undeniable Popularity
According to a forecast from Insider Intelligence, TikTok will have around 834.3 million worldwide monthly users in the year 2023. The publication also states that the app is the third-largest of the “Big Five” worldwide social networks: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and Twitter.
In 2022, overall social ad spending began trending downward, however the same could not be said for TikTok. According to DigiDay, ad spending on TikTok actually rose 20% between the first three quarters of the year.
With TikTok’s popularity, it isn’t a surprise that brands are willing to spend more advertising dollars there than with other apps. However, with a looming ban, going all in on TikTok could prove to be a risky choice.
How a Ban Could Harm Brands
From small businesses to well-known, established brands, a TikTok ban has the potential to harm businesses in different ways.
Many businesses have specifically used TikTok to help garner a unique audience that may be harder to achieve on other social media platforms. A ban could result in the loss of their social media presence, which ultimately hurts a brand’s revenue.
Brands that have studied the ways in which the TikTok algorithm works and have crafted content that goes viral there may struggle to duplicate that same success on other social media platforms. For a brand, the loss of visibility makes it difficult for a business to succeed.
How a Ban Could Affect Marketing Efforts
With TikTok’s lifeline hanging in the balance, marketing teams around the country are in a gray area, unsure if they should prematurely move on from the app or wait for solid answers.
In the event that TikTok is banned, marketers are likely to shift their efforts into (re)building their presence on other social media platforms that feature short-form video content. Including Instagram’s Reels feature and YouTube Shorts, short form content can still be created, but it is an entirely new algorithm that marketers will have to understand if they aren’t already familiar with it.
Marketing teams may also have to discuss with clients where else they should spend their advertising dollars. If TikTok is a platform that works well for specific clients, convincing them to place their money elsewhere or put more attention into a different app could be a challenge.
As of now, TikTok is still currently available to use in America.
How Blufish Can Help Your Brand
Blufish understands first hand how quickly the world of social media can change. If you are interested in developing a strong social media strategy and presence, we are here to help! Our digital team provides expert management, planning, tracking, analytics and content development. We will work with you to create engaging content that connects you to your target audience.
If you are interested in working with the Blufish team, contact us today.