How Brands Can Adapt To A U.S. TikTok Ban: Strategies For Digital Marketing Disruptions

Update: TikTok Did go dark…for a minute.

Much has been said about the potential ban, the temporary shutdown, and the questionably enthusiastic return (for previous users, while new users may face availability delays.) And while no one can be sure how this new administration will alter the social media landscape, new players are already cropping up as competitors.

As we noted below, Red Note may continue to see an increase in users. And Bluesky, a Twitter-feed replacement that gained early traction with some politicians, reaches well beyond American borders.

So many consumers and brands have been shifting to BlueSky that in a few weeks, they’ll be launching Flashes, which is a video-first and photo sharing app to be the newest kid on the block. With the TikTok ban looming, we have to consider that brands will need more places to syndicate their content to, and this appears to be a place where that’ll be happening.  

Everyone is talking about the potential for a TikTok ban — January 19th is the day they go dark, pending how the Supreme Court rules.

Shoutout to all the creators who make this app so compelling. TikTok has given influencers a platform to shine, while brands have watched closely and launched their own campaigns.  

A ban on TikTok in the United States would significantly impact brands that rely on the platform for marketing, audience engagement, driving revenue, and content distribution and to those who invest heavily on the platform. As of 2023, TikTok reportedly helps brands contribute over $24 billion to the U.S. economy.  

You can’t throw branded swag at conferences without hitting a TikTok user, and while we’re watching closely, we’re most interested in how the social media content ecosystem will evolve for brands. Take a look at potential impacts and some ways APR can help develop solutions, should the ruling pose a threat to TikTok users across the U.S.  

Impact on Brands:

• Loss of a Key Marketing Channel: Brands relying heavily on TikTok for outreach will need to pivot quickly to engage younger generations & other audiences that primarily use TikTok. Spending can easily pivot into more reliance on IG and YouTube Shorts, but there are many other options. Creator podcasts, Reddit, Threads, Snapchat, LinkedIn, Connyct ( the creator economy platform that provides college students with a private, community-focused social network), and live shopping app Whatnot all provide opportunity for investments. Brands may also choose to wait and see what unfolds with other platforms like Neptune or Red Note. (As of Monday, RedNote downloads blew up on the Apple Store.)  

• Global Impact: Brands need to analyze global impact and determine whether to continue investing in TikTok, which has over 1 billion monthly active users. While the U.S. market will certainly be impacted (there are over 150 million monthly active users in the United States), the global market continues to be an opportunity.

• Disrupted Content Strategies: Brands with active campaigns or long-term content plans for TikTok would face disruptions, requiring quick adaptation to other platforms.

• Influencer Marketing Challenges: TikTok influencers who are integral to campaigns may face reduced reach moving to other platforms, affecting collaborations and ROI.

• Data and Analytics Gaps: Insights derived from TikTok campaigns (audience behavior, preferences, GMV, etc.) would be unavailable, impacting data-driven marketing strategies.

How APR Can Help:

• Enhanced Performance Measurement: APR can help brands with both mature influencer programs and those just starting out, pinpointing metrics needed to track and measure ROI, and optimize campaign success through first-party data.  

• Accelerating Production Adaptation: With a holistic end-to-end strategy, we advise many brands to repurpose existing content (in this case, TikTok content) into a DAM system to build efficiency for broadcast to other platforms like Connected TV (CTV) or OOH.

• Optimizing Marketing Investments: By conducting audits of current marketing spend, APR ensures investments in content, production, and partnerships remain effective regardless of any platform shifts.  

• Influencer Partnerships: APR works with brands to identify and migrate influencer strategies to platforms that align with your audience demographics and marketing KPIs, allowing you to reclaim control of a complex GTM model.

• Proactive Risk Management: APR improves ways of working and processes, ultimately developing contingency plans for potential future disruptions across the digital marketing landscape. Bans such as this can happen in other countries, and governance can help improve speed to market.

Need to stay proactive and resilient amid significant changes to the marketing landscape?

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