TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, has been ordered to sell TikTok or face a nationwide ban in the United States. President Biden's bill, with a deadline set for January 19th, 2025, has the potential to disrupt influencer marketing strategies across the country. As brands heavily invest in influencer partnerships, particularly on platforms like TikTok, this looming ban raises critical questions about how to safeguard influencer-driven campaigns and strategies.
The purpose of this article is to provide guidance on how brands can adapt their influencer strategy in the event that the TikTok ban goes into effect.
Understanding the TikTok Ban Timeline
The bill proposed by President Biden outlines that TikTok will face a ban in the U.S. unless ByteDance divests from the app by January 19th, 2025. If ByteDance is granted a 90-day extension, this deadline would extend to April 2025. While TikTok has survived previous ban threats, this latest development calls for proactive planning in case the ban is enacted.
For brands relying on TikTok for influencer marketing, this potential disruption necessitates a thoughtful and strategic approach to ensure continued success regardless of the platform's future.
1. Turn Off TikTok Advertising in the US
This might sound like a scary big step, but it’s an important one. After all, you can’t spend money on a platform you can’t trust will even work. Do yourself the favor of immediately redistributing those funds across other social networks.
If it turns out that the TikTok ban does not go through, then you can turn US advertising back on and resume your original strategy.
2. Download All of Your Brand’s TikToks
In theory, you should have the creatives (videos, captions, etc) stored elsewhere. But just to be safe, make sure you download all of the TikToks that your brand has ever made well before the January 19th date.
Those short-form TikToks have plenty of viability on other short-form platforms, so if you don’t have your pre-uploaded final versions handy, use a tool to grab every TikTok you’ve uploaded. The myfaveTT Chrome Extension can download every TikTok you’ve ever made, without a watermark! SnapTik is also handy for single TikTok downloads.
3. Analyze Your Past Performance
Before diving into any contingency plans, brands should begin by evaluating their current reliance on TikTok. Specifically, ask yourself the following questions:
- How much of my influencer strategy and performance relies on TikTok?
- What are the key metrics tied to TikTok campaigns (reach, engagement, VIT, etc.)?
- What is the ROI of investments in TikTok creators?
Analyzing these metrics will help brands understand the impact that losing TikTok could have on their overall influencer strategy. If TikTok has played a significant role, reallocating marketing budgets and adjusting expectations for other platforms will be essential.
4. Ensure You’re Invested in Diverse Platforms
TikTok has played a pivotal role in shaping influencer strategies, but it’s essential to explore alternative platforms to ensure continued success in influencer marketing. Brands should:
- Analyze Other Platforms: Based on your performance analysis, consider shifting your influencer strategy to platforms that have shown similar engagement metrics to TikTok, such as Instagram Reels or YouTube Shorts.
- Explore Growth Potential: Look at emerging platforms like Snapchat or even newer video-focused social apps. These platforms may offer untapped opportunities, especially for creators who are looking for new homes for their content.
- Experiment with Repurposing Content: Consider repurposing your high performing TikTok content on platforms like YouTube Shorts or Instagram Reels. You may find that some of the trends and content that was successful on TikTok will be successful elsewhere as well.
- Reallocate Budgets: As part of your contingency plan, begin reallocating any marketing budgets that were previously intended for TikTok. Identify which platforms have the best potential to meet your performance benchmarks.
5. Review Data and Benchmark Your Strategy
The TikTok ban will severely impact access to TikTok’s data for U.S.-based teams, which means brands will need to have access to their performance data prior to the ban taking effect. It’s important to export your 2024 data from TikTok, including:
- Creator metrics (engagement rates, impressions, video views)
- Campaign performance data (costs, reach, ROI)
- Content performance and trends
This data will be valuable in two ways:
- Benchmarking Performance: It will allow you to assess the direct impact of losing TikTok on your overall performance and make adjustments accordingly.
- Reconfiguring Your Influencer Strategy: Use this data to identify which types of content and which creators performed best on TikTok. This can help you pivot your strategy to other platforms and make informed decisions on where to allocate resources moving forward.
Pro Tip: It’s also critical to prepare a contingency plan with relevant teams who leverage TikTok content. For example, check in with your paid media team to determine where paid budgets that were slotted for TikTok boosting will be reallocated.
6. Create Contingency Plan with Creators and Keep Relationships Strong
One of the most critical aspects of any influencer strategy is maintaining strong relationships with creators. If TikTok is banned, influencer marketing campaigns will be disrupted. Here’s what to do:
- Identify Top TikTok Creators: Assess the performance of your TikTok creator partners. Which creators drive the most engagement and ROI for your brand? Are they likely to have an equally strong presence on other platforms?
- Vet New Creator Partners: Look for up and coming creators who have high performance on non-TikTok platforms, who might make good partners for your brand. To determine if they’re a good fit, pay attention to performance metrics, audience demographics, and brand affinity.
- Open Dialogue with Creators: Reach out to these influencers and discuss their plans for the potential ban. Many creators are active across multiple platforms, and you might find that they are already establishing strategies to pivot to alternatives like Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, or Snapchat.
- Contract Clauses: For current or new TikTok creator contracts, it’s essential to include contingency clauses. These clauses should outline how the partnership will be adapted if TikTok becomes unavailable, such as ensuring that the creator continues to post on other platforms or revisiting the agreed-upon payment structures.
Alongside this, effective communication with your creators will be key in maintaining healthy, productive relationships during uncertain times. Keep the following steps in mind:
- Open Conversations: Discuss your creators’ plans for the TikTok ban and encourage transparency. Creators who have a strong presence on TikTok are likely to be impacted the most, but they may already have a plan to transition to other platforms.
- Evaluate Cross-Platform Performance: Look at the performance of your TikTok creators on other platforms. How does their audience size and engagement compare across Instagram, YouTube, and other video-based platforms? This will help you assess how easily they can pivot and what you can expect post-TikTok.
- Negotiate Updated Contracts: If your creator partnerships have terms that extend beyond January 19th, 2025, update those contracts with clauses that allow for flexibility in case TikTok is no longer available. Consider discussing alternative platforms for their content, as well as potential changes to compensation if the TikTok ban materializes.
7. Monitor Broader Regulatory Trends
The potential TikTok ban is part of a larger trend of increasing government scrutiny of social media platforms. Even if the TikTok ban does not come to fruition, brands should remain vigilant and prepared for future regulations that may impact other platforms as well.
The TikTok ban has already set a precedent for how the government may approach tech regulations in the future. For brands and marketers, it’s crucial to stay ahead of the curve and prepare for potential policy changes that could affect influencer marketing on other platforms as well.
Conclusion: Adapting Your Influencer Strategy for the Future
While the future of TikTok in the U.S. remains uncertain, taking steps now to adjust your influencer marketing strategy will help ensure that your brand continues to thrive, regardless of platform shifts. By conducting a thorough performance analysis, communicating proactively with creators, diversifying your platform mix, and exporting relevant data, you can ensure that your influencer marketing efforts remain resilient, even in the face of a TikTok ban.
Now is the time for brands to adapt to the changing landscape and future-proof their influencer strategies. By embracing flexibility, staying informed, and making thoughtful adjustments, you can navigate any disruption caused by a potential TikTok ban and continue to drive successful influencer partnerships moving forward.