TikTok ban: What can US creators do & what can all creators learn from it?

The news of the TikTok ban gives creators a learning opportunity to avoid platform risk. Learn about the background of this ban and get 5 actionable, future-proof tips to protect your following and customers in the long run.

TikTok ban

The TikTok ban that is supposed to take effect on January 19th has been keeping creators on their toes for a while. In this article, we’ll recap what the ban is about and how it would go down but most importantly, we’ll give actionable advice on what US creators can do if the ban affects them and what all creators can learn from it in other parts of the world, too.

What is the TikTok ban and why would it happen?

Last year, US President Joe Biden signed legislation into law, requiring ByteDance, the China-based company owning TikTok, to sell their platform or they will face a country-wide ban. 

Why? 

US administration believes that TikTok is a possible national security threat and that the app could be used for “spying and political manipulation” on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party (the party running China) which was denied repeatedly by the company behind the tool. 

In response, the company also pressed multiple times that banning the app would violate the US Constitution’s First Amendment which protects the rights of citizens, and thus US TikTok users, of free speech.

ByteDance has previously indicated that they don’t want to sell the platform and the likeliness of another entity purchasing it is also not very likely either because of its scale and nine-figure price.

At the time of writing this article, ByteDance’s case is in front of the US Supreme Court and if it doesn’t stop the ban, and TikTok won’t be sold, the ban will take effect on January 19th.

The TikTok ban can be a huge loss to small businesses and women

Many TikTok influencers raised their concerns that banning the app will threaten US-based creatives that heavily rely on the platform. TikTok itself reported that “one month of a U.S. ban would result in U.S. small businesses and social media creators losing $1.3 billion in sales and earnings.”

Another aspect is that women have the most to lose with the ban since “eighty-four percent of influencers are women, according to a 2024 report from Influencer Marketing Hub, which follows the social media industry”.

What happens technically if the TikTok ban goes through? 

Interestingly, if the ban goes through, TikTok won’t have to do anything—it’s the third-party platforms, like Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store, that will have to make it unavailable to download for US-based users.

According to the latest updates, however, 

TikTok “will shut down entirely in the US [on January 19th] without intervention from the US Supreme Court…and show users a pop-up message pointing them to a website with information about the ban… That would go beyond the ban’s requirement for app stores to stop offering downloads of the app, but not immediately halt use of it.”

A few extra things to note:

  • If you’re a user in the US and TikTok is still on your phone after the potential ban, you won’t be doing anything illegal. You won’t need to delete it either.
  • However, over time, the app won’t get updates and its performance will be buggier, making it uncomfortable to use, and less safe as well since many app updates are about fixing security issues.

VPNs (virtual private networks) can potentially go around the main problem—these can make users appear as if they were from another geographical location. The region of app stores can be changed as well for the same purpose. 

For these reasons, the US government is also proposing to “ban ‘internet hosting services’ from giving people access to the app” which would mean the ultimately closed door that blocks users from accessing the app even if they wished to despite the above usability and safety concerns.

TikTok was banned before

In 2020, TikTok was banned in India which was the app’s biggest market. It was a couple of months after the ban that Instagram launched Reels which was followed by the debut of YouTube Shorts. These became the ultimate TikTok alternatives in the country, pushing aside many new Indian start-ups that were trying to fill in TikTok’s gap in the app market.
Photo by visuals

The TikTok ban draws attention to platform risk

The TikTok ban hanging in the air is the perfect example of the threat that is platform risk. We wrote about platform risk in the past and keep bringing it up when talking to creators because in today’s app climate, so to speak, it’s necessary to think about being present on more than one channel.

Platform risk is when you (mainly or exclusively) rely on a third-party platform to build your brand and audience, and grow your sales. 

The potential TikTok ban now is the platform existence type of platform risk where essentially the platform is shut down and you need to move. Then, you’ll face the biggest problem of all: you build up an audience and customer base on that one platform and you have no other way to talk to them. 

This is why you need to diversify your marketing channels and even more specifically, own at least one platform yourself (not “borrow” it from a company as you do with social media profiles). Read on for more of our tips to deal with the possibility of the TikTok ban—and to avoid the threat of platform risk altogether.

5 things creators should do in response to the TikTok ban

Whether TikTok will be banned in the US or not, creators need to form and follow strategies to make sure their online and social media presence is rock-solid. 

  1. Backup your videos
  2. Diversify your social media content
  3. Start cross-posting across platforms
  4. Have a domain and website
  5. Start building an email list

1. Backup your videos

Save your archives and export your TikTok videos before they’re gone. If you won’t be able to access your TikTok profile and content properly in the future, you should download all your materials posted now, in case you wish to use or repurpose them later. 

Click here to download your TikTok data and content.

This is a better sooner than later, or more like never, if the ban actually goes through. 

2. Diversify your social media content

Where can creators go if the TikTok ban becomes effective? Here are some options:

  • Instagram: Instagram Reels have a similar format to TikTok videos so paying more attention to Meta’s image-sharing platform could be an easy way out.

👉 How to make money on Instagram + 8 ideas for creators

  • YouTube: YouTube Shorts can be your other quick solution because similarly to Instagram Reels, this short video format is like the sibling of TikTok.
  • Bluesky: Bluesky has been on the radar of the creator community for a while now, and while it’s not specifically a short video-focused platform, you can share videos on it.  Additionally, it has so far been deemed a safe and supportive site and can be a good place to build a following somewhat quicker than on other channels due to its relative freshness. It can also be a good alternative if you want to move to a space that is not owned by Meta where recent policy changes made users leave its platforms, including Facebook and Instagram.

👉 Why are creators and artists moving to Bluesky?

For full context, we have to mention RedNote and Lemon8 as well — both apps have seen a surge in popularity in response to the TikTok ban. There’s not enough evidence out there to whole-heartedly recommend these for creative business purposes for now but I wanted to give you the most basic information on these in case you wish to experiment.

  • RedNote: RedNote is another Chinese social media app that many US users have been rushing to in the last few days, getting ready for the potential TikTok ban. It’s an Instagram-like platform where users can share photos, videos and texts.

Now, before you run away screaming in fear of getting under a pile of content you now should create, let me explain one more thing. You don’t necessarily have to create more content, you just have to be smarter about sharing it which brings us to the next point.

Photo by Yohan Marion

3. Start cross-posting across platforms

Diversify your social media content and followings across platforms. Invest more time and energy into other channels whether you already use them or have to start fresh. 

Whether TikTok gets banned, it’s a good wake-up call for all creators who have been relying on only one channel in their marketing, especially if it is TikTok.

You can automate or schedule content sharing on your social media channels, and you can use tools that will allow you to cross-post across several platforms at once. This will save you time and energy, and potentially money at the end of the day because you’ll have more resources left to tend to other parts of your creative business. It’s also an easy way to help you increase brand visibility and grow your following more quickly.

Here are some cross-posting tools you can use for your social media profiles:

📌 Tip: Don’t overdo cross-posting. If you post the exact same content each time on each of your platforms, people will find it boring and it can even come across as spammy. It’s best to strike a balance.

4. Have a domain and a website

Buy a domain and link it to a website you own. Depending on the type of creator you are, you might already have these but if you mainly focus on video content on platforms like TikTok or YouTube, you may have overlooked this. 

You can purchase domains with Namecheap, Porkbun, or GoDaddy, to mention a few options. For website builders, you can look at WordPress, Carrd, or Wix, too. 

The above-mentioned platform risk is something all creators should learn about, and having your own domain and website is the most fundamental step to take care of if you don’t want to put yourself in danger of it. 

5. Start building an email list

We’ve been long-time advocates for creators to build their newsletter fan base, thus owning a channel and a following directly and exclusively, effectively going against platform risk. Ideally, nobody can take away those email addresses from you, while you can lose access to your social media profile either due to a hack or a platform-wide change like TikTok’s current proposed ban.

On a final note

Niké Ojekunle started the SpecsandBlazers blog in 2014 and never stopped writing it despite the social media boom. She expanded her portfolio of channels and now has 200k+ followers across platforms, but never abandoned her first one and kept blogging. In her words:

“As influencers, we don’t own anything else but our blog. Think of your blog as real estate, a property you own.”

Niké Ojekunkle

Echoing Niké’s words, we advise all creators to take the news of this ban as a learning opportunity and a reminder that platform risk is a true threat to their creative businesses.

Think of your most successful platform and picture what would happen if you were forced to stop using it for some reason. 

Could you keep reaching out to your potential buyers? Could you keep spreading news about your next projects without noticing a drop in interest? Could you keep engaging with your following and fans without seeing a throwback in sales and profit?

If the answer is no to any or all of these questions, you probably don’t have other channels in your marketing mix that you could rely on if your only platform is taken away. Don’t wait for that to happen.

Featured image by visuals 

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