What to do if TikTok is banned.

TikTok may be going away... or so they say. It seems like every two years they threaten this and nothing happens. That said, if the thought of TikTok disappearing keeps you up at night, it may be a sign that you have a deeper issue in your digital marketing.

We never recommend putting all of your eggs in one basket. TikTok is the hottest platform with what seems like the most potential for organic reach, but if that's the only place you're focusing on you're in trouble. Realistically, you should be able to repurpose your content across multiple platforms. You can learn more about how to do that in our past blog post.

Let's talk about what the actual impact of the end of TikTok could be. For starters, people are going to be diverting their attention somewhere. It would be foolish to believe that TikTok goes away, and suddenly people aren't glued to their phones 24/7. Some people (digital marketers excluded) may be hoping for that, but people don't change that easily. Instead, they will immediately move to one of the existing platforms with similar content. We're talking Instagram and YouTube Shorts. If you haven't been building up your presence there, start doing so now regardless. You can use the same content and just post to those places.

After the initial shock has worn off, one of two things will happen. Either one of the existing platforms will surge forward as the main platform of choice for Gen Z, or they will find a new one to latch onto that hasn't been bogged down by the generations before them. Any of you millennials who were involved in the Vine scene may be experiencing a little PTSD as I go through this. I know I am, which is how I know what is going to happen.

So what can you do to prepare? For starters, you need to diversify your content strategy. Make sure you are posting to any platform that your target audience uses frequently. The next thing will be to just keep your finger on the pulse of the social media world. If a new platform pops up, download it and test it out. The worst-case scenario is that you find it's not right for you or your business. The best case is that you're an early adopter and get a jump start on your competition, or maybe even find a new audience you didn't know you could capture!

Don't get caught sleeping and everything will turn out just fine. Keep an eye on the news, or do a quick Google search for "TikTok Ban" every few days. As of right now, the bans are mostly happening on government and school-owned devices, which shouldn't impact much, but that could just be the beginning.