The Supreme Court Upheld the TikTok Ban – what does it mean for advertisers?

With the ban of TikTok being upheld by the Supreme Court, many influencers and advertisers are left scared and scrambling.  How do you replace the revenue stream that once was?  TikTok’s parent company has already indicated that the technology is proprietary and not for sale. Even if private investors save TikTok, it will likely take weeks, if not months, for TikTok to return to its glory.

Millions of influencers and businesses have built their brands on the platform and are now scrambling to find alternatives to supplement their revenue streams.

The good news is that there are options.  Consuming short, snackable content has become more than habit, it has become lifestyle. Likely beneficiaries of the TikTok ban are the already established challengers, Instagram and Facebook Reels.  Other alternative platforms such as Lemon8, Clapper, Byte, Dubsmash and Triller are experiencing rapid growth, with installs increasing by more than 1,000% since the threat of the TikTok ban in July.

So, what is an advertiser to do? Advertisers will need to be nimble and quick to offset the TikTok revenue stream.  And it certainly can’t be a “one size fits all” strategy.  It will be critical to understand who you are trying to reach and what you are trying to achieve.

For adults, women in particular, the OGs (Facebook and Instagram) will naturally benefit (Zuckerberg is somewhere in Washington smiling).  Increased investment in these platforms to accommodate the increase in consumption is an easy first step. For the younger audience it will be a little bit trickier.  Many of the challenger apps are smaller, less proven and create an even more fragmented market.  Developing a smart strategy and managing expectations will be critical. Developing sticky and relevant content, combined with investment risk management, will be the difference between success and failure as these new platforms grow.

Advertisers, if your agencies aren’t having conversations around alternative solutions in the next week, then you are already losing money.  That said, everyone will be in “test and learn” phase.  It will be impossible to replace TikTok’s engagement overnight.  But with the right agency partner, audience targeting, testing strategy and analytics, you should be able to soften the blow.

Of course, this could all change in the next 3 days but making sure that your agency is on the forefront of this ever-evolving environment is essential. Buckle up kids, it could be a bumpy ride.

Bluewater is here to help.  As a full service agency, we can manage the entire process from ideation and content creation to management and growth and everything in between.