social-media
Time is closing in on Bytedance
Published: 14/01/25 - Updated: 14/01/25
Will a TikTok ban in the US have a significant impact?
With the Supreme Court in the US hearing final arguments from TikTok’s parent company ByteDance on Friday 10th Jan, we asked Amanda Easter, our Social Media Lead, what her take is on the impact of this decision.
We’re days away from the potential TikTok ban in the US and as an American leading a UK Social Media team, I figured I’d offer my perspective on the potential impacts.
Now, I am no data security expert so I can’t debunk any potential dangers that the US feels ByteDance poses to US security. However, I can discuss the HUGE impact this will have on digital marketing and the wider economy.
Though some may still roll their eyes and think TikTok is all dance videos and silly trends, since its inception in 2018 it has completely revolutionised the way that brands reach their customers and has launched hundreds of new businesses.
TikTok is the platform where brands can shed their more polished persona and talk to their customers in a more authentic way. Top brands are often seen in the comments of viral videos, not selling you their products but just showing that they too are chronically online like the rest of us.
It’s not just big brands who have benefited. Small businesses have seen the value of TikTok first hand with customer acquisition costs being 30% lower than other digital platforms.
TikTok is a shop
So what happens when we take away the platform that 67% of users find product inspiration, 92% take action after seeing a product, and 5 million US businesses use for marketing purposes? Businesses, especially new and small businesses, will suffer. Though this ban is just in the United States, the US makes up about 26% of the Global Economy. With this TikTok ban in place it won’t just affect US businesses but brands around the world that are looking to reach global consumers.
Do creators actually contribute to the economy in a way that has an impact?
I’ve seen a lot of discourse online with people rolling their eyes when creators share the fear they have if the ban does go through. The potential ramifications goes beyond that of content creators needing to find a new platform to post on or get a standard 9-5 job.
The global creator economy is worth an estimated $200 Billion and is estimated to reach around $500 billion in the next 5 years. To give you an idea of how big this is, the cosmetics industry is worth an estimated $120 billion. By removing TikTok as a platform for creators this will massively affect the global economy.
Will the TikTok ban impact Digital PR efforts?
We spoke to Shakira Sacks our Digital PR lead here at Kaizen about how aTikTok ban might impact Digital PR: “A TikTok ban in the US would indirectly affect the digital PR industry by shifting how trends are created and where conversations and searches happen online.
TikTok frequently sets the tone for cultural moments and trends that digital PR campaigns leverage to create newsworthy stories. Without TikTok, PR teams may need to rely more on other platforms (like X and Instagram) or create their own trend-worthy moments.
If the ban goes ahead, journalists will shift their attention to the next big social app and PR teams will need to stay ahead of these trends and position themselves as experts in understanding new platforms.
TikTok has also become a significant search engine for Gen Z and PR teams are now increasingly creating campaigns that align with TikTok search trends, as part of a full-service SEO strategy. Without this data, search-driven ideation will need to shift back to more traditional keyword research focused strategies.
If the ban does go ahead, it will be interesting to watch how the ripple effect plays out across numerous channels that could potentially reshape the whole of the media landscape in the US.”
TikTok is the new Google right? So how will this shift SEO trends?
Our SEO Lead, Ed Coles, gives insight on what a TikTok ban might do to SEO: “Gen Z are using TikTok over Google, so with TikTok potentially off the table, we might start to see younger users shift their search behaviour over to other platforms – the likes of YouTube, Reddit and Instagram might start to see more uplift.
We might also see some users return to Google, and this might be a safe bet for brands now wanting to diversify their traffic, with particular attention on SEO and paid media – especially if they were heavily dependent on TikTok traffic and trying to make up a shortfall.
Or, if people simply can’t live without TikTok, we might just see VPN use increase massively without too much impact on other channels.”
What about the first amendment, won’t that stop the ban?
Now, do I actually think this ban will happen? Honestly, not really and even if it does users in the US will still be able to use the app, just not update it as it will be removed from the app store.
Removing the app from the app store will eventually make it unusable (think Flappy Bird circa 2014) due to the lack of updates, which poses a greater security risk as it can’t fix any bugs but… as mentioned I’m not an expert.
During this time, I’m most interested in seeing what’s going to come next. If TikTok is banned in the US, this might give a new US platform the opportunity to emerge when some of the most popular social platforms are losing their minds, I’m looking at you X and Meta. This new app could possibly be Red Note, the Chinese app available in the US app store that combines TikTok, Pinterest/Tumblr and Instagram all into one. The internet loves nothing more than a meme and in classic angsty teenager fashion, US TikTok users decided that if the US is so worried about China having their data, they might as well just give it to them directly. Thousands of TikTok creators and users have downloaded the app. Entirely in Mandarin these “TikTok refugees” are being welcomed by Red Note CEO, Charlwin Mao Wenchao, and users alike.
Will this be short lived until the next app peaks users interest? The Neptune app, due to launch Beta in Jan or Feb of 2025, has over 180k users downloaded prior to launch. Let’s see what happens next!