Your brand has built a strong and effective presence on TikTok, for both organic and paid campaigns. The influencers you work with are building their communities on the platform.
And your website data shows growing traffic from TikTok as people use it instead of Google to search for information.
But a new federal law President Joe Biden signed on April 24 will force a sale of TikTok or ban the platform within 12 months.
Marketers are asking, “Now what?”
Brunner manages TikTok as a marketing channel for clients in industries from building supplies and auto insurance to consumer packaged goods and quick service restaurants. We’re sharing our point of view on what brands should know about the ban at this point and our recommendations. ByteDance filed suit May 7 in U.S. federal court to challenge the new law, so the TikTok ban timetable could change.
What does the law banning TikTok require?
The new U.S. law gives ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok, nine months to sell the app. If a sale is in progress at that point, ByteDance may be allowed another three months to complete the transaction.
If a sale does not happen, TikTok will be banned in the U.S., where more than 170 million Americans use it. The app is especially popular with Gen Z, which makes up 44.7% of U.S. TikTok users, according to EMarketer.
Should brands using TikTok as an organic Channel keep it in their mix?
Court challenges can take time. If your brand is using TikTok for organic social media currently, we recommend keeping it in your mix as a reliable channel to reach mass audiences, influence purchase decisions, and engage key demographics, especially GenZ.
In addition, TikTok plays a huge role in organic search as consumers look to subject matter experts who are sharing information about brands and topics of the day. (More on TikTok’s impact on organic search later in this article).
Each brand must make its own decision, considering its unique marketing goals and brand positioning. If your company considers TikTok, as a Chinese-owned company, to be a national security threat to the U.S., we recommend moving away from it. If that’s the choice, we suggest using other video-heavy options, such as META channels or YouTube, so you can continue sharing video and Reels content to reach target audiences and consumer segments.
Should brands not using TikTok get started?
If you’ve been considering launching TikTok for your brand, there’s no time like now. Even with the uncertainty of the new law, TikTok is still an effective choice for organic social media.
If you move ahead with TikTok, we recommend a diverse social media strategy with a broad channel mix that ensures you’re reaching your target audiences.
How will the ban impact influencer marketing for brands?
EMarketer reports that just over half of U.S. marketers will use TikTok for influencer marketing this year. For those brands, a TikTok ban could have big implications on influencer marketing. Here’s what you’ll need to consider:
- Influencer reach: If your influencers have built their following solely on TikTok, the new law puts their ability to reach audiences at risk. For influencers, losing access to TikTok would mean losing the direct connection with the communities they’ve worked so hard to build — and by extension your brand’s ability to reach their communities, too.
- Channel mix: Are your brand’s influencers active on multiple social media channels or only TikTok? We recommend working with influencers who are active on a broad mix of social media platforms. That way, if TikTok is banned they will already have an established presence and community on channels where influencers thrive, including Instagram and YouTube.
- Current contracts: If your brand has established relationships with TikTok influencers, you’d need to reassess those partnerships and agreements. If your influencer can’t deliver what they’re contracted to provide, you may need to renegotiate existing contracts or cut ties altogether, even if that means taking a financial loss.
If your brand is using TikTok for organic social media currently, we recommend keeping it in your mix.
For brands using influencer marketing now or considering adding it, we recommend looking for content creators who have built strong followings across multiple social accounts, not just TikTok. If TikTok is banned, those influencers could still be valuable partners based on the quality of their following on those other channels.
How will the ban impact TikTok programmatic advertising?
If your brand runs paid social on TikTok, you’re not alone. TikTok’s advertising revenues in the U.S. are projected to hit $8.66 billion in 2024, a YoY increase of 31%, according to EMarketer data. That’s up from TikTok’s U.S. ad revenue of less than $1 billion just four years ago.
In the U.S., the platform is projected to make up 10.5% of social network ad spend in 2024, and 2.8% of digital ad spend, according to EMarketer’s October 2023 forecast.
Programmatic advertising can reach target audiences on many channels, including TikTok. Brunner’s programmatic team advises clients with TikTok campaigns to consider the new law and decide if they want to stay on the platform or switch to alternate channels.
We can reevaluate each client’s channel mix quickly and reinvest their ad spend in other channels, based on their advertising goals and objectives. Platforms change frequently and in various ways. As a result, our programmatic team is adjusting continuously in real time to maximize campaigns for clients.
What impact would the TikTok ban have on organic search traffic?
Organic search data shows that TikTok drives brand awareness due to the role it plays in search behavior, especially among GenZ consumers. TikTok users learn about a product or service on the platform and then use Google for more research, when they’re closer to making a purchase decision.
Under a TikTok ban, we would expect search behavior to change in two major ways:
- Some users will go back to Google, which would generate more information-based queries such as looking for product or service reviews. However, these users will be less prepared to make a purchase since they’re using Google to research and compare options earlier in their search journey.
- Other users will turn to social media platforms, including Reddit, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook. However, none of these options offer the same type of search experience as Google.
We can reevaluate each client’s channel mix quickly and reinvest their ad spend in other channels.
The key impact we expect for organic search? Without TikTok, brand awareness for products and services would likely drop, both overall and at the upper-funnel stage. And that creates a bigger challenge for brands to connect with their target audiences.
Need guidance navigating the TikTok ban? We’re here to help
At Brunner, our teams are working with our clients to evaluate their use of TikTok, talk through the options, and adjust as needed. We’ll continue to do that as the months tick by, including any legal developments that alter the ban timetable.
If your brand is navigating the TikTok ban and you need support, please feel free to contact us. We’re happy to discuss your situation and ways we can help keep your marketing plans on track, whether TikTok is a channel option or not.
Editor’s Note: Brunner’s Communications, Programmatic and SEO teams all contributed to this POV article.