Friday January 17, Supreme Court supported a law that will see TikTok banned in the United States on Sunday January 19. The decision forces creators to look for other platforms to reach their audiences.
For creators like Gigi Robinson, TikTok silence on how to prepare for a ban left them misinformed. Robinson said that just today, TikTok invited her to participate in a TikTok Shop campaign, showing a disconnect between what’s happening politically and how TikTok works.
“It makes no sense that there was no communication or preparation for this,” Robinson said, adding that there was ample time to address creators about the ban. “If this is a platform for creators and small businesses, why aren’t they saying anything?”
Amid uncertainty about the platform’s future, TikTok creators have begun diversifying their content by sharing information on LinkedIn, launching newsletters or websites, and exploring other avenues to establish themselves as opinion leaders in their fields.
“This is going to be a big hit for my networking opportunities, but I’ve been building other platforms and developing a newsletter, so I think it’ll be okay for me,” said creator Danielle Bayard Jackson.
Those who have not diversified their content will be worse off. “If I’m just a TikTok creator, what will my agent do? Will my agent stay with me? said Jacob Wallach, creator and founder of social media consultancy Social4TheWin.
Others fear it will be difficult to replicate the engagement and revenue they were able to find on the platform, particularly through TikTok’s Creator program.
“TikTok is where culture happens, where trends are created, where songs take off, where books go viral, where people shop,” said Kelsey Chickering, principal analyst at Forrester.
Keep hope
Some creators hope that President-elect Donald Trump will save TikTok in the United States by temporarily suspend the ban while negotiating a sale with its parent company, ByteDance. Trump is eager to reach an agreement and suggested a forced sale of TikTok’s US operations, with creators like Mr. Beast expressing interest in purchasing the platform.
Christian Brown, chief marketing officer and co-founder of influencer marketing platform Glewee, believes TikTok could be sold to a US company between the ban taking effect on Sunday and Trump’s inauguration on Monday. “I think we’re going to see a lot more players come to the table,” he said.
But not everyone is convinced. Designer Paula Carozzo, for example, believes that ultimately the final decision rests with the Supreme Court. “At this point, I’m praying, but I’m not sure what more Trump can do,” she said.
Even though the loss of TikTok shocked the creator economy, some hope there will still be a place to connect with their audience.
“We’ve seen platforms come and go in the past, and we’ll just have to see what comes next,” said creator Anite Gashumov.
