What can small US businesses do without TikTok?
The future of the platform is in limbo, and small businesses and creators need to have a strategy.
TikTok’s incredible power was the way it fueled organic discovery - any individual piece of content could explode in popularity and exposure, regardless of the audience they’ve already built.
It helped launch, grow, and support all kinds and sizes of businesses throughout the US, and with its future very much in question on January 19th, those same businesses need to be ready for the possibility it will only come back temporarily, not at all, or permanently but fundamentally changed.
DIVERSIFY
Businesses need to think about other platforms where they can organically push to potential customers, as well as where they can pull in potential customers.
Push platforms can include Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts, and places to pull in active potential customers could be YouTube searches or Pinterest.
Those networks are all crowded, though, so based on the category and audience, brands should be thinking about less obvious TikTok competitors where they can reach people. It could be Reddit, LinkedIn, Twitter/X or Bluesky, or category-specific Wikis.
PAY TO PLAY
The loss of TikTok should trigger a discussion of how much budget is allocated to awareness and conversion-driving media.
Paying to promote content on Instagram and YouTube may become a necessity to continue finding new customers who may have otherwise come from TikTok.
OWN
As much as possible, brands need to find ways to own their customer base without depending on any one platform that may disappear overnight (as TikTok literally did in the US).
Build email and SMS lists through offering small freebies or one-time discounts to make sure you have a core group of customers that isn’t tied to a platform you can’t control.
Update: about 3 hours after I pressed “publish” on this post, TikTok is turning service back on for US users. While I’m glad it’s back for now, nothing is certain about it’s US future and brands and entrepreneurs should all continue to take steps accordingly.