After years of conflict around data policies and security concerns, TikTok is facing a ban in the United States if its parent company, ByteDance, does not divest its U.S. operations or an extension is provided by U.S. lawmakers by Sunday, January 19. Regardless of the outcome, there are implications for athletes and advertisers.
Athletes
The situation around TikTok provides a golden opportunity to rethink your social media and NIL strategy. Short-form storytelling should be a foundational element of your content strategy, whether it’s on TikTok or other platforms.
Consider Your Voice
Think about the story you have to tell and how you want to tell it. There are many ways to share your dynamic personality and showcase the different sides of who you are. Don’t let the medium dictate how you build your personal brand.
Engage on Other Platforms
Use different social platforms effectively, thinking about how they fit together for an all-encompassing personal brand strategy.
+ Instagram Reels – an easy transition for athletes that already have a strong presence on the Meta-owned platform
+ YouTube Shorts – expect YouTube Shorts, a Google product, to make a push to acquire users and enhance its creator tools
+ Snapchat Spotlight – the popular photo sharing app could be a place for serious content creators looking to expand their audience
+ Twitch – TikTok’s most lucrative revenue opportunity is currently live gifting, which is also popular functionality on the streaming platform
+ Pinterest – artistic users might find success on the creative platform, with features shopping tools
+ RedNote and Lemon8 – the most downloaded apps in the U.S. and Canada, “TikTok Refugees” might find community on these platforms
Invest in Owned Channels
The situation surrounding TikTok is a good reminder that social platforms are just tools. They are borrowed space that allow you to connect with and build an audience, but they should never serve as the be-all-end-all. Diversify your presence with a personal website or blog. Build a newsletter audience. Invest in your community and make personal connections to allow others to tell your story. Leverage traditional media opportunities. Own your story.
Leverage Partner Relationships
Connect with your brand partners to let them know how they can continue to work with you. Make sure they see the continued value you will bring to the relationship, regardless of the distribution platform. Work together to identify opportunities to create content that resonates with your evolving audience.
Grow Your Audience
Don’t be surprised if the social companies listed above adjust their algorithm to expedite audience growth for new users. This is a chance to expand your fandom. Opendorse is currently surveying athlete users on their social platform preferences. This information will be used to inform product development, education, and marketing efforts as we support your brand-building and audience growth efforts.
Advertisers
Aside from executive resignations, TikTok’s U.S.-based operations are largely continuing to operate business as usual heading toward the January 19 deadline. If a United States ban were to be implemented, users can still use the app, but there will be no new downloads or ads. The platform will be depreciated over time, and eventually become unusable.
Potential Implications
Some advertisers are beginning to pull back on their TikTok investment as the situation plays out. TikTok could lose $6.17–$8.64B in ad revenue as brands shift budgets to other platforms. eMarketer predicts 50% of reallocated U.S. TikTok ad dollars would go to Meta and YouTube.
Be Nimble
Advertisers will need to explore other channels for connecting with the coveted Gen Z audience. With users averaging 51 minutes/day on TikTok, nearly an hour of daily media time could migrate other places. But brands should no invest their entire TikTok budget at once. Be strategic to maximize any reallocated spend. It will be important to fish where the fish are. Streaming platforms like Amazon Video, Hulu and Neflix could be where users spend more time, but most will find other social options to consume short-form content.
How Other Social Platforms Might Benefit
Advertisers should consider what investments they can make in response – and overall, moving forward.
+ Meta – through Instagram Reels, Meta stands to see an injection of ad dollars to the platform athletes already use most
+ Google – YouTube and YouTube Shorts are currently under-utilized by college athlete influencers, but could see a user increase
+ Snap, Inc. – 443M daily active users on Snapchat is nothing to overlook
+ Amazon – owned by the eCommerce and cloud storage giant, Twitch product placement and live reads are an effective way to active influencers through streaming
+ Pinterest, Inc. – with robust eCommerce tools for creators, brands could see an effective ad spend
+ Xingyin Information Technology Co., Ltd. and Heliophilia Pte. Ltd. – China-based RedNote and Singapore-based Lemon8, which is owned by TikTok’s parent company ByteDance, are trendy right now, but unlikely to see significant ad spend from American companies
While a TikTok ban would have far-reaching cultural and financial implications, it also highlights the importance of adaptability for athletes and advisors. For both, it’s all about innovating and staying ahead of the curve by embracing new technologies and platforms will continue to thrive, regardless of the changes in the social media landscape. Take control of next steps, do your research, and act with confidence in the ever-evolving digital media industry.
