TikTok May Be A ‘Security Threat,’ But It Is Social Media Marketers And Influencers Who Feel Threaten By Potential Ban

The top U.S. officials of the intelligence community (IC), agreed to a U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on Wednesday that TikTok owned by China is a threat for national security.

Christopher Wray, Director Federal Bureau of Investigation made clear that this popular app would remain banned from federal devices to members of the committee.

“TikTok has never been approved, nor will it ever be.” It’s my understanding, that it’s going to be implemented across the whole federal government,” Wray said in testimony to answer questions by Marco Rubio (R. Florida).

Rubio called TikTok “bad for America” and said it was “one of most valuable surveillance tools in the world.” Rubio added, “This is substantial national security concern for the nation of a type that we never faced in the previous.” The end of it all, it is not about one grown man posting videos to YouTube that other people with jobs should not be posting. It’s about all these other things that we’ve talked about—the data, the ability to manipulate information.”

Although many government officials are warning about the danger TikTok poses, it is unlikely to be a problem for influencers or marketers who have grown to depend on the platform. In fact, the threat for those individuals could be that the platform could be banned – leaving them without the audience that took great time and effort to build.

Scott Steinberg, brand marketing expert said “We cannot deny that TikTok’s become one of most effective platforms for reaching an enormous audience.” The future could see a fragmented marketplace for marketers and influencers. TikTok may be the only way to reach youth markets in this manner.

Huge Audience

Data from CouponFollow.com shows that Gen Z spent an average of 8 hours a week on TikTok and had more spending power on TikTok then any other social media site. A third of Gen Z users also stated that they would be buying more on TikTok than at brick-and mortar stores.

TikTok will continue to be used by marketers and advertisers, even though a ban may soon come. The app’s low cost and high ability to reach a wide audience are reasons for TikTok being popular. Digital marketers must pivot their plans to look at other short-form video platforms and invest in influencer marketing. “The ability to reach millions of people with just a 30-second video won’t be possible anymore,” Adam Dornbusch, EnTribe, an SaaS platform for creators, said.

Dornbusch suggested further that a complete ban on TikTok would be unlikely. However, digital marketers may consider spending money to invest in short-form video platforms like Instagram Reels or YouTube Shorts that are not as popular since TikTok’s rise, such that they could use Snapchat Spotlight and Instagram Reels.

It is not possible to move videos between platforms.

Dornbusch stated that marketers would need to completely adapt the strategies and approaches they had at the beginning the year. These platforms are not the same as TikTok.

If TikTok goes away, marketers could see a change in what content they are promoting.

Dornbusch noted that even though TikTok might be gone, users will not stop longing for the same engagement and sense of community the platform offered. Therefore, marketers and advertisers need to reconsider their content strategy to maintain the momentum built by TikTok.

It’s not unheard of

Many marketers were prepared to wait for TikTok’s expiration. This ban was months or even years in coming. These marketers might be forced to use alternative platforms, even though it means adapting content.

Steinberg stated that “the dollars will migrate to another social media app.” We’re now at an unusual point inflection, as everybody wants to be the first to see the next big thing.

This ban could also pose challenges to social media influencers.

Steinberg said, “Some people will just have to rebuild or start from scratch their audience.” It may prove difficult for those people who were not stars to rebuild their following.