“Wake up in the morning feelin’ like banning TikTok in the United States”
On April 24th, President Joe Biden signed legislation including a provision that could lead to a ban on TikTok in the U.S. if the popular platform’s owner doesn’t sell its stake within the year. This legislation comes from nationwide unease around the security of U.S. user data. TikTok’s owner and China-based company, ByteDance, has spoken out against the law, stating that they have no intention of selling the platform.
Although a moment of panic and despair is valid, it is important to understand that although TikTok may disappear from US app stores in nine months, vertical video is here to stay. Since the dawn of the Vine ages, vertical video has captured the attention of audiences in a way that still imagery has not surpassed. Here are three ways to pivot in the wake of social media madness:
Make Your Mark on Alternative Platforms
Although it may seem as though TikTok is the only platform to thrive in the video realm, this could not be further from the truth! With the rise of Instagram Reels and Youtube Shorts, there is ample opportunity to take your video expertise to other platforms. It’s important to familiarize yourself with posting and editing tools within other platforms to ensure your content maximizes its full potential.
Sometimes scrolling on Instagram Reels can feel mindless, but taking time to watch content relative to your niche that is performing well can help you understand how to pivot to a “new to you” platform. Our Content Studio takes time weekly to scroll popular platforms and garner inspiration to better serve our clients, especially amidst a potential TikTok ban.
Encourage Followers to Engage with Other Content
If TikTok holds the majority of your audience, the ban has probably caused a lot of anxiety and uncertainty for the future of your social presence. Now that the ban is eminent, your prep work includes encouraging your followers to engage with your video content on other platforms. It is important to start this process now to ensure that your following is secured by the end of year ban. Things as simple as adding your social handles to the end of videos or in the caption along with verbalizing your encouragement to visit other pages can go a long way in maintaining your audience.
Although crossposting may usually be seen as bad practice, this ban could lead to a need for cross posting to ensure content is not lost. If you are only posting a certain type of content on a singular platform, it’s time to merge your content buckets across platforms. For example, if you are used to only posting outfit-of-the-day (OOTD) photos on Instagram and get-ready-with-me (GRWM) videos on TikTok, start using both content types interchangeably on Instagram. This guarantees that your audience doesn’t miss out on platform specific content.
Don’t Forget to Be Your Authentic Self!
With a ban looming on the horizon, it’s easy to fall into the trap of wanting to grow other platforms quickly and as large as possible. This goal can lead to unauthentic content that is positioned more as “click-bait” rather than authentic to your brand. If you go from posting videos once a week to posting videos three times a day with no true meaning, your audience will lose interest and move on to another creator. Quality OVER quantity. Make sure that through these social media tribulations, you maintain your authenticity and just keep being YOU.
Users can quickly indicate a shift in authenticity, which can severely hurt engagement. Your videos should be a reflection of your personality and ideals, not a means to garner a number on a screen.
The Takeaway
Although TikTok may be gone in a few short months, vertical video is here to stay. This posting medium has captured user’s attention in droves since COVID, and will not be changing anytime soon. If you take anything away from this blog, make sure that you keep posting. Don’t allow the uncertainty of the future of the social platform to keep you from displaying your video skills!
As the original Tik ToK-er Ke$ha once said:
“The party don’t stop, no.”
Don’t let vertical be a hurdle.
Still trying to figure out what the Millennial Pause and Gen Z shake are? Not sure what a short is, but you’re too afraid to ask at this point?
We’ve got your back. Reach out to the Content Studio and SEO team at MHP/Team SI and learn more about Short Video and stay ahead of the curve.
