What Happened With the TikTok Ban and What is the Future of the Platform?
Anthony Carranza December 11, 2020 
konkarampelas / Pixabay
The TikTok ban has been complicated and at other times confusing. On December 7th The Verge confirmed a federal judge allowed a preliminary injunction. What it did is prevent the U.S. Commerce Department from banning transactions with the Chinese-based app.
The U.S. district court judge, Carl Nichols explained that the government likely exceeded the use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). In other words, the law allowed Trump to ban transactions between the U.S. and foreign entities. This was included and integrated into Trump’s August 6th ban.
All of these events stem from an executive order issued by the administration. In addition, if this had been carried out the App Store and Google Play would have had to drop the app from its stores.
iXimus / Pixabay
Upon learning the recent decision by the presiding judge, a TikTok spokesperson said they were pleased and in agreement with the preliminary injunction. Moreover, the spokesperson went on to say that their efforts are centered around building a home for 100 million Americans (families and small businesses).
The tentative deadline for the ban had been set for December the 4th. TikTok had to present a new proposal to the government and divest the app to the front-runners of the deal (Walmart and Oracle). Previously Microsoft had shown interest in acquiring the app, but their proposal was rejected by TikTok’s parent company Bytedance.
In spite of the politics, TikTok has boomed in business on multiple fronts
According to Ad Age’s top 2020 marketers of the year included as you might have guessed, TikTok.
shout out to @AdAge for naming us the top brand of 2020
& shout out to Y’ALL for making it happen: https://t.co/eDmTvQXfQl— TikTok (@tiktok_us) December 7, 2020
The above Tweet serves as a reminder that TikTok is unlike any other social media app and it outperformed other competitors in spite of the adversities. AdAge confirmed this finding in its analysis when it said “The list is topped by TikTok, which emerged as a major pop culture force and must-stop for an increasing number of brands, including several on our list.”
When it came down to marketing, there are compiled marketing case studies by Mediakix dot com. A detailed report revealed these effective TikTok marketing campaigns with outstanding results. Well-known brands that tested the platform with success included Chipotle, Mucinex, Charlie’s Angels, Kool-Aid, Gymshark, and others.
Here are embedded samples and the engagement visible within these videos for the sponsored campaign along with hashtags.
Marketing case study by Chipotle 1: #Boorito Challenge
@brittany_broski the duality of man. On oct 31 u can get a burrito for $ 4 if u come in costume after 3pm. EAT UP MY BABIES!!! #Boorito @chipotle #ad
Marketing case study by Mucinex 2: #TOOSICKTOBESICK Challenge
@jaydencroes Don’t let a cold limit your fun this holiday! I am #TooSickToBeSick #Mucinex #Sponsored
These samples are just a handful and there are more examples of campaigns constantly happening from day-to-day or week-to-week.
When it comes to app engagement it comes as no surprise that TikTok thrived thanks to the pandemic. Wallaroo estimates the app has 850 million monthly active users (MAU). What is even more confounding is the app reached a major feat when it was downloaded 2 billion times worldwide. This happened under the dominance of major existing social networks like Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, YouTube, and others.
Existing social networks launch their TikTok competitors
There is an old saying if you cannot beat them you copy them. Do you also benefit from having the app banned? Every social network previously mentioned recently launched a TikTok killer copycat app or is in the process of it creating a short video version of it.
For example, YouTube launched YouTube Shorts. They are shorter videos and happen to be quite similar to TikTok’s formatted videos. Facebook joined the effort by launching Reels, which is integrated into its existing Instagram app.
What about Snapchat? They also launched short-form videos for its Spotlight page. The concept is the same and uses identical functionality on how to edit short videos. You can choose from a selection of tracks or sounds, embed GIFs and text.
It also included a fund to finance creators. Guess what? TikTok launched the TikTok Creator Fund to support content creators there and continue to help grow the platforms’ popularity.
A unique algorithm and a variety of content creators from all walks of life
The experience on the platform as a user on the platform is different from Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and others. Typically, if you are an established brand or influencer chances are you have a large following along with high engagement with posts you send publicly.
TikTok uses the For You Page or FYP. The platform curates the content and never shows it to the same groups of users or followers you have. What is very distinctively different is an unknown, but an established TikTok influencer can have just the same reach or more than a verified user with a blue checkmark. You do not have to be famous to start and grow a following. However, it can help yet the content creators who are visible can compete with larger user accounts.
One perk for newcomers of TikTok is when you reach 1,000 followers you can go live. This allows users to connect with new or existing followers. The icing on the cake is once you go live you can receive gifts or digital coins that can be later converted to actual money. One huge income and revenue driver for users who deploy engagement tactics to get followers to donate their money in exchange for a shout-out or an account review.
As an educator and classroom teacher, I became curious about the platform because of my conversations with both teachers and students. I joined the platform to see what was all the hype about and it became clear other educators are using it as a creative outlet. It is also a great resource and tool to garner the motivation of students.
You will find users of all professions today It is not just millennials and Gen Z. It has expanded its demographic from 15 to 24 year-olds.
BoredTeachers has made a list of 25 teachers to follow and below are some examples.
@lessonswithlewis …Find me on sound cloud jk. #tiktokteacher #teacher
@caitlin_makes_art How to draw a perspective illusion #drawing #art #artist #howto #tutorial #tiktoktaughtme #draw #fyp
@anthony.toulouse3.comedy #greenscreen this getting banned or not has been exhausting. #ToMyBestFriend #tiktokban #tiktokbest
Takeaways and conclusions
Jason Derulo’s “Savage Love” to Bella Poarch’s “M to the B” are one of the many influential moments that cemented TikTok’s popularity and usage. People flocked there because people are more comfortable now making videos while new or existing followers engage with their content.
In a previous post, there are “9 Data-Backed Reasons To Be Advertising On TikTok” and it is not exclusive to a younger crowd anymore.
Now that the ban expired TikTok will continue its journey into 2021 with more to come. What are you waiting for? If you are curious about the app it will benefit you no matter who you are. If you are a business, an enterprise, an influencer, or someone with any kind of talent you cannot overlook the possibility to exploit a golden opportunity.
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