Jakub Purzycki | norphoto | Getty Images
Before Jack Nader started posting beauty videos on TikTok in 2023, he worked as an assistant Starbucks Barista in Chicago and lives at home with his parents.
But after Nader, now 21, started taking his videos seriously in April of that year, his TikTok account exploded. With over half a million followers, he was able to generate enough income through brand sponsorships and a share of advertising revenue that he wanted to quit his café job and get his own apartment.
“This is my 9-to-5 job,” Nader, who said he makes $1,000 to $12,000 a month as a creative, told CNBC. “This is what I do for a living. This is how I pay for my groceries. This is how millions of small businesses make their money.”
But Nader's new reality is far from stable. TikTok, which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance, is approaching a January 19 deadline by which it must complete Sell it, or they face a ban In the US, like many other creators who have become dependent on TikTok, Nader is urging his fans to find him on other social media apps before he loses them completely and the significant income stream they represent.
“Not everyone is My Tik Tok “This is going to come, and that’s really sad,” Nader said.
The risks of TikTok have been around for years, but were reinforced in April, then President Joe Biden Sign A law This requires ByteDance to pull the short video app this month. If ByteDance fails to sell TikTok in time, apple and Google They will be forced by law to ensure that their platforms no longer support the app in the US
President-elect Donald Trumpwho favored banning TikTok during his first administration, has since backed away from that order. Late last month, he said urge The Supreme Court to intervene and forcefully delay the implementation of Biden's ban to give him time to find a “political solution.” His inauguration is January 20.
Trump's rhetoric on TikTok began to shift afterward Met in February With billionaire Jeff Yass, a major Republican donor and major investor in ByteDance who also has a stake in ByteDance's owner. Social truthTrump's social media company.
supreme court I heard the oral arguments From both sides on January 10. During the hearing that lasted more than two hours, the justices peppered TikTok's lead lawyer with questions about the app's ties to China and seemed generally unconvinced by TikTok's main argument, which is that the law violates the free speech rights of millions. From individual users in the United States
On Thursday, businessman Frank McCourt's Internet advocacy group Freedom Project It announced that it had made a bid to buy TikTok from ByteDance. The group, which it called “The People's Bid for TikTok,” said it would restructure the app to exist on an American-owned platform and prioritize users' digital safety, though it did not reveal the terms of its bid.
Jack Nader, a 21-year-old from Chicago, is a full-time TikTok creator who has begun moving his content from the Chinese-owned app to Meta's Instagram Reels and Alphabet's YouTube Shorts.
Courtesy of Jack Nader
Judgment can come at a certain point. Nader isn't waiting for a solution to find out what's next.
He currently downloads four or five of his TikTok videos every day to save while he migrates his content to dead Instagram reels and alphabet YouTube shorts. After downloading the videos, Nader re-edits them and optimized the clips for each application.
“It took me over a year and a half to build what I have now on TikTok to make it my full-time job,” Nader said. “Now it's about rebuilding that entire brand on another platform, and that's not ideal.”
Nader said he hasn't made any money yet from Reels or Shorts.
“This isn't just a silly app.”
Danesha Carter, 27, is in a similar place. Based in Los Angeles, Carter has been a full-time content creator since 2021, posting social commentary and lifestyle videos. Although she had known about the TikTok ban for months, she said she received a wake-up call in the middle of the night in November.
“I need to start taking this seriously before I lose access to the platform I've created and the following I've built,” Carter said, recalling her horrified realization. “I need to not waste any more time.”
Carter, who previously worked in luxury retail, finished Her TikTok videos By telling her followers that they can find her on YouTube, Instagram, and Patreon.
“This is not just a silly app that people use to post dance videos,” said Carter, who makes about $4,000 a month on average from her TikTok activity. “It's been amazing in terms of changing people's lives, changing their businesses.”
Danisha Carter, 27, from Los Angeles, is a full-time TikTok content creator who started winding down her videos by asking her fans to follow her on YouTube, Instagram and Patreon before a January 19 law banning the Chinese-owned app goes into effect.
Courtesy of Danisha Carter
TikTok could still find a way to stay running in the US, but if the app is suspended, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram are expected to be the biggest winners in the fallout, experts predict.
TikTok has about 115 million monthly active users in the United States, which lags far behind YouTube's 258 million and Facebook's 253 million, according to the market intelligence firm. Sensor tower. Instagram has 131 million. Sensor Tower data shows that short videos, the kind that mimic clips on TikTok, are gaining views across those apps, accounting for about 41% of a user's time on Instagram.
While TikTok has a smaller user base in the US and a smaller share of total ad dollars than its larger competitors, it is the dominant platform for content creators, especially those focused on short-form content.
Influencer marketing platform HyperAuditor defines a creator as a user with more than 1,000 subscribers. TikTok has roughly 8.5 million people in the U.S. who fall into this category, compared to about 5.2 million on Instagram and 1.1 million on YouTube, according to HyperAuditor.
Meanwhile, TikTok accounts for 9% of digital ad spending on social media platforms in the US, according to Sensor Tower, compared to 31% for Facebook, 25% for Instagram, and 21% for YouTube.
If TikTok disappears, “this equates to billions of dollars potentially up in the air for competitors to grab,” Sensor Tower told CNBC in an email. Marketer It is estimated that Meta and YouTube could seize about half of the reallocated dollars if the ban goes into effect.
This kind of market shift has happened elsewhere. India bans TikTok In June 2020, when the app had around 150 million monthly users in the country. A year later, the number of monthly active users on Instagram in India has increased by 20% while the number of YouTube users has increased by 11% year-on-year, according to Sensor Tower estimates.
“This is the time when we saw the biggest jump in reel usage ever,” said Meghna Dhar, a former Instagram executive who was at the company at the time of the Indian ban. “If TikTok gets banned and creators have to scramble between YouTube Shorts and Instagram, a lot of creators are already hedging their bets.”
At Meta, leaders within Instagram scheduled several impromptu meetings on Friday after hearing oral arguments before the Supreme Court, a person familiar with the matter told CNBC. Although many inside the company have long expected TikTok to remain active in the United States, leaders at Instagram have begun directing their teams to prepare for a potential influx of users if the ban is implemented, said the person, who asked to remain anonymous due to confidentiality. .
(LR) Sarah Baus of Charleston, South Carolina, holds a sign that reads “Keep TikTok” as she and other content creators Sally Miley of Jackson, Mississippi, and Callie Goodwin of Columbia, South Carolina, stand outside the U.S. Supreme Court building as a court listens to oral arguments On whether to repeal or delay a law that could lead to TikTok being banned in the United States, on January 10, 2025 in Washington, D.C.
Andrew Harnick | Getty Images
Need to diversify
The TikTok situation is the latest example of why social media creators should always diversify their following, said Christina Nolan, vice president of media services at marketing agency DMi Partners.
“We constantly remind them of the need to create audience depth on other platforms,” said Nolan, whose agency works with more than 50,000 creators.
In recent weeks, DMi has seen more creators begin migrating followers elsewhere in a variety of ways, Nolan said. But they have to be careful. Some creators worry that TikTok will “ban” them, or reduce their exposure to users, if the technology catches them promoting profiles elsewhere, Nolan said.
Some creators will suggest followers find them on “fbook,” for example, instead of writing on Facebook. Others will issue enough words to get the message across to their followers while hoping to avoid detection on TikTok, Nolan said. Some content creators collaborate with brands to motivate users by receiving prizes Giveaways Added to users who follow them on other apps.
“Obviously they're not saying, 'Come on Instagram,'” Nolan said. “They say, ‘Follow me,’ and they say it.”
After working on a horse farm, Nellie Boschma, 27, was able to move to Los Angeles and live full-time as a content creator after she started posting videos on TikTok in 2022.
Courtesy of Nellie Boschma
Even with multiple other options for finding large audiences, creators worry about trying to rebuild their business and whether enough followers will migrate with them.
“Whatever happens, happens, and we're going to make the most of it,” said Nellie Boschma, 27, of Los Angeles, who has been living as a full-time creative since 2022. “How should I look at it, so I don't panic.”
Despite the potential turmoil, Boschma said she views the potential ban as an opportunity to expand her career and get more creative.
Bushma started making TikTok videos After leaving her job at a horse farm, she chose to live off her savings while experimenting as a creative. Bushma's bet on herself paid off and she earned enough to live in Los Angeles, paying for her own place and a car.
Now she makes sure her TikTok fans see links to her other profiles so they can find her on other apps, including YouTube. If the ban goes into effect, Bushma said she plans to make a video specifically asking her fans to follow her elsewhere.
That would be a big boost, as she currently has 2 million followers on TikTok compared to just 278,000 on YouTube. But Buschma said she will try making longer videos, something she has always wanted to explore.
“Whether TikTok disappears or not, I think something will work out,” Boschma said. “I will find my footing in other places, like I did on TikTok.”
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