The Volatility of TikTok and What it Means for Your Social Media Strategy
January was a rollercoaster ride for TikTok users in America. A lot happened in a short period of time, and for those who use TikTok as their main platform, those few days felt like years. So what did we learn from this volatile time period? Let’s dive into the TikTok ban, including taking a look at what could be in the future for the popular app, and what we learned from this episode.
A Look Back at the Ups and Downs of TikTok
TikTok became popular with Americans during the COVID pandemic and people were searching for more ways to connect. It quickly gained in popularity, and at one point was the most downloaded app in the U.S.
During Donald Trump’s first administration, he led the effort to ban TikTok in 2020, saying it was a national security threat. Congress passed some legislation to ban TikTok unless sold to a U.S. company in 2024, with President Biden signing that legislation. However, the Biden Administration did not plan on enforcing or intervening against the law.
We were heading for a TikTok ban starting January 20, 2025 with uncertainty of what would actually happen. However, users of the app reported that they were not able to access TikTok a day early, with a message being displayed saying they were working with incoming President Trump.
On January 20, Trump signed an executive order delaying the ban of TikTok for 75 days (April 4, 2025), and the power to extend that delay for up to 90 days (April 19, 2025).
What is the Future of TikTok?
We actually don’t know what the future of TikTok is. There is even uncertainty around whether Trump’s executive order halting the sale or ban of the app is even legal. If he instructs the justice department to ignore the law indefinitely, it could provoke a legal challenge. On the reverse side, there is a bipartisan group of senators that say the ban violates the free speech of Americans who use the app, so there could be a lawsuit to reverse the ban if it actually does go into effect. This makes for an extremely volatile and uncertain future for the app and its American users.
What We Learned from the TikTok Ban
The bottom line is that there is no long-term certainty about TikTok’s future in the United States. So what does that mean for content creators and companies in the country that use the app?
It means that you should never put all your eggs into one basket when it comes to your social media strategy.
We’ve long believed that having a diverse strategy is the best strategy to reach as large an audience as possible. Not every person is on all of the social platforms, so your audiences will be a little different across Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, and other social sites. That doesn’t mean you have to be on every single platform. But when you have a strategy to be on multiple platforms, that means if one goes dark because it was banned, or just isn’t popular enough to keep operating, you don’t have to start over from square one.
Final Thoughts
Social media is constantly changing. Platforms come and go. This volatility requires a strategy that prioritizes diversification. So if TikTok, or any other platform, is your main platform to post on, make sure you are building a following and audience on at least one other platform. It’s always a good idea to have a plan B in place so you can quickly adjust your social strategy with the agility that our digital times demand.