LITTLE CROW MARKETING

If you’re on social media (and as a business you should be) and watch the news you’ve most likely heard about the ban controversy surrounding TikTok in the US over the last few months. As of 24th April 2024 a bipartisan bill was signed that allowed the US government to ban the social media app across the US unless its parent company sold its controlling stake.

On 10th January 2025 the US Supreme Court justices heard from lawyers representing TikTok and content creators on the app that the ban would be a violation of free speech protections for the platform’s 170 million+ users in the US. As of 17th January the Supreme Court upheld the law that permitted the ban. On Sunday 19th January at midnight TikTok ‘went dark’ across the US. A message on the app for US users read: ‘A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the US. Unfortunately that means you can’t use TikTok for now’.

As of Sunday afternoon (some 12-14 hours after going dark) TikTok’s ban has been temporarily lifted for the next 90 days as an extension to the offer of sale while discussions of a possible deal continue.

For months people were warned of a potential ban of TikTok within the US with plenty of debate over whether it would actually happen. Technically TikTok was only gone for a day (for now) and many people are likely not concerned with the future of this social media app.

But even if you don’t use TikTok, I’m telling you that there is one big message to take away from this regardless of what happens to the app over the next 90 days:

DIVERSIFY YOUR MARKETING

Many small businesses were devastated about the new ban to the app stating that it was a huge part of their promotion strategy, a main source of income, and beyond that, a place of meaningful community that they had built. While losing a platform as a business is a big disruption, don’t allow it to become everything. Don’t rely so heavily on one source that you then have to start again at square one.

TikTok is a fantastic platform, and a unique one at that, that has proven over many industries to be extremely useful for small businesses with little budgets. I sincerely hope that the app remains available in all countries with the algorithm and set up it currently has. But, we need to take this lesson to not put all of our eggs in one basket.

• Utilise multiple social media platforms (2-4 ideally)
• Create a mailing list and actively work to bring people onboard
• Have a website that you can control where your audience can find you
• Spread beyond digital marketing into print and face-to-face for further touch points with your community

Don’t let the fate of an app potentially ruin your business. Be smart and expand your strategy so that you have multiple streams for growing your audience, nurturing client relationships and converting sales.

If you’re unsure how to begin diversifying your marketing with a holistic, multi-pronged approach then let’s have a chat!