Navigating the US TikTok ban: What brands need to know

Note: As more details of the US TikTok ban emerge, we will be making updates to this article in real-time to reflect the latest news. Last updated January 15, 2025.

A federal law banning TikTok in the US is set to go into effect on January 19, 2025. Current reports say that TikTok plans to completely shut down its application in the US after the ban goes into effect, impacting both individuals and businesses.

Brands based in the US—or who have a strong follower base in the US—will need to reevaluate and diversify their network strategy immediately. The ban will require marketers to pivot quickly, adapt fast and make room for experimentation.

What is the US TikTok ban?

The US TikTok ban is a federal law that would prohibit US app stores and internet hosting services from distributing or hosting the TikTok app. According to recent reports, the ban is expected to be upheld by the Supreme Court.

Because this is the first time the US government has banned a social network, much is still unknown about how the ban will be enforced and implemented for TikTok’s 150 million US users.

4 steps to take before January 19 in light of the US TikTok ban

While this change may seem daunting, social marketers can successfully navigate it by doing what they do best: embracing adaptability and channeling a test-and-learn mentality.

Here are four steps you can take right now to prepare for the ban. In the next section, we’ll break down how you should alter your long-term strategy.

1. Download existing TikTok content and resources

Download your existing TikTok content, data and other resources and as soon as possible, as it is unclear what access to the app will look like if there is a nationwide shut down.

2. Prepare proactive messaging

Prepare a message to tell your audience how you will be altering your online presence if the ban goes into effect. Before January 19, communicate which other channels you will post on, introduce new accounts (if you have any) and reassure your community they will still have a relationship with your brand on social.

3. Review your active TikTok influencer contracts

Give influencers and creators permission to use their content on other channels. Your influencer partners are likely to incur significant financial impacts as a result of the ban and will be eager to find new homes for their content. Repurpose their content to help your brand reach new audiences and foster positive long-term influencer relationships.

4. Repurpose TikTok content and campaigns

Repurpose content and campaigns you planned to post on TikTok for use on alternative platforms. Instagram Reels, Facebook Reels, YouTube Shorts, Snapchat and LinkedIn will be especially key for filling the short-form video appetite left behind by TikTok. Leveraging existing content on new channels ensures visibility of business-critical messaging, while bridging performance gaps caused by the ban.

Ongoing considerations for brand social

As the full impact of the ban becomes clear in the next few months, social teams must remain agile—ready to adjust their strategy to comply with legal precedent and evolving audience expectations.

By making these adjustments to your strategy, you can maintain (and even grow) your social performance and audience engagement for the long haul.

Diversify your platform strategy

Consumers are experimenting with many new apps, trying to find one (or many) that can replace TikTok in their daily scrolls. Now is the time to stake your claim in emerging or untapped spaces, and investigate how to best adjust your content strategy to succeed in them. Stay up to date on trending conversations about new platforms, and make the case to leadership when you find a new network that’s the right fit.

Bandwidth is often a top barrier to new network experimentation. Sprout’s AI Assist can help. It saves you time by creating multiple iterations of the same message, all fine-tuned for different platforms. With a smaller learning curve to enter new spaces, your team can dive into emerging networks. Sprout’s Publishing Calendar makes it easy to cross-post and schedule content on all of these platforms—creating more time for strategic work.

Meanwhile, you should also consider which platforms present the best social commerce alternatives to TikTok. According to Sprout’s Q4 2024 Pulse Survey, most US consumers who plan to buy directly from social platforms in 2025 will do so on Facebook Shop. Instagram and YouTube are two other top contenders.

Digital commerce solutions like Shopify can help extend your storefront onto these social channels. Sprout’s Shopify integration makes social commerce accessible and minimizes the gap between interest and purchase—enabling you to meet consumers where they’re at.

Use data to drive decision-making and build a resilient content ecosystem

If the ban moves forward, much is still unknown about how consumers will change where they spend time on social. It will be extremely important to tap into conversations about network shifts and track user trends closely. But monitoring every change and trend is impossible for teams to do natively 24/7.

Social listening solutions like Sprout’s will play a pivotal role in helping you predict which network will be the next “big thing” and unearth changing consumer behavior. Listening will reveal audience insights that inform how you allocate your budget and resources, helping you do more with less and improve ROI.

The social landscape is unpredictable, and it’s important to leverage different channels—including SEO, content marketing, loyalty programs and brand communities.

That doesn’t mean you need to create a brand presence everywhere. Instead, invest where it counts.

Sprout’s My Reports maintain a single source of truth for your performance across platforms—simplifying complex, multi-platform data into actionable learnings you can take to leadership. These insights enable you to quickly realize what’s working and what’s not, so you can move fast to refine your strategy, especially when it comes to experimentation on new networks.

Expand your reach with brand advocacy

You should also explore other avenues to amplify your brand, like influencer marketing on new channels. As US influencers migrate from TikTok, the success they’ve found on the app will echo across new platforms, creating new opportunities for brands.

Use Influencer Marketing by Sprout Social, our all-in-one influencer management platform, to discover new influencers on Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts and emerging platforms like Snapchat. Browse influencers’ engagement rate by platform, and learn more about them and their audience to decide if they’re the right fit for your brand.

And remember: Partnering with TikTok influencers outside of the US is still an option for international brands. Finding them will be much more difficult for social teams headquartered in the US without solutions like Influencer Marketing.

Amplifying your brand shouldn’t stop with influencers. Your employees are your hidden asset when it comes to directing audiences to your content without additional paid spend—offsetting awareness gaps created by the TikTok ban.

Use Employee Advocacy by Sprout Social to empower your employees to become brand advocates. Directly from the Advocacy platform, they can share pre-approved message ideas with their networks—multiplying your reach exponentially.

What’s next: Adapting after the US TikTok ban

Navigating the US TikTok ban will require brands to be nimble, strategic and proactive. By diversifying your platform presence, building a resilient content ecosystem and using data-driven insights to inform your decisions, you can adapt to this seismic shift and maintain audience engagement.

We will continue to keep our customers updated about the evolving state of the US TikTok ban and what it means for Sprout’s functionality.