5 Key Implications for Ads, Creators, and Businesses

With TikTok potentially going dark, the pressing question becomes: where can advertisers find the same audience and performance?

“The problem is that, with real knowledge or precision, identifying substitute media for that audience at a granular level is not possible,” Schmitt said. “It is a mistake to assume that the budget will automatically change to alternatives.”

Meta and YouTube emerged as the biggest beneficiaries

Despite this need to test and verify, Meta and YouTube would undoubtedly benefit the most from a potential ban on TikTok. According to Emarketer, the two platforms are ready to capture almost 50% of the public dollars TikTok moved.

Both platforms courted TikTok creators in preparation for the ban, with Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts emerging as the most natural alternatives for displaced users, creators and businesses, according to Enberg.

Other platforms, such as Amazon and Twitch, may also benefit, but Meta and YouTube are expected to see the biggest share, Schmitt said.

Smaller creators make more disruptions

A ban on TikTok would have “major implications” for the economy of creators, especially for those who rely solely on TikTok for revenue, Enberg said.

“Emerging creators would have a much harder time resisting a ban than established creators who have a presence and a business on multiple platforms,” ​​he said.

The impact will extend to emerging creators, many of whom owe their first success to TikTok’s algorithm, which provided a viral boost to help grow an audience.

“This doesn’t exist on other platforms,” ​​said Enberg, noting that Instagram has adjusted its algorithm to favor smaller accounts, helping with discovery.

Brands are losing a key marketing and discovery vehicle

Spotify’s integration with TikTok and Amazon’s advertising offering with the platform shows how brands have leveraged TikTok for discovery and engagement. Faced with a ban, brands will lose a key marketing vehicle.

“Netflix, for example, recently introduced Moments, a feature that allows users to share short clips from their shows on TikTok,” said Enberg. “This shows how crucial TikTok is for these companies to get their content in front of viewers and drive traffic to their platforms.”

A ban will force brands to find new ways to engage consumers, and platforms will likely compete to fill the gap.

Globalization of advertising hit a hole

The TikTok ban also serves as a reminder that the globalization of ad spending has its limits. While multinational advertisers with mega advertising budgets have increasingly centralized their spending through platforms like Meta, Google and Amazon, a ban on TikTok could show how national regulations still shape the media landscape.