TikTok ban uncertainty led US creators to focus on rival platforms
US creators shifted their focus to Instagram and YouTube in the week following the decision by the country’s Supreme Court to uphold the ban on TikTok.
A study from social agency Billion Dollar Boy found that the change in volume of content from US creators on TikTok was marginal in the week following 19 January (down 3%), when the Supreme Court announced its decision.
However, there was a significant increase in content from US creators on competitors Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts in that time frame — up 16% and 14% respectively.
That said, all three platforms saw a decline in average views per video. This is unsurprising for Reels and Shorts, the agency said, given the increase in volume leading to tougher competition.
The decline at YouTube, however, was much higher (at 18% versus Instagram’s 4%), suggesting users are gravitating more towards the Meta platform.
UK springs into action
On the other hand, UK creators sought to capitalise on uncertainty surrounding TikTok in the US by substantially boosting their presence on the app during the same timeframe, while also increasing content on Reels and Shorts more modestly.
While, on average, content increased by 6% on Reels and 2% on Shorts, volume on TikTok grew by 15% in the UK.
However, the agency noted that average views per video on TikTok fell 16%, thus “mitigating the rise in content posted”.
Both Reels and Shorts also experienced drops in views, with the fall in Shorts most significant at 24%.
Billion Dollar Boy suggested two factors behind this: first, content saturation as creators moved away from TikTok; second, YouTube algorithms could potentially be prioritising US-generated content.
“Brands looking to futureproof their social media strategies should prioritise Instagram — which appears to be the platform of choice, for now — while also continuing to diversify their platform presence as best practice,” suggested Billion Dollar Boy CEO and co-founder Thomas Walters.
“Encouragingly, creators are also demonstrating remarkable adaptability, strengthening their presence on alternative platforms while maintaining their TikTok audiences. This strategic approach not only safeguards their revenue streams but also reassures brands of the sector’s resilience in the face of disruption.”
TikTok’s potential ban is currently up in the air. On 21 January, US president Donald Trump signed an executive order delaying the ban for 75 days to give ByteDance more time to find a US buyer. Trump has since made conflicting suggestions for how the app should be bought, including that the US government should create a sovereign wealth fund to purchase the app, that Elon Musk or Microsoft could be potential buyers, and that there should be a bidding war.
Billion Dollar Boy’s analysis was conducted on 31 January and looked at the week before and the week after 19 January. It covered 10,578 creators in the UK and the US, analysing more than 78,000 posts and 19bn impressions.