You probably witnessed the 14 hour TikTok ban rock the world of many content creators, business owners, and users of the app. Despite TikTok’s swift restoration for many users, the future of the app remains unknown. Whatever its future, this ban taught us one thing: your marketing strategy on social media should be a multi-layered approach.

First and foremost, the experts at Novella Brandhouse have witnessed the powerful role that social media plays in the marketing strategies of businesses of all sizes. Many startups, scaleups, and major brands have harnessed the power of TikTok to drive sales, boost brand awareness, and achieve incredible results—all through the platform alone. This had us wondering, what happens if TikTok or another important social platform goes away forever? We outlined 5 key considerations when marketing on social media, especially if a platform could quickly disappear.

Your Content Should Live on Multiple Platforms

You’ve probably noticed that many creators are cross-sharing their content across different social media platforms. They might use the same TikTok video as an Instagram Reel or YouTube short. Why is this smart? If one app were to go away or change overnight, their social media content can be found by their audience across multiple social channels and won’t get lost with one app.

Your Content Should be Backed Up on a Personal Server

Speaking of being lost forever, it’s always a good idea to back up your social media generated photos and videos to a personal server. If a social media platform were to disappear, your content would go along with it, as users do not own the rights to their content on these apps. When in doubt, back up your content.

You Should Know Where Your Audience Gets Their Info and Where They’d Pivot to Next

Having an understanding of where your target audience gets their information is crucial. If an app is to go away overnight, where would your audience pivot? Our experts at Novella Brandhouse conduct frequent, thorough market research to understand these trends. Need help identifying your ideal target audience? Let’s chat!

Your Social Strategy Should be a Multi-Layered Approach

It is best practice to have 2-3 strong marketing approaches for your business. Reaching your target audience at multiple touchpoints is a sound way to grow your reach and expand your brand awareness. Whether you prioritize direct mail, social media ads, email marketing, or anything in between, we recommend 2-3 top-of-funnel, lead generating approaches.

You Should Build Your Email List

Speaking of your email marketing, let’s talk about your email list. A strong email list is important for customer retention and direct communication. It provides a direct line to customers without algorithmic interference. It also nurtures ongoing relationships with existing customers and helps appeal to new ones. Email marketing isn’t going away anytime soon… so now is as good a time as ever to grow your email list, capturing emails through as many touch points as possible.

Here’s Where We Can All Improve

During this extended timeframe that the TikTok ban has been looming, as social strategists, we saw this as a missed opportunity for other platforms such as Instagram/Meta to step up and enhance their Reels, introducing the features that TikTok excels at. Think UX improvements like press-and-hold to fast-forward through videos, expanding music availability, or switching the tap-to-mute feature to a tap-to-pause. These small but impactful changes could have made a big difference! The TikTok ban has ultimately taught us to remain nimble and forward thinking with our social media strategies, ready to take the next right step when marketing our businesses. 

Need an agency to help you create a solid marketing plan for your business? Let’s make it happen—grab a spot on our calendar!