6 Tiktok Creators On Where They’ll Go If The App Is Banned

It’s been much than 4 years since Donald Trump first moved to expel TikTok from nan US — and now, conscionable days earlier a 2nd Trump presidency begins, it conscionable mightiness happen.

President Joe Biden signed authorities past April that officially began nan countdown that would portion TikTok’s genitor company, ByteDance, to divest from nan US business. But moreover afterward, the ambiance connected nan video powerhouse was mostly nonchalant, pinch a fistful of stray jokes astir “this app disappearing” slotted betwixt nan accustomed fare.

In nan past week, though, nan vibe has shifted — my favourite creators are posting links to their different societal accounts, audiences are making point reels of nan astir viral moments connected nan app, and they’re saying goodbye to their “Chinese spy” and threatening to manus complete their accusation to nan Chinese government. A Chinese-owned app Xiaohongshu, known arsenic RedNote, topped nan App Store this week, driven by a activity of “TikTok refugees” trying to recreate nan acquisition of nan platform. It’s emotion a spot for illustration a fever dream past clip of school.

For galore creatives online, this wouldn’t beryllium nan first clip they’ve had to migrate to caller spaces: reach, engagement, and visibility are perpetually shifting moreover connected nan largest and astir unchangeable platforms. But nan anticipation that a societal media tract of this size would vanish — aliases slow break down until it’s nonfunctional — is simply a caller threat. For mini creators especially, TikTok is for illustration playing nan lottery: you don’t petition thousands of followers for your video to get big, and this unpredictability incentivized nan mean personification to upload content.

It’s still unclear what will hap to TikTok aft January 19th. I asked contented creators what their crippled strategy is. (Responses personification been edited and condensed for clarity.)

Noelle Johansen, @astraeagoods (89K followers)

“At nan peak, I was making astir 70 percent of my income done TikTok from December 2020 to January 2022. Now, it drives astatine most, 10 percent of my sales,” says Noelle Johansen, who sells motto sweatshirts, accessories, stickers, and different products.

“At my highest pinch TikTok, I was tin to scope truthful galore customers pinch ease. Instagram and Twitter personification ever been a changeable successful nan acheronian arsenic to whether nan contented will beryllium seen, but TikTok was very accordant successful showing my followers and imaginable caller customers my videos,” Johansen told The Verge successful an email. “I’ve too made awesome friends from nan creator statement connected TikTok, and it’s difficult to construe that statement to different societal media. Most apps usability a batch different than TikTok, and galore group don’t personification nan bandwidth to support up pinch each of nan caller socials and building platforms there.”

Going forward, Johansen says they’ll attraction connected X and Instagram for income while moving to move an assemblage connected Bluesky and Threads.

Kay Poyer, @ladymisskay_ (704K followers)

“I deliberation nan easiness of usage connected TikTok opened an avenue for a batch of would-be creators,” Kay Poyer, a celebrated creator making joke and commentary content, says. “Right now we’re seeing a cleaving point, wherever galore will return to extremity aliases beryllium forced to accommodate backmost to older platforms (which bladed to beryllium overmuch difficult to build followings connected and monetize).”

As for her ain plans, Poyer says she’ll enactment wherever nan engagement is if TikTok becomes unavailable — smaller platforms for illustration Bluesky aliases Neptune aren’t yet impactful enough.

“I’m seeing a ample spike successful subscribers to my Substack, The Quiet Part, arsenic bully arsenic followers flooding to my Instagram and Twitter,” Poyer told The Verge. “Personally I personification chosen to make my podcast, Meat Bus, nan flagship of my content. We’re launching our video episodes sometime adjacent play connected YouTube.”

Bethany Brookshire, @beebrookshire (18K followers)

Bethany Brookshire, a taxable journalist and author, has been sharing videos astir value anatomy connected TikTok, Bluesky, Instagram, and YouTube. Across platforms, Brookshire has observed differences successful audiences — YouTube, for example, “is not a spot [to] build an audience,” she says, citing antagonistic comments connected her work.

“I find group connected TikTok remark and prosecute a batch more, and astir importantly, their comments are often rubbing aliases funny,” she says. “When I was doing pelvic anatomy, a batch of group pinch uteruses wrote successful to show maine they felt seen, that they had a circumstantial condition, and they moreover bonded pinch each different successful nan comments.”

Brookshire told The Verge successful an email that sharing contented anyplace tin astatine times consciousness fraught. Between Nazi contented connected Substack, right-wing ass-kissing astatine Meta, and nan nationalist accusation concerns of TikTok, it doesn’t consciousness for illustration immoderate level is perfectly ideal.

“Sometimes I consciousness for illustration nan only ethical measurement to nutrient immoderate contented is to represent it retired successful artisanal chalk connected an organically originated vegan stone, which I past effort to show to a azygous personification pinch their consent earlier mildly tossing it into nan h2o to complete its circle of life,” Brookshire says. “But if I want to inform, and I want to educate, I petition to beryllium successful nan places group go.”

Woodstock Farm Sanctuary, @woodstocksanctuary (117K followers)

The Woodstock Farm Sanctuary successful upstate New York uses TikTok to banal accusation pinch caller audiences — nan group’s Instagram pursuing is mostly group who are already animal authorities activists, vegans, aliases sanctuary supporters.

“TikTok has allowed america to scope group who don’t moreover cognize what animal sanctuaries are,” societal media coordinator Riki Higgins told The Verge successful an email. “While we still chiefly fundraise via Meta platforms, we look to make nan biggest acquisition and defense effect erstwhile we position connected TikTok.”

With a mini societal media and trading squad of two, Woodstock Farm Sanctuary (like different mini businesses and organizations) must beryllium strategical successful really it uses its efforts. YouTube contented tin beryllium overmuch labor-intensive, Higgins says, and Instagram Reels is missing cardinal features for illustration 2x video velocity and nan expertise to region videos.

“TikTok users really, really don’t for illustration Reels. They position it arsenic nan level wherever jokes, trends, etc., spell to die, wherever outdated contented gets recycled, and peculiarly younger users spot it arsenic an app only older audiences use,” Higgins says.

The sanctuary says it will meet audiences wherever they migrate successful nan suit that TikTok becomes inaccessible.

Anna Rangos, @honeywhippedfeta (15K followers)

Anna Rangos, who useful successful societal media and makes tech and sensation commentary videos, is nary alien to having to premier up and clip disconnected a societal media level for location else. As a retired activity worker, she saw firsthand really susceptible a societal media pursuing could be.

“You could aftermath up 1 clip to find your accounts deactivated, and restoring them? Forget it. Good luck getting immoderate benignant of activity from Meta,” Rangos said successful an email. Having an narration deleted intends mislaid income and hours of trying to rebuild a following. “Over my clip successful nan industry, I went done 3 aliases 4 Instagram accounts, perpetually trying to recapture my following.”

Sex workers and activity acquisition creators regularly woody pinch their contented being removed, censored, aliases full accounts deleted. Rangos says that though nan statement connected TikTok is overmuch welcoming, she’s moving to liking retired her ain abstraction done a website and a newsletter. She too plans to enactment progressive connected YouTube, Pinterest, and Bluesky.

“I don’t strategy connected utilizing Meta products much, fixed [Mark] Zuckerberg’s caller announcements regarding fact-checking,” she wrote successful an email.

Amanda Chavira, @lost.birds.beads (10K followers)

“I personification recovered truthful overmuch joyousness and statement connected TikTok mostly done Native TikTok,” says Amanda Chavira, an Indigenous beader who built an assemblage done tutorials and sensation content. “It’s sad to spot TikTok go.”

Chavira says she plans to reupload immoderate of her contented to YouTube Shorts to spot really her videos execute location but different will beryllium waiting to spot if different viable video level comes along. Chavira won’t beryllium pivoting to Meta: she says she plans to delete her accounts connected Threads, Instagram, and Facebook.

“I’d been considering leaving my Meta accounts for a agelong time,” she said successful an email. “Facebook felt for illustration a unspeakable spot done predetermination cycles, and past nan pandemic, [and] past each different position I was seeing was a suggested advertisement aliases clickbait article. For Instagram, I’ve really been struggling to scope my target assemblage and didn’t personification nan clip disposable to position each nan clip to effort to summation engagement.” Her past straw was Meta’s determination to extremity nan fact-checking programme and Zuckerberg’s “pandering to nan Trump administration,” she says.