TikTok parent ByteDance has until January 19, 2025, to sell the company or face a US ban. The company is suing to avoid the ban, but if the platform goes away, marketers need to know how to reach TikTok users on other platforms. From Gen Z to niche communities, here are five key stats showing the places marketers should be able to reach TikTok users.
1. How to reach Gen Z
Key stat: 89.3% of US Gen Zers watch content on YouTube, per our February 2024 forecast.
What it means: While TikTok may be loved by Gen Z, the age group is more likely to use YouTube.
- 71.2% of US Gen Zers use TikTok, per our May 2024 forecast.
- 73.3% of US YouTube viewers watch Shorts, the platform’s TikTok-like product.
- Marketers who want to reach Gen Z should have a presence on YouTube—either organically or via creator partnerships—and be publishing both short- and long-form content.
2. How to reach vertical video fans
Key stat: 58% of US TikTok users would switch to Instagram Reels in the event of a TikTok ban, per a March 2024 study from MGH.
What it means: Marketers should be cross-posting content on TikTok and on Reels, so that their audience is already seeing their content on Instagram if a ban happens.
- Instagram already has a bigger audience than TikTok, with 143.2 million people in the US using Instagram, compared with the 112.4 million people who use TikTok, per our forecasts.
3. How to reach people seeking entertainment
Key stat: US adult TikTok users will average 54 minutes per day with the platform this year, per our February 2024 forecast.
What it means: If the platform is banned, that time spent could move to other forms of digital video, including connected TV (CTV).
- 36.6% of US internet users use TikTok, but 76.2% of US internet users watch CTV, per our forecast.
- US subscription OTT viewers already average 2 hours and 37 minutes (2:37) per day watching the platforms, per our forecast.
- While digital video viewers on TikTok will likely flock to other vertical video channels, some may pivot to longer-form content like CTV, where advertisers can meet them.
4. How to reach product researchers
Key stat: 16% of US consumers start their product searches on TikTok, according to a Q3 2023 study from Jungle Scout.
What it means: While more people start their searches on TikTok than on Pinterest, the latter has potential for uptick after a TikTok ban.
- “The last 25 years of ecommerce solved for buying, but it killed shopping,” said Pinterest CEO Bill Ready. “The part of the shopping journey that hasn’t yet been digitized is the non-utilitarian part—browsing, walking down the aisles, having a loose idea of what you want and being inspired.”
- Pinterest will have 85.4 million US users this year, and more people could flock there to browse products in the event of a TikTok ban.
5. How to reach loyal fans of creators
Key stat: 37% of creators worldwide would lose $50,000 or more if TikTok went away, according to an October 2023 study from Kajabi.
What it means: Marketers need to make sure they have long-term relationships with creators, not with platforms.
- Creators are already diversifying their platforms to make sure they can reach an audience even if TikTok goes away. Even if a brand finds a creator through TikTok, it should reach out to them directly to maintain that relationship elsewhere.
- 67.5% of influencer marketers use TikTok for influencer marketing, per our forecast.
- 53% of creators are exploring new platforms or technologies to help them this year, according to a July 2023 study from the Keller Advisory Group.
This was originally featured in the EMARKETER Daily newsletter. For more marketing insights, statistics, and trends, subscribe here.