Creators fast-track efforts to rely less on platforms amid intensifying TikTok uncertainty — here’s where they’re going

But now, as the U.S. forges ahead with its TikTok ban that’s approaching a Jan. 19 deadline, creators have gone mask-off, growing more proactive and more explicit with their attempts to divert fans off of TikTok as a ban or sale becomes a likely reality. Even though moving followers over onto another social network isn’t easy, it shouldn’t immediately disrupt many brand deals.

So far, agencies and experts have not reported brands pulling their deals or being hesitant to continue creator partnerships — if anything, some have shared that much of the creator community seems unfazed, or remains in denial that a ban will actually go through in the end. Additionally, many creators today are already on multiple social platforms and don’t have to start entirely from scratch. And if they aren’t on multiple platforms, this has been an opportunity to develop those multi-channel plans, explained Scott Sutton, CEO of social media and influencer platform Later.

“Almost all content creators are posting to all platforms and engaging with their followers on all platforms,” Sutton said. He also noted that his company is in “active dialogue” with its brand partners and social platforms, including TikTok, to develop creator and brand contingency plans. This could include reassessing platform strategies or having creators use link-in-bio tools, custom websites and newsletters.

Sutton’s not alone. “We’re seeing an increase in creators investing in personal websites, blogs and Substack newsletters, aiming to establish deeper, more direct relationships with their followers beyond any one platform,” said Sarah Gerrish, senior director of creator and influencer at Stagwell agency Movers+Shakers.

As the industry awaits TikTok’s fate, creators continue to add new revenue streams, like launching product lines and inking multi-platform brand partnerships, in addition to posting across YouTube Shorts, Snap and X to prepare for the future, Gerrish added.

Marie-Josée Cadorette, partner of influencer agency Clark Influence, acknowledged that this moment is a “good reminder” for creators to diversify their content strategies — depending on their brand and fit. For example, food creators and chefs may turn to recipe and blog sites.

Influencer agency Open Influence similarly noticed more creators branching off into personal websites, mailing lists or newsletters on Substack and Discord “to connect directly with their audiences,” said Alex Dahan, the agency’s CEO and co-founder.

“Similarly, fitness influencers are creating subscription-based programs on platforms like Patreon or hosting video libraries on their own websites to monetize their expertise directly,” Cadorette explained. “The same applies to musicians and singers, who are leveraging platforms like Bandcamp or custom-built sites to sell their music and connect directly with fans.”

While the need to diversify across channels is not a new one as social giants have grown tremendously over the years, the potential removal of TikTok this time ups the pressure for brands and creators to expand their strategies beyond social media platforms in general — or risk losing a ton of their data and monetization opportunities.

In this situation in which a “platform could disappear overnight,” creators face losing first-party data gathered from millions of followers, said Wim Sweldens, co-founder and CEO of creator livestreaming platform Kiswe. The platform allows creators to stream events directly to fans using a pay-per-view model, theoretically reducing the dependence on platforms like Twitch or YouTube.

Where are creators going?

There’s also more at stake this year as a new presidential administration comes into play this month, alongside other changes potentially shaking up the social landscape. This week, Chinese officials are also reportedly weighing selling TikTok to X and Tesla boss Elon Musk, increasing the sense of urgency to diversify channels and build audience ownership elsewhere. As eMarketer analyst Minda Smiley shared in a statement, if such a sale goes through, “TikTok would likely look much different under Musk — just look at Twitter’s drastic transformation to X under his control.”

Should TikTok get shut down in the U.S., it makes sense that its rivals stand to benefit from its users, content and ad revenues. In fact, eMarketer currently estimates that 50% of reallocated TikTok ad dollars (some $12 billion in the U.S. in 2024) will go toward Meta and YouTube.

Some other players are also capitalizing on this moment to court creators and pitch their platforms as a place to generate subscriptions, including Substack and blog site Tumblr. For its part, Substack earlier this week announced a $25,000 “TikTok Liberation Prize” aimed at helping creators “save their audiences, and build a sustainable livelihood of subscribers,” wrote Substack CEO Chris Best. Contestants have to create a TikTok video inviting their audience to Substack for a chance to win in January. Substack this month also added live video features for publishers in its effort to increase video offerings.

A Tumblr representative also shared that many of its new users registering are Gen Z (60%), and the platform has been known for magic and book lover communities and groups like Witchblr and Booklr. Tumblr noted a 395% increase over the past weekend in posts tagging “TikTok ban,” per the rep.

The key for attracting creators may lie in offering a home for more than “just hosting,” though, Open Influence’s Dahan noted. Platforms need to provide “ecosystems that deepen relationships with their audiences while maintaining independence from algorithms and policy changes,” he said. “For example, creators might leverage Instagram or TikTok for visibility but ultimately funnel their audiences to spaces they fully control.”

Regardless of what happens with TikTok this month, it may come down to a hybrid strategy of sorts for creators: both using self-hosted platforms and social media for discovery and content distribution.

For now, agencies are monitoring other trends that could pop up as TikTok developments come in — from the user spike on Chinese app RedNote to creators telling followers to deactivate Meta apps in protest of the TikTok ban, said Kelly Dye, vp of influencer strategy at Acorn Influence.

It’s also possibility that some creators go back into an office and work a 9-to-5, as not all of them can sustain a living on content creation or invest time to grow on the alternative platforms if TikTok goes away. Nathan Jun Poekert, CMO of agency General Idea, mentioned some personal contacts in the creator space recently began “looking into re-entering the professional workforce after the ban goes into effect rather than facing the daunting challenge of trying to rebuild from scratch.”