TikTok is Banned! What Every Brand That Used TikTok Should Do ASAP.

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🚨 BREAKING: TikTok Has Been BANNED in the U.S.

If you haven't heard already, TikTok has been banned as of January 19, 2025.

And I'm writing this issue to tell you exactly what you should be doing right now if you're a business (or a creator too).

If you're trying to log into TikTok, it’s not going to work anymore.

You’ll just get an error saying it’s temporarily unavailable.

If you've used CapCut for editing your videos (we use this internally at Trendify and chances are your creators probably do too) it's ALSO banned now.

So if you're a business or brand who relied on TikTok for growth, you need a backup plan IMMEDIATELY.

And that’s what I’m going to break down in this newsletter:

How brands should pivot NOW to save their business.

How creators/brands can make MORE money post-TikTok.

Why this ban is actually the biggest opportunity in brand growth.

This is THE playbook you need right now. Let’s get into it.

📉 The 3 Immediate Effects of the TikTok Ban

1. Millions of users in the U.S. have lost access to TikTok.
This is crazy. Not just because no more doom scrolling, but because so many businesses relied on TikTok for customers.

2. Brands that built their marketing on TikTok ads are scrambling.
If your business relied on TikTok ads to generate revenue, you’re probably freaking out right now.

3. Creators who made a living off TikTok are panicking.
Me and Sai have built 10M+ followers on TikTok, and we now have lost access to all of it. Although we should probably be panicking more.

So is this the end? No. Here’s why this is actually a massive opportunity.

🔥 What Every Brand Should Do Immediately

1. Shift Your TikTok Ad Budget to Meta (Instagram + Facebook Reels)

If you’ve been running TikTok ads, you NEED to move that budget ASAP.

Here’s why Meta is your best bet:
- Instagram Reels ads are performing 20-30% better than TikTok ads for many brands
- Meta allows for retargeting
- Brands we work with were already seeing better results on Meta BEFORE the ban

What to do RIGHT NOW:
- Pause your TikTok ads (obviously, they’re gone)
- Move your best-performing creatives to Instagram & Facebook Reels
- Start testing Meta ads immediately—this is where your customers are going

2. Repurpose Your Old TikTok Content for Instagram Reels & Shorts (and a few other platforms)

Here’s the bad news: If your TikTok account is gone, you probably can’t access your videos anymore.

BUT if you have old TikTok videos saved, DO NOT let them die.

Shoutout to all the brands who played it smart and downloaded their videos.

If you didn’t, that’s okay. Time to make even better content!

Now here’s what to do:

📌 Post your TikTok content on these platforms instead:
- Instagram Reels & Facebook Reels – #1 priority
- YouTube Shorts – Massive untapped opportunity (and they pay well)
- Pinterest Video – Yes, it works
- LinkedIn & Twitter Video – Underrated plays (more business like though)

If you don’t have accounts on these platforms yet—CREATE THEM NOW.

If you need help repurposing content or don’t have time then just reply back to this email—this is exactly what we do.

Or email me at srikar@trendify.com.

3. Go ALL-IN on UGC (User-Generated Content)

Just because TikTok got banned doesn’t mean brands don’t need UGC anymore.

Every brand still needs creators—they’re just moving to other platforms.

If you’re a business, you should be doubling down on finding UGC creators for Instagram Reels, Shorts, and Facebook.

PS: If you need high-converting UGC creators we can also help here too.

But I’d focus on finding creators who are:

Responsive/On-Time

Flexible (can make content without exact scripts/happy to adjust to things)

Good at making content (ask them to send you their portfolio beforehand)

🔥 What Every Creator Should Do Immediately

1. Brands STILL Need UGC—Just On Different Platforms

If you’re a UGC creator, this might actually be a blessing in disguise.

Brands are still spending money. They’re just moving to Instagram, Facebook & YouTube.

So you need to move quick! And make sure you make good content.

Happy to find you opportunities if you message me.

2. YouTube Shorts Monetization is EXPLODING

Here’s what most creators don’t know: YouTube Shorts pays WAY more than TikTok ever did.

💰 If you move to Shorts NOW, you’ll get ahead of the wave.
🔥 Creators who pivot first will dominate the next viral cycle.

You can make money off the platform. It will take time, but hopefully it can make up for your loss of income on TikTok.

🚀 What To Do Next (Take Action NOW)

• • Switch your ads to other platforms (and find someone who can run them well)
• • Keep making content and repurpose your TikTok content onto other platforms (yt, ig, linkedin, twitter/x, pinterest etc.)
• • Keep doing the fundamentals. Build a great creator culture (incentives, meetings, bonuses etc.), post consistently, try different formats, track your analytics, and use learnings to make better decisions. If this sounds like a lot, just hit me up. I’m happy to help you.
  

So start moving fast and making content!

But if you need help doing ALL of this…

We’ll do it for you.

🔗 Just go to www.trendify.com and book a call with us.

Or you can book a call by just clicking here directly.

I’ll also walk through some content strategies for you on the call.

So that your brand comes out stronger than ever. Even with TikTok banned.

If you enjoyed this content then you’ll love our podcast:

Growth Strategies for VC Backed Startups

It’s your ultimate playbook for scaling smarter and faster.

Cheers.

- Srikar & Sai Karra