Jakub Porzycki | Nurphoto | Getty Images
Before Jack Nader started posting beauty videos on TikTok in 2023, he worked as Starbucks barista in Chicago and living at home with his parents.
But when Nader, now 21, started taking his videos seriously in April this year, his TikTok account blew up. With over half a million followers, he was able to generate enough income through brand sponsorships and ad revenue sharing that he quit his job at a coffee shop and bought his own apartment.
“It's my 9-to-5 job,” Nader, who says he earns between $1,000 and $12,000 a month as a creator, told CNBC. “This is how I make a living. This is how I pay for groceries. This is how millions of small businesses make money.”
Nader's new reality, however, is not stable. TikTok, owned by China's ByteDance, is closing in on its January 19 deadline, sold or face ban in the U.S. Like many other creators who have come to rely on TikTok, Nader is urging his fans to find him on other social media apps before he potentially loses them entirely and the significant source of income that comes with them.
“Not all of us my TikTok more will come and it's really sad,” Nader said.
The risks associated with TikTok have existed for years, but increased in April President Joe Biden signed by A law this requires ByteDance to divest the short-video app this month. If ByteDance doesn't sell TikTok in time, Apple AND Google will be forced by law to ensure that their platforms no longer support US applications
President-elect Donald Trumpwho advocated for a ban on TikTok during his first administration, has since changed his mind on the matter. Late last month he insisted Supreme Court to intervene and forcibly delay Biden's ban to give him time to find a “political solution.” Its inauguration takes place on January 20.
Trump's rhetoric on TikTok began to change after him we met in February with billionaire Jeff Yass, a Republican megadonor and major investor in ByteDance, who also owns the owner's shares Social truthTrump's social media company.
Supreme Court heard oral arguments both sides on January 10. During the more than two-hour session, the justices peppered TikTok's lead lawyer with questions about the app's ties to China and seemed generally unconvinced of TikTok's central argument that the law violates the free speech rights of millions of citizens of individual users in the U.S.
Businessman Frank McCourt's online support group on Thursday Freedom Project announced that it has submitted a proposal to purchase TikTok from ByteDance. Calling it “The People's Bid for TikTok,” the group said it would restructure the app to exist on an American-owned platform and prioritize users' digital security, though it did not reveal the terms of its offer.
Jack Nader, a 21-year-old Chicago resident, is a full-time TikTok creator who has begun migrating his content from the Chinese-owned app to Alphabet's Instagram Reels Meta and YouTube Shorts.
Courtesy of Jacek Nader
A ruling may be made at some point. Nader isn't waiting for a decision to find out what's next.
He currently downloads four or five of his videos from TikTok every day to save as he migrates his content to Meta Reels on Instagram and Alphabet Shorts on YouTube. Once the videos are downloaded, Nader re-edits them, optimizing them for each application.
“It took me over a year and a half to create the following content that I currently have on TikTok, making it my full-time job,” Nader said. “Now it's about rebuilding the entire brand on a different platform, which is not ideal.”
Nader said he doesn't yet make money from Reels or Shorts.
“It's not just a stupid app”
Danina Carter (27) is in a similar situation. A Los Angeles resident, Carter has been a full-time creator since 2021, posting social commentary and lifestyle videos. Although she had known about the TikTok ban for months, she said it woke her up in the middle of the night in November.
“I have to start taking this seriously before I lose access to the platform I've built and the followers I've built,” Carter said, recalling the panic. – I don't have to waste any more time.
Carter, who previously worked in luxury retail, has retired her videos on TikTok telling her followers they can find her on YouTube, Instagram and Patreon.
“This isn't just a stupid app that people use to post dancing videos,” said Carter, who earns an average of about $4,000 a month from her TikTok activity. “It was extraordinary in terms of changing people's lives and changing their businesses.”
Danisha Carter, a 27-year-old Los Angeles resident, is a full-time TikTok creator who has started ending her videos by asking fans to follow her on YouTube, Instagram and Patreon before a law banning the Chinese app goes into effect on January 19.
Courtesy of Danina Carter
TikTok may still find a way to maintain operations in the US, but if the app is suspended, experts predict that YouTube, Facebook and Instagram will be the biggest winners in this situation.
According to the market research firm, TikTok has about 115 million monthly active users in the U.S., well behind YouTube with 258 million and Facebook with 253 million Sensory Tower. Instagram has 131 million. Data from Sensor Tower shows that short videos that mimic TikTok clips are gaining increasing viewership on these apps, accounting for about 41% of users' time spent on Instagram.
Although TikTok has a smaller U.S. user base and a lower share of total ad spend than its biggest rivals, it is the dominant platform for creators, especially those focused on short-form content.
Influencer marketing platform HyperAuditor defines a creator as a user with more than 1,000 subscribers. In the U.S., TikTok has nearly 8.5 million users who fit this category, compared with about 5.2 million on Instagram and 1.1 million on YouTube, according to HyperAuditor.
Meanwhile, according to Sensor Tower, TikTok accounts for 9% of digital ad spending on social media platforms in the U.S., compared with 31% on Facebook, 25% on Instagram and 21% on YouTube.
If TikTok disappears, “it means there could be billions of dollars hanging in the air for competitors to capture,” Sensor Tower told CNBC in an email. Emarketer estimates that if the ban went into effect, Meta and YouTube could capture about half of the reallocated dollars.
These types of market changes have occurred elsewhere. India banned TikTok in June 2020, when the application was used by approximately 150 million monthly users in the country. A year later, Instagram's monthly active users in India were up 20%, while YouTube's active users were up 11% year-on-year, according to Sensor Tower estimates.
“That's when we saw the biggest increase in roller usage ever,” said Meghana Dhar, a former Instagram executive who worked at the company at the time of India's ban. “If TikTok were banned and creators had to wade between YouTube Shorts and Instagram, many creators are already hedging their bets.”
At Meta, Instagram leaders scheduled numerous impromptu meetings for Friday after hearing oral arguments before the Supreme Court, a person familiar with the matter told CNBC. While many in the company have long expected TikTok to remain active in the U.S., leaders at Instagram have begun directing their teams to prepare for a potential influx of users if a ban is implemented, said the person, who asked not to be identified for confidentiality reasons.
(L-R) Sarah Baus of Charleston, South Carolina holds a sign that says “Save TikTok” as she and fellow content creators Sallye Miley of Jackson, Mississippi, and Callie Goodwin of Columbia, South Carolina, stand outside the U.S. Supreme Court building for a hearing hears oral arguments on repealing or delaying a law that could lead to a U.S. ban on TikTok, on Jan. 10, 2025, in Washington.
Andrzej Harnik | Getty Images
You need to diversify
Kristina Nolan, vice president of media services at marketing agency DMi Partners, said the TikTok situation is the latest example of why social media creators should always diversify their followers.
“We consistently remind them to look after audience depth on other platforms,” said Nolan, whose agency works with more than 50,000 creators.
Nolan said that in recent weeks, DMi has seen more and more creators start moving their followers elsewhere in a variety of ways. But they have to be careful. Nolan said some creators fear TikTok will “lock them in the background” or reduce their exposure to users if the technology detects they are promoting profiles elsewhere.
Some creators suggest that followers find them on Facebook, for example, instead of posting on Facebook. Others will say just enough words to convey a message to their followers, hoping to avoid detection by TikTok, Nolan said. Some creators partner with brands to motivate users through rewards presents for users who follow them in other applications, she added.
“They obviously don't say, 'Come on Instagram,'” Nolan said. “They say, 'Keep following me,' and they keep repeating it.”
After working on a horse farm, 27-year-old Nealie Boschma was able to move to Los Angeles and start working full-time as a creator when she started posting videos on TikTok in 2022.
Courtesy of Nealie Boschma
Even with many other options to find a large audience, creators worry about trying to rebuild their business and whether enough of their followers will migrate with them.
“Whatever happens, happens, and we're just going to take advantage of it,” said Nealie Boschma, a 27-year-old Los Angeles resident who has been living as a full-time creator since 2022. “It's just how I have to look at it so I don't panic.”
Despite the potential upheaval, Boschma said she viewed the potential ban as an opportunity to expand her career and become more creative.
Boschma started doing it TikTok videos after quitting his job at a stud farm and deciding to live off his savings while experimenting as a creator. Boschma bet on herself and achieved success, earning enough to live in Los Angeles, paying for her own apartment and car.
Now she makes sure TikTok fans see links to her other profiles so they can find her on other apps, including YouTube. If a ban is implemented, Boschma said she plans to record a video appealing to fans to follow her elsewhere.
This will be quite an increase as he currently has 2 million followers on TikTok compared to just 278,000 on YouTube. However, Boschma said she would try her hand at making longer films, something she's always wanted to do.
“Whether TikTok disappears or not, I think something will work out,” Boschma said. “I will find balance in other places, just like I did on TikTok.”
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