TikTok Might be Banned in the U.S.: What It Means for Buffer and How Marketers Can Prepare

Here we go again. If you work in social media, it’s nothing new to adapt and change your strategy based on the ever-changing algorithms and the rise and fall of social networks. (Who else was on Vine? 🙋🏻‍♀️) But, of course, we wish you didn’t have to.

The latest wave for social media marketers and creators is that TikTok might be banned in the U.S. The short-form video app has become one of the most widely-used social media platforms and is credited with impacting trends and cultural shifts.

However, there has been an ongoing battle in the U.S. over privacy concerns for the Chinese-owned company. Currently, TikTok’s parent company is being asked to sell the company or potentially be banned in the United States.

TikTok is a beloved platform by creators and users because anyone can go viral and build an audience without tons of initial followers, unlike other social networks. As of late, most companies have a TikTok strategy, and there is no shortage of examples of TikTok assisting with business growth or skyrocketing someone into a full-time creator.

At Buffer, many folks in our community take advantage of our TikTok scheduling in their social media strategies. So, what would it mean if TikTok were banned in the US, and how can social media marketers prepare? We’ll attempt to answer these questions below.

What does the potential TikTok ban mean for Buffer users in the U.S.?

There are a lot of unknowns around what it would mean for TikTok to be banned in the U.S., so we’re not entirely sure what it would look like for Buffer, either.

There is no precedent for the U.S. banning an app outright. What will happen to U.S.-based Buffer users’ connected TikTok accounts will depend on any action the U.S. government or TikTok takes. We will keep this blog post updated as we learn more.

How can marketers prepare for a TikTok ban?

There are still a lot of unknowns, but if you are the type that wants to prepare in advance, we understand that. Here are a few steps you can take to start preparing in case TikTok does get banned.

1. Download all your TikTok videos

Regardless of whether or not TikTok is banned, it’s a good idea to back up your content, as you don’t want to lose all of the great videos you’ve created so far. If you used Buffer to post your content to TikTok, then you will have access to all of your content in the Sent Posts tab.

If you want to go the extra step, you can save your videos to your phone's camera roll or upload them to a cloud storage service like Dropbox.

Download your TikTok videos by: