TikTok stars wanting to take their audience to Instagram deal with an uphill struggle

TikTok star Aidan Williams weighed in with some humor when he heard that Microsoft wished to acquire the short-form video app. With almost 2 million fans, the 17-year-old has social networks dreams that are linked with TikTok’s future.

“Microsoft about to buy TikTok,” black-and-white lettering checks out in a TikTok video above Williams’ head as he partly covers his open smile. Dressed in a blue hoodie, the Ohio high school trainee lip-syncs the expression “Yeah baby” and babbles with laughter. Then the words “Trump not letting that happen” appear, the noise of a smack rings out and he is up to the ground. 

The video was more than a comical take on a proposed offer that might conserve TikTok from a US restriction. With more than 419,700 views, it’s a subtle however tactical method for Williams to direct fans to his Instagram account. He included his Instagram username in the caption together with the hashtag #savetiktok. Making videos about existing occasions is a departure for Williams, who’s understood for finishing dares such as smashing his moms and dad’s TELEVISION with a baseball bat and purchasing a homeless individual a meal from McDonald’s. 

“If you say ‘Go follow my Instagram,’ the video is not going to get on the ‘For You’ page,” Williams stated, describing a page of curated videos for users based upon their interests. “So my biggest thing was try to make a joke out of it,” he stated, including that the video assisted him acquire about 10,000 brand-new fans on Facebook-owned Instagram.

As TikTok’s future awaits limbo, Williams and other TikTok users are increase efforts to drive fans to other social networks platforms, such as Instagram and Google’s YouTube. The Trump administration on Thursday released an executive order disallowing any United States deals with ByteDance, the Chinese tech business that owns TikTok. The order, which would work in 45 days, would prohibit the short-form video app from running in the United States if ByteDance does not offer TikTok. Microsoft might ink an offer to purchase TikTok by Sept. 15. On Monday, Trump stated that if the sale went through the United States Treasury ought to get a cut of the offer although that will likely come across legal obstacles. 

United States authorities are fretted that the Chinese federal government might in some way get its hands on United States user information. Other political leaders have actually likewise revealed issues that the app might be utilized to spy on Americans and spread propaganda throughout an election year. 

“This data collection threatens to allow the Chinese Communist Party access to Americans’ personal and proprietary information – potentially allowing China to track the locations of Federal employees and contractors, build dossiers of personal information for blackmail, and conduct corporate espionage,” Trump’s order mentioned. 

TikTok states it produces American tasks, is run by an American CEO and would not turn over United States information to the Chinese federal government even if it was asked to do so. Still, it’s feeling the political heat and has actually looked for to diversify its ownership to attend to these issues.

TikTok didn’t react to concerns about its users’ response to the capacity Microsoft offer and United States restriction. Videos with the #savetiktok hashtag have more than 855 million views.

On Sunday, Microsoft acknowledged that it’s talking with ByteDance about acquiring TikTok’s operations in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. CNBC reported Wednesday that the acquisition talks in between Microsoft ByteDance might cover in the next 3 weeks. 

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Now What for TikTok: A conversation with Bryan Thoensen

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TikTok’s woes could benefit rival social networks that are trying to get more people to use their sites to post short videos. Outside of Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat, creators have also looked at Triller, Zynn and similar apps. On Wednesday, Instagram expanded Reels, its TikTok competitor, to more than 50 countries including the US. The short-form video feature had already been tested in India, which banned TikTok in June.

An Instagram spokeswoman said the company thinks “consumer choice is a good thing.” Since Reels launched in the US on Wednesday, she didn’t have a comment about whether creators have expressed more interest in that product. 

TikTok and influencers

Attracting a bigger following on other platforms could be a tough feat for artists and entertainers who’ve already found their niche on TikTok, which is known for quirky and goofy videos that last between 15 seconds and a minute. It’s also harder to get noticed on the larger social networks, where competition for attention is fierce. YouTube videos are typically longer than those on TikTok, so production requires more time. Creators like Williams still have work to do to match their following on TikTok. He has more than 80,000 followers on Instagram.

Williams, who has been thinking about moving to Los Angeles, said the uncertainty surrounding TikTok means he’s had to put those plans on hold.

“I’m kind of waiting to find out about the whole TikTok scenario, because if that goes down, pretty much my source of income is gone,” said Williams, who makes money from the app by advertising products.

Joe Gagliese, CEO and co-founder of the influencer marketing agency Viral Nation, said agents with the company have been helping their clients diversify their audience, but “the reality is that it’s not something you can do in a two-week period.”

Gagliese says part of TikTok’s appeal is that it gives everyone hope that they can become an influencer, a creator who is popular and knowledgeable enough to affect the buying habits of others. “They can grow really rapidly,” he says of TikTok videos. “The videos get featured to huge amounts of people.” 

Influencers who are more authentic and engage with their fans, he said, will have an easier time getting audiences to watch their content on other social networks. If Microsoft’s purchase of TikTok goes through, it could help the software giant connect with teenagers and a younger audience, he said. Brands that might have been hesitant to advertise on TikTok because of national security concerns could also help fuel the growth of its business.

“From a brand perspective, I think everyone’s just kind of pulled the reins back and said let’s see how this shakes out,” Gagliese said. If Microsoft purchases TikTok’s US operations and the security concerns die down, it could “create a tsunami of interest” from brands that have been wary about being on the app, he said.

Turning social media into a full-time gig

Orange County Sheriff’s Department Deputy Nick Casas records TikTok videos with his 5-year-old daughter Sienna for fun. The father-daughter duo has garnered more than 11 million followers on TikTok. That success isn’t mirrored on Instagram and YouTube, however, where they have 475,000 and 246,000 followers, respectively.

An aspiring musician and actor, Casas and his daughter have covered popular songs that have been shared by artists including the Jonas Brothers, Camila Cabello and Shawn Mendes. That not only fuelled their social media following, but led to other opportunities, including performances on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

Casas has been trying to build a larger following on Instagram and YouTube. After Trump said he wanted to ban TikTok, Casas directed followers to the duo’s accounts on those platforms in two videos. In one video that has more than 700,000 views, the pair just point and laugh as their Instagram and YouTube handles appear above their heads. 

After posting those videos, Casas said they gained about 40,000 new followers on Instagram.

“I’m optimistic for sure,” he said. “I’ve never really looked at social media as a job yet. It’s only been like a year and a half. We do all this stuff for fun and we just happen to have affected a lot of people throughout the world.”

Casas also hasn’t quit his day job, which makes the future of TikTok less nerve-wracking. The money the duo has made from social media, Casas said, has allowed him to support his daughter. “Whatever she wants to do when she gets older, she’ll be able to do,” he said, adding she wants to be an astronaut at the moment.

Josh Cooper, the creative director of Speak Creative in Memphis, Tennessee, said he started creating videos with his two sons Jackson and Calvin, who are 11 and 8, after they begged him to start a YouTube channel. Then they learned about TikTok and started focusing more on the app after their following took off more quickly than on YouTube. 

“I hope [TikTok] does not end up being another social networks app lost in the shuffle. Everyone speaks about the magic of TikTok and it holds true. You might go on there and you might go viral and grow like us. The sky’s the limitation, actually,” stated Cooper, who patronizes of Viral Nation and wishes to make social networks a full-time gig one day.

Known for their crass humor, the household has actually a channel called Uploads of Fun that they promote on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter. When Cooper became aware of Trump’s proposed restriction, he streamed a live video on the app for approximately 11 hours asking their fans to follow his household on Instagram and YouTube. Overnight, they acquired 2,000 fans on Instagram and 1,500 on YouTube, he stated.

The household has actually likewise been making videos for Instagram Reels, however Cooper stated he’s bewared about the Facebook-owned platform due to the fact that developers have actually needed to pay to promote material in the past. Uploads of Fun has 1.3 million fans on TikTok however just 17,000 on Instagram.

“We’re hopeful, but I’m just also cautious because Instagram is already so established,” he stated. “I just don’t see another platform pushing out content the way that TikTok does.”

As for Williams, the 17-year-old high school trainee, he stated he desires end up being an icon who can make an effect on individuals’s lives in a favorable light. Supportive messages from his fans have actually just sustained his desire to keep pursuing this course, he stated.

“It really made me want to continue on TikTok and find a new platform where I could transfer my followers to so I could stick around with them,” he stated.