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David Tiltman<\/p>\n
Senior vice president of content, WARC<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n
U.S. advertising spend on TikTok was estimated to be $8.7 billion in 2023 and is expected to grow to $10.9 billion this year, according to WARC Media findings. For perspective, in 2020 and 2021, spending in the U.S. on TikTok was smaller than that for Snap, per WARC data. Because of TikTok\u2019s widespread growth, interested buyers could envision the app\u2019s future in multiple ways, Tiltman noted. In addition to potential interest around existing aspects of TikTok\u2019s business like commerce, he expects questions to rise around the app\u2019s potential to mesh with ongoing hype around AI.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is the AI play around TikTok? I don\u2019t have an answer for that, but that is a question that will be asked,\u201d Tiltman said.<\/p>\n
Given the context of the latest ban attempt, it\u2019s critically important that any potential buyer has both the credibility and public perception of standing for consumer privacy rights, according to Proulx.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would have to be a company that both the government and consumers trust as an objective, honest, third-party broker in the mix, or else you end up trading one problem for another, or even worse, exacerbating the problem that already exists,\u201d Proulx said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Where the dollars could shift<\/h3>\n
Beyond regulation, social media more broadly has evolved greatly since 2020. Instagram Reels, Meta\u2019s answer to TikTok, launched in August of that same year. Since then, some findings have indicated that branded video content on Instagram Reels outperforms that on TikTok and Facebook.\u00a0<\/p>\n
If marketers were to shift their budgets away from TikTok, Proulx believes the dollars would flow to Reels. Amid the government\u2019s antitrust crackdown, that may bring with it adverse consequences.<\/p>\n
\u201cMeta becomes the benefactor in all of this, and while it\u2019s good for Meta as a company, both from the standpoint that they will likely see a material increase in both users and advertising revenue, it now strips the marketplace of competition,\u201d Proulx said.<\/p>\n
Other competitors have also appeared, including YouTube Shorts, which YouTube has continued working to monetize. Among platforms, advertisers in North America this year plan to increase their budgets on TikTok, YouTube and Instagram, in that order, per WARC\u2019s recent Marketer\u2019s Toolkit findings, indicating that the latter two are the likely benefactors of any potential ban.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Still, any action against TikTok is likely to send marketers into something of a scramble \u2014 67% of U.S. business-to-consumer marketers report that their organization plans to increase investment in TikTok this year, per Forrester\u2019s 2024 Marketing Survey. As a decision on the app looms, Proulx advises beginning to plan around the potential outcomes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery marketer needs to be contingency planning now, and if they aren\u2019t,\u201d Proulx said,\u00a0\u201cthey\u2019re already behind the curve.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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