Why TikTok bans are a ‘good reminder’ for marketers to focus on audiences
While the recent bans on TikTok won’t have much immediate impact on marketers in Australia, Social Soup managing director Katie Palmer-Rose said it was a good reminder to ensure they focus on audiences rather than being single-minded around one platform.
Social media platform TikTok has had a slew of high-profile bans from US state Montana, the Victorian Government and the Australian Government over security risks. Some are raising questions about the bans potentially leading to the Internet being split up, including academics from the RMIT.
RMIT director of the Centre for Cyber Security Research and Innovation Matthew Warren
“TikTok poses a risk for all Australians due to the excessive data collection by the TikTok app which can lead to cyber risks,” RMIT director of the Centre for Cyber Security Research and Innovation Matthew Warren said.
“The Australian and the Victorian-state governments have banned TikTok for all government employees. It is a natural next step now to ban TikTok completely as they have a duty of care to protect all Australian citizens against all risks including cyber risks.”
Palmer-Rose said that regardless of whether a wider TikTok ban arrives, it is important for marketers to plan around how to reach users’ demographics holistically.
“If we’re lasered in on Gen Z and the emerging Alpha generation, they are very engaged outside of social: video games, listening to music, broader internet usage are all named more interesting,” she said, citing Deloitte’s 15th Annual Media Trends Survey.
She added that social media is also evolving and that new and emerging platforms will step up in TikTok’s place, like Instagram Reels, Youtube Shorts and more, and that the next big platform is also “just around the corner” like TikTok once was.
Social Soup MD Katie Palmer-Rose
“The authentic content first step change has happened; brands and marketers will need to continue to prioritise their connection to the audience in a way that suits them; authenticity through partnerships with people that represent the brand; consider that Gen Z and Millennials are cause and values based, so it can’t feel transactional; Entertain and educate by making content feel useful and relevant; and, make it easy to convert the excitement, inspiration and interest – which shoppable platforms are great at doing,” Palmer-Rose said.
Another RMIT academic, School of Economics, Finance and Marketing senior lecturer Torgeir Aleti said the ban seems more political but just disguised as consumer protection.
“Although banning apps by blocking them from the app stores would have some impact, users can still access the website via VPN. Users can even download it before the app-store ban rolls out so it would still work on their devices,” Aleti said.
“Given the political differences between Australia and America, a work-device ban seems more likely than a state ban.”
RMIT School of Economics, Finance and Marketing senior lecturer Torgeir Aleti
Aleti added that we may continue to see friction between regulators and consumers on one hand and tech companies and their advertisers on the other, saying the underlying market logic supporting their business model was “a Faustian bargain”.
“In exchange for free search results (e.g., Google), platforms to connect with friends (e.g., Instagram), information and news (e.g., Facebook), or entertainment (e.g., TikTok), consumers’ personal data and privacy are taken,” he said.
“With TikTok, it’s the ‘personal data’ that causes friction indirectly because the data is allegedly stored in China – which is the main fear that is surfacing in the US.
“Regulation is always an alternative rather than banning the whole app, such as laws about what data can be harvested, how algorithms can push content based on user knowledge, and whether there should be limits to targeted advertising. However, regulation must be applied equally to all platforms.
“It’s not the end for TikTok. It is a popular app, so banning it may be a risky political strategy. That said, the popularity of social media platforms has always fluctuated (remember MySpace?), and it is tough to predict what the next big thing might be.”
Palmer-Rose credits TikTok for being the catalyst for a “huge” shift in creator-led engagement.
“Short form, video first, real, authentic and more relatable, it bridged the gap between the ‘flat lays’ of Instagram and people. TikTok has content that helps people to be inspired, to learn, to be entertained and feel connected to real authentic communities and in turn, their real, authentic selves,” she said.
She added the platform was successful not solely on its own, although concedes that its algorithm was effective in drawing people in, but also provided a new way to share information, to foster communities and build relevance and representation.
“For Gen Z in particular, TikTok has enabled them to mobilise en masse around the bigger issues that are important to them both politically and ideologically while at the same time driving product desire and conversion at unprecedented rates,” she said.
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