The TikTok Ban: Tips to Navigate a Possible Shutdown

President Donald Trump has demanded China’s ByteDance — owner of TikTok — to surrender its stake in short-video app TikTok to a U.S. buyer, mainly Microsoft. With talk of a ban in the U.S., Canada, New Zealand and Australia, the sale would allow the American tech giant to become a major competitor to social media giants such as Facebook and Snap Inc. were its bid for TikTok to close. Under the proposed deal, Microsoft will reportedly take over TikTok’s operations in the U.S, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Microsoft will likely aim to ensure that the private data of TikTok’s American users is transferred to and remains in the U.S.

According to an article from Global News, a key sticking point in negotiations remains the challenge of separating TikTok’s technology from ByteDance’s infrastructure and access. ByteDance also owns a Chinese short-video app called Douyin that was based on the same code used for TikTok. Microsoft and ByteDance have been working to develop technology for TikTok that will be completely separate from ByteDance.

What This Means for Users and Content Creators

With tens of millions of users in the U.S. and hundreds of millions globally, there’s certainly a lot to lose if a ban is implemented in Western countries. Its shutdown would be devastating to the content-creator community but while governments such as India and Indonesia have made moves to ban the popular app, advanced users have been using virtual private networks (VPN) to access it in prohibited regions. This is similar to what Chinese users did with Instagram when it was banned in China. Without a VPN, experts anticipate that the app will be pulled Google and Apple Stores in the coming months.

For content creators who have developed branded content to promote products, music or information, many will have to move followers to other platforms such as YouTube, Triller and Patreon.

Tips for Creating Content on YouTube

For years, YouTube has been the platform for young users to create enthusiastic video content for their followers around the world. Its size and popularity propped it up as one of the premier video-hosting platform companies in the world. Essentially, there’s no better place for a video create than YouTube. While IGTV has been a strong second, YouTube can still be a go-to resource to promote branded content that leads to sales. Ordinarily, you wouldn’t want to focus all your eggs in one basket and choose just one platform to promote content. However, is simply too big to fail without warning, and too important for video creators to not focus on. It’s somewhat like a “double-edged sword.”

Tips for Creating Content on Triller

With TikTok facing scrutiny, Triller has soared to the top of the app stores charts. In addition to securing the pole position on the iOS app store and Android’s Google Play Store, Triller said downloads for its video app have grown by 20 times over the last several weeks — totalling to about 250 million across the world. It now sits above popular services such as Snapchat and TikTok itself in a number of countries such as the United States, India, France, and more. Triller, which has 50 million monthly active users as of July 2, has released new features and secured content exclusive deals with celebrities, such as the forthcoming Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr. boxing match.

For new users looking create a following on the new platform, Triller allows you to create, share and connect with millions of users around the world. You can create videos using music from your library and edit your videos in a matter of seconds. You can learn how to vlog and create promotional content for your follower base; make announcements for new products; or, speak to your audience about new concepts, impactful moments and spontaneous ideas. You can also learn how to make music videos by choosing a song and getting your takes before editing it, all in one platform.

On August 1, Triller execs rolled out a range of new camera editing tools likely to serve the surge of TikTok users scouting for alternatives. On top of that, Triller has a solid monetization system and recently acquired an app called Halogen to offer live streaming.

Tips for Creating Content on Patreon

Whether you’re a podcaster, video creator, musicians or a visual artist, Patreon gives you a platform to exploit your creative gifts through the benefits of advertising and monthly user-memberships. Their premium package allows you to earn as much as 12% of the monthly income you earn on Patreon. That means the more subscribers you have, the more money you can make. The app allows its audience to achieve their “creative ambitions, grow their businesses independently, enjoy stability, and be served as respected members of society.”

If you’re new to using the app, there are a number of tools you can use to help build your brand and improve your production quality. Some tips include:

• Consider having more than 1 goal
• Consider having more than 2 benefit tiers
• Make more than 3 unpaid posts in your first month
• Send some messages in your first month
• Spread the word on social media

Diversify to Build Your Platform

Whether you’re into comedy, cooking or fitness, the apps mentioned above will allow you to keep up your content. They not only have premium content capabilities, but they also have brought new opportunities for content creators to create income streams on multiple platforms. Consider these apps when you’re looking to maximize your revenue or further promote your brand.