If TikTok’s U.S. Ban Is Green-Lighted, What’s Next for Beauty

Which social media platforms — big or small — might beauty brands and content creators migrate to if the U.S. TikTok ban goes through on Jan. 19? 

“If TikTok were to be banned, Meta and Google have a lot to gain,” said Kelsey Chickering, a principal analyst at Forrester Research. “When we asked U.S. consumers back in April how they would respond…56 percent said they would use Instagram Reels more, and 51 percent said they would use YouTube Shorts more.”

It’s most likely creators would shift there, and that advertisers would follow suit, she explained, speaking broadly. However, for beauty brands globally, Instagram is already the first-ranking social media platform.

“TikTok still hasn’t eclipsed Instagram, especially in the U.S.,” said Alison Bringé, chief marketing officer at Launchmetrics.

For the top 20 beauty players in the third quarter of 2023, Instagram generated 41 percent of total media impact value, or MIV, against TikTok’s 20 percent, according to the data research and insights company. For the biggest five value drivers, Instagram clocked 8 percent growth, versus TikTok’s minus-0.2 percent and YouTube’s minus-17 percent negative growth, Launchmetrics found.

“Creators are the most nimble voice out there,” Bringé said. “Today, they’re on TikTok. Tomorrow, they’re back on Instagram. It’s interesting to consider, too, the play that Google will make in this if TikTok doesn’t move forward.”

India, where TikTok was banned in June 2020, makes for a good comparison to what could take place in the U.S. For the top 10 beauty brands in the U.S. in second-half 2024, the split for MIV on average was 43 percent Instagram, 34 percent TikTok, 16 percent YouTube and 1 percent Facebook. That compares to the average breakdown in India, which was 58 percent Instagram, 26 percent YouTube and 9 percent Facebook.

“Brands could think about diversifying more in channels,” said Bringé, adding it’s likely, though, they would reinvest in Instagram. “It’d be interesting to also see Pinterest and Twitch — what they do.”

There are a host of small yet vibrant platforms, as well, both in the U.S. and abroad, which serve up a healthy portion of short-form videos that could be of increasing interest to beauty content creators and brands looking ahead. 

These include Lemon8, a Chinese social media app mostly focused on lifestyle that’s been characterized as an Instagram-Pinterest hybrid. However, since Lemon8 has the same parent as TikTok, ByteDance, it is unclear at present whether the platform would be banned in the U.S., too. 

Triller is a video-sharing social network using artificial intelligence, which was launched out of California by Ryan Kavanaugh and Bobby Sarnevesht. It has a focus largely on the music industry today, but that reach could be expanded. In response to the impending TikTok ban, the platform launched a one-stop portal transfer, called transfertiktok.com.

Kwai is a Chinese short-form video-sharing social media app from Kuaishou Technology, which has gained traction abroad, including in South America. Created by Singapore-based Bigo Technology, Likee has built a community of short-form videos also powered by AI.

Firework is billed to be the world’s leading video commerce solution provider for brands and retailers. It offers shoppable and interactive videos, as well as live-shopping, and includes a video creation studio. The app was launched by Redwood City, Calif.-based Loop Now Technologies.