SAN FRANCISCO — On Wednesday afternoon (15), Meta executives held a question and answer session with some of their employees about the state of American politics.
Alex Schultz, the chief marketing officer, answered questions about Meta()’s acceptance of the upcoming Trump administration and what he called the company’s precarious situation abroad, according to two attendees. He also stated that Meta was paying special attention to the fate of one of its biggest competitors: TikTok.
Depending on what happens with TikTok, owned by Chinese company ByteDance and facing a possible ban in the United States, Meta would need to prepare for what could be a seismic shift in the way Americans use social media, Schultz said. Meta had the potential to benefit, but he stressed that the company needed to be ready.
Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Threads, has a particular interest in the outcome. The Silicon Valley giant — along with Google’s YouTube and other social media apps — could benefit if a law banning TikTok in the United States takes effect on Sunday, leaving TikTok’s 170 million monthly users in the U.S. in a complicated situation. On Friday (17), the Supreme Court confirmed the federal law in question.
Privately, Meta has deployed teams to prepare to attract as many so-called “TikTok refugees” as possible, three people familiar with the plans said. This includes doing more to appeal to popular TikTok influencers and possibly further tweaking Instagram to make certain features more familiar to heavy TikTok users. Instagram offers Reels, a short-form video product that competes with TikTok.
“Instagram is a natural home” for TikTok creators and users, said Richard Kramer, financial analyst at Arete Research. “Like TikTok, the app has online shopping and strong user engagement.”
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YouTube has also made changes to its app — particularly YouTube Shorts, which offers quick, vertical videos — to attract TikTok creators. In October, YouTube increased the maximum length of YouTube Shorts videos from one to three minutes, to capture creators accustomed to TikTok, where videos can last up to 10 minutes. This week, YouTube invited some creators who use its app and TikTok to a YouTube shopping “boot camp” program to help them familiarize themselves with the platform.
In a statement, a Meta spokesperson said the company was “following the news.” He added: “Like other applications and services in this highly competitive space, we are, of course, evaluating what various potential scenarios could mean for our products.”
A YouTube spokesperson said the company regularly holds boot camps to inform creators about product features and formats.
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For years, Meta and Google () have been preparing for the possibility of a TikTok ban in the United States. The planning gained momentum in April when President Joe Biden signed a law that would force ByteDance to sell TikTok to non-Chinese owners or face a ban in the United States. TikTok sued the federal government to challenge the law, with the case eventually reaching the Supreme Court.
In public, Meta and Google have remained relatively silent about what might happen if TikTok is banned in the United States, but they have been active behind the scenes, said three people familiar with the companies’ plans.
At Meta’s meeting on Wednesday, led by Schultz, executives discussed how to divide internal resources — including workers and financial support — in part to deal with a potential influx of TikTok users, said the two employees who were privy to the conversation. . Some teams have discussed how to help TikTok users transition to Instagram, including the possibility of bringing some of their TikTok videos to Instagram, the sources said.
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Both Instagram and YouTube would gain “incrementally” more revenue and time spent on their apps by users if TikTok is banned, John Blackledge, an analyst at investment firm TD Cowen, said in an interview. But Instagram has an advantage, he said.
U.S. internet users said they were likely to watch Instagram Reels after TikTok’s ban, according to a recent TD Cowen survey of 2,500 consumers. Reels would appeal to 29% of respondents, while 23% said they would spend more time on YouTube Shorts, and 15% would look for a new app, according to the survey.
Among advertisers, Instagram’s advantage seemed even more evident, with 56% of ad buyers telling TD Cowen in a survey last quarter that their clients most wanted to advertise on Reels this year. Another 24% prioritized YouTube Shorts, while 20% preferred TikTok.
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Meta and Google aren’t the only companies trying to capitalize on TikTok’s potential doom. On Saturday, newsletter startup Substack announced a $25,000 “TikTok Liberation Prize,” which will be awarded to the creator whose video convinces the most TikTokers to post about joining Substack, no matter what. happen with TikTok.
Clapper, a short-video app similar to TikTok, this week offered some creators $200 for every video they made advertising its site as a destination for TikTok refugees. The company said the fee varied based on the content and the creator’s number of followers. And Xiaohongshu, a Chinese TikTok-like app known colloquially as “RedNote” in English, has also rocketed to the top of the App Store.
Still, which company can take over TikTok’s territory is far from settled. Sammi Scotto, who creates content for TikTok and helps other creators join social media platforms, said she’s not putting all her eggs in one basket.
“I will be focusing on Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn,” she said, “but keeping an eye on others.”
