Less than 24 hours. That’s how long the great TikTok ban of 2025 lasted. Well, sort of. The build-up was dramatic, a mix of uncertainty, political power plays, and a flurry of anxious social media creators wondering whether their entire livelihood was about to be wiped out in one fell swoop.
For those watching from outside the US, it was a cocktail of “Wait, they’re really doing it?” and “Well, there goes my feed. Back to Instagram, I guess.” But for creators in the US, especially those who have spent years building millions of followers and crafting entire businesses from TikTok’s platform, the atmosphere felt apocalyptic. Imagine pouring your time, energy, and creativity into something, only to have the rug pulled out from under you with the flick of a political pen. Sure, you could try to pivot to other apps, but as any seasoned marketer will tell you, switching platforms is no easy feat. It takes time, resources, and a whole lot of strategy to rebuild what you’ve already worked so hard to create.
Wait, What Happened?
If you're just catching up, let me break it down. TikTok announced it would pull its services from the US after a national ban was enforced. The app disappeared from app stores, and 170 million American users were locked out of the app to comply with a Sunday shutdown deadline. This wasn’t just another blip in the social media rollercoaster; it was a high-stakes political issue as you-know-who returned to the presidency. The app’s future in the US became a pawn in the political game, with the president-elect promising to extend the shutdown deadline, offering a chance to “make a deal to protect national security.”
By Sunday morning, just hours after TikTok went dark, he promised to issue an executive order that would allow TikTok to return to US app stores and resume services, pushing the issue into the spotlight once again.
The Fallout: A Wake-Up Call for Creators
If you follow any marketer, creative, or content creator, you’ve seen the constant reminder: “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” We’ve all heard it. Yet, TikTok’s 24-hour blackout was a stark, unavoidable reminder of just how fragile our digital empires can be. None of us truly own the communities we’ve built on social media. At any given moment, a political decision or an unforeseen change in the app's policies can rip away our connection with followers. It’s not just a hypothetical scenario anymore - it’s reality.
This fiasco isn’t just a lesson in platform dependence; it’s a wake-up call that social media can be leveraged as political collateral, something many of us had never truly considered before. One moment, everything is running smoothly; the next, your audience is gone, and you’re left scrambling for alternatives.
The Real Takeaway: Ownership Lies Elsewhere
For many creators, marketers, and businesses, this debacle highlights a crucial point: social media platforms are just that - platforms. We don’t own the space we occupy on them.
We’re playing in someone else’s sandbox, and at any moment, the rules can change.
So, what does this mean for those of us who rely on social media to reach our communities? It’s a stark reminder to regain control, and that control lies outside the realms of Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and other social giants. It lies in email marketing.
Email lists are where true ownership lives. You’ve built your brand, your community, and your tribe, and now make sure you’ve got a solid way to communicate directly with them without relying on the whims of social media (or sudden political) shifts. When you own your email list, you own the connection.
As I dive deeper into email marketing this year, I’m not just thinking about how to stay connected with my audience, but how to make sure that my community and message are never at the mercy of someone else’s platform. Sure, social media is still a crucial part of the mix, but it’s time we stopped treating it as the be-all and end-all of our marketing strategy.
In 2025, we’re taking back control because when it comes to building a business, it’s not about following trends, it’s about having a strategy that keeps you safe from the chaos of what could happen next.
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