By Vicky Sidler | Published 27 April 2025 at 10:00 GMT

If you’ve ever spent 90 minutes “just checking TikTok for five minutes,” you already understand its gravitational pull. Now imagine waking up tomorrow and it’s gone. That’s the scenario American businesses are quietly panicking over—and for good reason.

As of 20 April 2025, TikTok’s future in the United States has been up in the air. Congress passed a law forcing ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, to sell its US operations or face a total ban. TikTok briefly went dark in January, and now it’s operating on borrowed time thanks to a presidential extension.

If this feels dramatic, it’s because it is. But before anyone deletes the app or burns their content calendar, let’s look at what’s actually happening—and what small business owners should do next.

The Backstory, Without the Legal Jargon

The US government believes TikTok’s ownership by a Chinese company is a national security risk. ByteDance has until later this year to divest or face a nationwide ban. The app already had a brief (and highly publicised) 24-hour shutdown in January, which served as a loud test of what the internet would look like without it.

In response, President Trump delayed enforcement by executive order, pushing the deadline into April. Now, we’re here: TikTok is live, but shaky, and negotiations are ongoing.

Meanwhile, allied governments have taken smaller steps. Canada, the UK, Australia—they’ve all banned TikTok on government devices, and private-sector pressure is mounting. If a ban happens in the US, others may follow—or at least rethink their platform policies.

What’s at Stake for Small Businesses

TikTok isn’t just where people learn about mushroom coffee and off-brand relationship advice. It’s a sales engine. According to data released by the app last month, small businesses in the US generated $15 billion in revenue via TikTok last year. That’s real money, not just vanity metrics.

Roughly 7 million US-based businesses use the platform to connect with customers. Some have built entire brands on it. If TikTok disappears, those followers? Gone. The comment section? Silent. The reach? Cut off at the knees.

This isn’t hyperbole—it’s a real possibility. And while the biggest creators might migrate to other platforms, small businesses need more than a backup plan. They need a strategy.

Don’t Panic, But Do Prepare

Let me translate this mess into something useful. As a StoryBrand Certified Guide and a Duct Tape Marketing Consultant, I spend a lot of time helping small businesses build sustainable marketing systems—not fragile ones. TikTok’s situation is a perfect reminder of why that matters.

1. If TikTok is your only pipeline, diversify immediately

This is Lean Marketing 101: never depend on a single channel for visibility or conversions. If TikTok vanished tomorrow, could you still reach your audience? If not, it’s time to get active elsewhere—Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, Facebook, even Pinterest or LinkedIn depending on your industry.

Instagram and YouTube are most likely to absorb TikTok’s audience if the ban proceeds, so start there.

2. Start moving followers into owned channels

Social platforms rent you access to an audience. You need to own your audience—via email, SMS, or even a basic CRM. Start adding calls to action in your TikTok content: “Sign up for our list,” “Join our community,” “Grab this freebie and stay in touch.” If TikTok gets cut off, you’ll still have a way to reach the people who cared.

3. Back up your content and repurpose it now

Every video you’ve made? Save it. You can republish it to Reels or Shorts with minimal tweaks. The most viewed TikToks are often just repackaged versions of content that works well across platforms. Start testing that repurposing process now so you’re not caught off guard.

4. Stay visible—and human

The biggest risk of a platform shake-up is going quiet. That’s when momentum fades. Even if TikTok vanishes, don’t disappear. Keep showing up elsewhere—in people’s inboxes, feeds, DMs. If your content adds value, your audience will follow you.

A Few Things You Can Do This Week

• Post the same video to Instagram Reels and TikTok—track which performs better

• Add a simple lead magnet to your TikTok bio (free guide, discount code, etc.)

• Email your list and ask where they follow you most—use that to guide your next move

• Watch your analytics and flag content types worth republishing on other channels

Where This Leaves Us

TikTok may or may not be banned. But that’s almost beside the point now. What matters is that you can no longer afford to build your business on borrowed land.

If TikTok stays, great—keep using it. If it goes, you’ve already started spreading out and shoring up. Either way, you’re in control of your customer relationships—not just a passenger in an algorithm rollercoaster.