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This past weekend, TikTok experienced an unprecedented event: a temporary shutdown that left millions of users, including lots of Entreprenistas and creators, scrambling for answers.
While the platform was able to restore its services relatively quickly after coming to a temporary agreement with the government, the brief outage caused significant disruption and highlighted critical vulnerabilities for businesses that rely heavily on social media platforms. It’s a wake up call for all of us as founders to be sure we are focusing on building an audience on channels that we own and control.
The Shutdown and Restart: Here’s what we know
Late Friday evening, TikTok users worldwide began reporting issues accessing the platform. We were told that it would likely shut down if a deal was not reached, and many of us were panicking as we saw it happening. Founders were posting real time updates on Instagram with what they were seeing. Even CapCut, an editing app owned by TikTok, was down!
By Saturday morning, the app was effectively unusable for many of us, with rumors swirling about potential technical failures or regulatory interventions. TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, has since resolved the issue and assured users of the platform’s status. What’s certain, however, is the ripple effect it created across the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
The Impact on Founders
For many founders, TikTok is more than just a platform for entertainment and learning—it’s a cornerstone of their marketing strategy. The outage disrupted ongoing campaigns, product launches, and engagement efforts. Small businesses that rely on TikTok’s algorithm to reach new audiences faced potential revenue loss, while creators who depend on the app for income had their livelihoods temporarily put on hold.
Entreprenista League members Sarah and Erin Potempa, co-founders of the Beachwaver have grown a substantial audience on Tik Tok, and even have a live shopping show. For them, it’s not just a social platform, it is an important sales channel.
Beyond the immediate financial implications, the outage served as a stark reminder of the risks associated with relying solely on third-party platforms for audience growth, engagement and sales. It underscored the importance of diversification in marketing strategies to mitigate such disruptions.
Lessons for Founders: The Importance of Owning Your Audience
This weekend’s events have brought a crucial lesson to the forefront: platforms like TikTok are powerful tools for top-of-funnel awareness, but they are not infallible. As founders, it’s essential to ensure that your audience connection doesn’t rely solely on any single platform. Social media is an important tool, and we know first hand as we created one of the first social media agencies, Socialfly, back in 2012! But what we would always share with our clients was the the importance of executing strategies to build your email list from social media. I love sharing all of my tips every month at my Office Hours inside the Entreprenista League!
Here’s why building your email list is more important than ever:
- Control Over Communication: Unlike social media, your email list is an asset you own. It allows you to reach your audience directly, regardless of external platform disruptions and algorithms. There are incredible tools we recommend like Beehiiv and Klaviyo to help you build and manage your list.
- Higher Engagement Rates: Email campaigns often see higher engagement rates compared to social media posts, making them a more reliable way to nurture relationships and drive conversions.
- Data Security: With growing concerns about privacy and data ownership, having a direct line to your audience ensures you’re not at the mercy of changing algorithms or policies.
What to Expect in the Coming Months
An order was signed to delay a Tik Tok ban for the next 75 days. While it seems like an agreement is likely here’s what might be on the horizon:
- Increased Platform Monitoring: TikTok may roll out new updates or transparency measures to restore user trust and ensure smoother operations. This could include enhanced user privacy features and stricter data management protocols.
- Regulatory Developments: Governments worldwide are increasingly concerned about TikTok’s handling of user data and its ties to China. These legal and regulatory issues could result in new restrictions, impacting how brands use the platform for marketing. Founders should closely monitor these developments to stay compliant and prepared for potential changes.
- Shifts in User Behavior: The recent outage and ongoing legal scrutiny may push some users to diversify their social media habits, opening opportunities on platforms like Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, and emerging competitors. Founders should explore these platforms to reach new audiences and mitigate risks tied to overreliance on TikTok.
Action Steps for you can take today!
As a founder, here’s how you can protect your business from future disruptions:
- Diversify Your Social Media Strategy: While TikTok remains a valuable tool, explore other platforms to ensure a multi-channel approach.
- Focus on Email Collection: Use lead magnets, exclusive content, or special offers to grow your email list.
- Invest in Content Ownership: Build a blog, podcast, a community or other owned channels where you can directly control your narrative and audience interactions.
My Final Thoughts
The TikTok shutdown was a wake-up call for founders everywhere. While social media platforms are invaluable for building brand awareness, making sure that social channels are only one part of your marketing strategy is key. You may even consider launching your own community this year! We use the Circle platform and it’s one of the reasons why we wanted to build on a platform where we could set up our community instead of building our community on a social platform. As we move forward, let’s use this experience as an opportunity to strengthen our strategies and safeguard our businesses against the unpredictable.
About the Author
Stephanie Cartin
Stephanie Cartin is a serial entrepreneur, investor, podcast host, community builder, and a champion for women founders. She created the Entreprenista League, a community for women founders, to provide resources and support necessary at all business stages. She’s also the Co-founder of Socialfly, one of the first social media marketing agencies, as well as Entreprenista Media and Pearl Influential Capital which was recently acquired by Cherub. Stephanie has shared her journey managing her health challenges with Multiple Sclerosis, Infertility, and a complicated pregnancy and is an advocate for women going through similar challenges. Her story and businesses have been featured on the Today Show, Bloomberg and Forbes. Consider Stephanie your biggest business cheerleader.
