How to Keep Your Followers if TikTok Is Banned

President Joe Biden has signed into law a bill that gives TikTok's Chinese owner, ByteDance, just nine months to sell the app or face a complete ban in the U.S.

Security issues are at the heart of the potential ban, including concerns that TikTok shares user data with the Chinese government, a practice it has denied.

As the uncertainty over TikTok's future continues, the app's 150 million U.S. users are understandably concerned about the possibility of a ban. Content creators who have built huge audiences are wondering if they will lose the following they have worked hard to create.

So what can you do to protect your content in the event of a TikTok ban?

Jess Hunichen, co-founder of a global influencer talent management agency called the Shine Talent Group, has some advice for users.

Back Up All of Your Content

For some people, the only place they keep their video content is on their TikTok account. Hunichen told Newsweek it is important to keep all of your content backed up and saved so nothing is lost if a ban occurs.

Thankfully, it is easy to download your videos from TikTok on both iPhone and Android:

- Open TikTok and find the video you want to download

- Tap the three dots on the right

- Select "Save video" and your video will instantly download to your device

Urge Followers to Support You on Other Platforms

"Consider pinning a post on your TikTok account encouraging your audience to follow you on other platforms to support you," Hunichen said. She said this can help keep followers engaged with your content wherever it is posted.

Pinning a post on TikTok takes a few moments. After creating a video or image slideshow that directs your followers to your other platforms, follow these instructions:

- Find the video you want to pin

- Tap the three dots in the bottom right corner

- Select the "Pin" option from the menu

- The video will now be pinned at the top of your profile

Cross-Post Your Content

During this time of uncertainty about TikTok's future, Hunichen encourages content creators to share their content on other platforms.

"We are recommending that our talent spend time to build their presences on other platforms that aren't as strong as their TikTok presence," Hunichen said. "For example, they should syndicate TikTok videos to Instagram Reels. They should push their audience over to Instagram to try and minimize the impact if a ban does happen."

Prioritize Other Social Media Platforms

"It's unclear whether another platform will pop up and try to replicate or take the place of TikTok. Only time will tell," Hunichen said. "Money, marketing and ad dollars are still going to be spent on social media platforms. It's how brands can reach their audience through trusted and vetted sources. We'll likely see big shifts and big dollars moving over to Instagram and YouTube."

The main focus should be to ensure that even without TikTok it is still possible to reach your audience, she said. "They should have a way to reach their audience directly and communicate the types of content that can be viewed on their different owned platforms to their followers."