What a TikTok Ban Would Mean for Brands, Creators, and the Swiss Social Media Landscape

TikTok is once again at the center of heated political debates. A potential ban on the platform in the U.S. could have far-reaching implications—not just for creators and brands but also for the entire social media ecosystem, including in Switzerland.

Zurich, January 20, 2025 – The idea of banning TikTok first emerged in 2020, but this time it seems serious. Recent developments in the U.S. suggest that a ban could block not only new app downloads but also make TikTok inaccessible to existing users. Such a move would ripple across brands, creators, communities, and agencies. On January 19th, 2025, TikTok was shut down in the US for 14 hours, after which it came back online. President Trump promised to halt the ban when taking office, extending a deadline for China-based ByteDance to sell the app.

Impact on Brands

A TikTok ban would pose significant challenges for brands heavily reliant on the platform. TikTok’s unique value lies in its short, creative, and viral content that directly connects brands with their target audiences. If a ban occurs, brands will need to reallocate their advertising budgets.

According to Madison and Wall, an estimated 30-40% of ad spending could shift to Google (primarily YouTube) and Meta, with Snapchat and other platforms gaining 10-20%. However, replicating TikTok’s distinctive algorithm and community-driven interaction remains a significant hurdle for these platforms.

“For us as an agency whose core business involves influencer marketing campaigns, it is already part of our strategy to respond flexibly and proactively to changes in the social media landscape,” says Sarah Schmid, Head of Marketing at Kingfluencers.

Florence Kälin, Head of Creative, Creator & Brand Strategy, adds: “We strategically diversify campaigns across various platforms such as Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, Pinterest, Discord, or Twitch and develop innovative approaches to ensure that brand messages can effectively reach their target audiences even without TikTok. Our experience shows that a broad platform strategy not only minimizes risks but also opens up new opportunities to optimally support brands and creators.”

Despite the looming uncertainty, Kingfluencers advises brands to maintain their TikTok strategies while exploring alternative platforms strategically. This dual approach ensures flexibility and readiness for future developments, especially as TikTok’s cultural influence in Europe is expected to remain strong.

Impact on the Creator Economy

The prospect of a TikTok ban, which for now has only existed for 14 hours, has caused anxiety among TikTok creators. Many are now seeking alternative platforms to preserve their communities and revenue streams.

Emerging contenders include Xiaohongshu (branded as RedNote in the U.S.), a Chinese app combining features of Instagram and Pinterest. Following a viral campaign led by Gen Z TikTokers, RedNote recently topped the U.S. App Store and ranked third in Switzerland as of January 14, 2025.

Other creators are turning to Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, and Snap Spotlight. However, questions remain about whether these alternatives can replicate TikTok’s dynamic ecosystem.

Impact on Society

TikTok’s uncertain future in the U.S. could have global consequences. If banned, European users may also experience a decline in content quality and diversity, given the substantial amount of TikTok content originating from U.S.-based creators.

The TikTok community has significantly shaped modern social media culture through innovative trends, educational content, and meaningful discussions on societal issues. While these activities might migrate to other platforms, the distinct dynamism and interactivity of TikTok may be challenging to reproduce.

Potential Solutions

As the ban approaches, discussions about selling TikTok’s U.S. operations are gaining momentum. ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, is reportedly considering selling TikTok USA to Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter). This move could alleviate geopolitical tensions and preserve the platform in the U.S., though concerns about data control and content regulation remain.

Notably, YouTuber and entrepreneur MrBeast has also expressed interest in purchasing TikTok to preserve its creative community. While it’s unclear whether such an offer is viable, it reflects the platform’s significance in the digital landscape.

YouTuber MrBeast expressed interest in buying TikTok.

Competitors like YouTube and Instagram are capitalizing on TikTok’s uncertainty, actively courting its users and advertisers. A TikTok sale could set a precedent for resolving similar regulatory conflicts in other markets, offering a blueprint for navigating platform-specific challenges.

Conclusion

While a potential TikTok ban could disrupt the social media marketing landscape, it also presents opportunities for innovation and diversification. Agencies like Kingfluencers are committed to preparing clients and creators for this potential shift by developing flexible strategies that ensure success on new platforms.

The hope remains that TikTok will continue to be a vital part of the digital ecosystem.

Do you want to learn more or discuss alternative platforms? Do not hesitate to contact us!

Kingfluencers’ Creators Event in Ticino

CIAO TICINO!
KINGFLUENCERS ORGANIZES THE FIRST CREATOR EVENT IN TICINO

The Swiss Digital Influence Agency Kingfluencers points the spotlight at the most important influencers from the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland. To ensure that the creative Ticinesi are not forgotten in other parts of the country, the agency organized a big welcome event for creators from the beautiful Svizzera italiana last week at Lago di Lugano.

Switzerland is more than just Zurich, Bern, or Roger Federer. The Swiss Confederation consists of four beautiful parts of the country. It represents many other languages in addition to the four official ones, which should always be taken into account in national campaigns. The great diversity of little Switzerland is also reflected in the Kingfluencers database; the full-service agency not only employs people from more than ten different countries, but also has influencers from all parts of the country and beyond. In concrete terms, Kingfluencers’ creator database includes over 3,000 creators of various sizes and from a wide range of sectors.

Creator-event in Ticino

In order to draw attention to this diversity, the Digital Influence Agency organized a “Get-together” on October 6, 2022, for around 30 new and familiar Ticino creators. One main aim of the event at the Porto Bello! restaurant in Lugano was to get to know Ticino’s creative influencers and inspiring sides. “The personal exchange with the creators was significant to us,” says the Co-CEO of Kingfluencers, Anja Lapčević. Every artist’s personality is equally valuable, no matter which part of Switzerland the creators come from.

Together with influencers from Italian-speaking Switzerland, such as Yari Copt, Ely Giglio, or Alessandro, the Kingfluencers team wanted to draw attention to the fact that no part of Switzerland should be left out when it comes to campaigns and the entire creator economy. Unfortunately, creators from the “Swiss Sonnenstube” are often forgotten. “The fact that a Swiss agency also takes care of creators from southern Switzerland is not at all self-evident,” says Ticino landscape photographer Daniele Nevano. For the Ticino travel duo, Luke & Martina, such an event in the Southern canton of Switzerland, organized by a Zurich agency, also means a lot: “For us in Ticino, it has always been a bit of a struggle to be considered and respected by the rest of Switzerland,” said Martina and Luke. The Kingfluencers event now shows that the Digital Influence Agency sees a potential market and business perspective in Ticino and trusts the work of the Italian-speaking creators.

More diversity

As part of its six corporate values, Kingfluencers not only wants to draw more attention to creators from the beautiful Svizzera italiana, but also advocates for even more diversity in general. “Diversity is inspiring for everyone,” says Co-CEO Anja Lapčević. Every person is unique and special in their own way and that is what Kingfluencers loves. To inspire is one of the six company values, along with being curious, future-oriented, cooperative, conscious, and multicultural.

«Water Lover Challenge»

The annual internal Kingfluencers team-building event took place one day after the creator event in Ticino. In addition to various workshops, creator Noam Yaron from Western Switzerland was supported in his “Water Lover Challenge“. The whole agency team participated in the extraordinary challenge. “We at Kingfluencers not only try to preach our values but above all try to live them,” says Yoeri Callebaut, Co-CEO about the Kingfluencers’ corporate value of awareness. In collaboration with Biotherm and the Objectif Environment association, the nationwide collection of cigarette ends will take place until October 15, 2022. Kingfluencers has already started the clean-up campaign in Lugano. The result: the largest political municipality in the canton of Ticino is now 1000 cigarette butts cleaner!

Author: Sandra Miletic, Junior Marketing Manager @Kingfluencers

Breaking News – Kingfluencers with new Co-Management – Press Release

Usually, we use this blog to showcase our best articles, interesting campaigns and cool collaborations. But today we have some good news to announce ourselves: As of the 1st of September 2021, the company will be newly led by a woman and a man. Anja Lapčević, who has been with Kingfluencers for more than a year as Chief Influence Officer, will share the role of Co-CEO with Yoeri Callebaut who started as a Chief Growth and Marketing Officer in July 2020.

Belgian Yoeri Callebaut has worked in several countries around the world where he has been a strategist and marketer for over 14 years. He has worked for various corporations and start-ups with a focus on branding and digital transformation.The new Co-Managing Director Anja Lapčević comes from the former Yugoslavia and started her career in the Swiss banking world. With her experience as a social media manager and marketing consultant, she founded the Conscious Influence Hub, which promotes respect, tolerance and empathy in social media. At Kingfluencers, Lapčević will be responsible for Operations, HR and Creativity as well as for all influencers. Callebaut will be responsible for financial planning, marketing, clients and technology.

Unser Ziel als Team ist es, das Beste aus den sozialen Medien herauszuholen und dies mit Herz, echten Menschen und Kreativität zu tun.

Yoeri Callebaut – Co-CEO & Chief Growth and Marketing Officer

Kingfluencers’ successful strategic direction is joined by new faces

The previous CEO, Benny Schiegg, has decided to start new projects abroad together with his wife. We would like to thank Benny for his commitment as the CEO and wish him a lot of joy and success in the new phase of his life.

The new strategic direction initiated last year towards a creative agency of digital storytelling with the core competencies of social media and influencer marketing was successfully implemented with the management team Schiegg, Lapčević and Callebaut. While the industry grew by 30 percent in H1 2021 compared to the previous year, Kingfluencers was able to increase by almost 70 percent – in terms of revenue.

With Benny’s departure, the company will be additionally strengthened with concentrated female power in the management as of September. Myriam Djela, who was formerly with Ipsos, will take on the role of Head of Consulting, and former Jung von Matt Project Manager Andrea Müller will be the new Head of Campaigning. The proportion of women at Kingfluencers thus rises to over 65 percent!

Wir sind stolz darauf, dass wir eine der vielfältigsten Agenturen in der Schweiz sind und diese weiter vorantreiben.

Anja Lapčević – Co-CEO & Chief Influence Officer

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Influencers support the city of Uster in the fight against littering – Press Release

With the help of well-known content creators, such as T_Ronimo, Joung Gustav or Nathistyle, the third largest city in the canton of Zurich, together with Kingfluencers, wants to make young people aware of the littering problem.

With the support of influencers, the city of Uster wants to take action against the thoughtless littering of public spaces. The “Cleanfluencers” campaign aims to reduce littering incidents at various Uster hotspots and at Lake Greifensee.

Deputy Head of Waste Management and Environment of the City of Uster.

The TikTok and Instagram stars Joung Gustav and T_Ronimo, among others, were recruited for the special awareness campaign. Taulant Gashnjani, better known as T-Ronimo, who used to drop or leave litter somewhere out of youthful recklessness, is now clearly against littering: “I really can’t understand people who litter nowadays and they just make me angry,” says T_Ronimo with more than 77,000 followers on TikTok.

Littering is not cool

“The campaign is important to me because hopefully, we can show the younger generation that littering really isn’t cool,” says Joung Gustav, who is followed by over 156,000 people on TikTok.

This isn’t the first informational campaign we conducted, nevetheless our Kingfluencers Co-Founder, Fabian Plüss is pleased that “the influencer channel is being taken more and more seriously as an adequate means of communication by the public sector as well”.

For the city of Uster, this is the first information campaign to be accompanied by influencers. For those responsible, it is important that a “culture of not throwing things away” is anchored among the young and that peers influence each other. The third-largest city in the canton of Zurich wants to get about 140,000 impressions in a first step with the help of content creators. Find out more about our social media and TikTok services.