So About That TikTok Ban…Why Over-Reliance on ANY Platform Is a Death Sentence

Welcome back to another edition of BizTalk where we look at what’s been going on in the world of business. Recently my home country (The United States) was considering banning the well known site TikTok. All due to privacy concerns regarding how a foreign company and its country’s political party could potentially utilize the data of Americans and for various reasons. Now I noticed there was an immediate knee jerk reaction for business owners on the site. They started freaking the hell out as if social media platforms have never been banned before. 

I have to be brutally honest, if you built your business solely on TikTok and are now scrambling because of its looming ban in the U.S., this is your wake-up call. While it’s frustrating and feels unfair, this isn’t the first time a platform has been shut down or lost its grip on relevance. We've seen it before with Vine, MySpace, and even Snapchat slowly fading into the background. The harsh reality is that no platform owes you anything, and certainly not the government. The first rule in business—and in life—is to never assume that any institution, especially a government entity, will always have your best interests in mind.

So, when the warning signs about TikTok’s potential ban started surfacing years ago, ignoring them was being careless. Forget about politics or fairness, this is about the survival of your business and the traction it made thus far on a platform. If you’ve been making money on any platform, you should’ve already been thinking about how to protect that income. Relying solely on someone else’s playground to build your empire is like building a house on rented land—you have ZERO control over what happens to it. This situation is a clear reminder that it’s not enough to ride the wave when things are good. 

We all need to be proactive, not reactive with the sites we choose to promote on. Meaning what ways are we safeguarding our business and preparing for the unexpected. If you’re caught off guard now, the bigger issue isn’t if TikTok is banned—it’s the fact that you didn’t have a strategy beyond it. So, let’s talk about how to address this!

The Reality of Platform Dependency

History has shown us time and time again that no platform is too big to fail. Yet, countless entrepreneurs and creators continue to build their entire livelihoods on digital spaces they don’t control. Maybe it’s because they started out as a hobby idea and never gave it the necessary planning once it got traction. Or like many, they are so busy running their business alongside their personal life, they never made time to do so. This cause-and-effect look at some of the most notable platform collapses and what led to their downfall can help show the risk of over-dependency. 

Vine (2013–2017)

Cause: Vine was ahead of its time, but its failure to adapt to competitors like Instagram and Snapchat, lack of a solid monetization model for creators, and internal mismanagement sealed its fate.

Effect: Thousands of creators who built massive followings on Vine suddenly had nowhere to go. Some pivoted to YouTube or Instagram, but many struggled to replicate their success. Those without a plan beyond Vine vanished along with the platform.

MySpace (2003–2011)

Cause: MySpace failed to innovate and adapt to user demands. Its clunky interface, lack of focus on user experience, and competition from a cleaner, faster-growing Facebook caused its downfall.

Effect: Artists, musicians, and small business owners who depended on MySpace for exposure lost their primary marketing channel overnight. Only those who diversified their audience across other platforms or built their own websites managed to survive.

Google+ (2011–2019)

Cause: Google+ never truly found its footing. It was launched to compete with Facebook but lacked a clear purpose. Privacy issues and low user engagement ultimately led to its shutdown.

Effect: Businesses and creators who invested in growing their Google+ communities were left scrambling to rebuild their networks elsewhere.

Tumblr’s Decline (2013–Present)

Cause: Tumblr’s strict content policy changes in 2018, particularly the adult content ban, alienated a massive portion of its user base. Combine that with a failure to innovate and attract advertisers, and it began a rapid decline.

Effect: Niche creators and small businesses that thrived on Tumblr’s unique culture struggled to migrate their audience to other platforms that didn’t cater to the same communities.

There’s one pattern we just saw in this cause and effect breakdown that should stick out to you. It’s that platforms that fail to evolve or face external pressure eventually collapse. But the real tragedy is how much time and energy individuals pour into these platforms without a plan for sustainability. This doesn’t even address the possibility of an account becoming banned for whatever reasons on that platform. That old saying now comes to mind…don’t put your eggs in one basket.

The Trap of Single-Platform Focus

It’s easy to get comfortable on a platform when it’s working for you. The views are rolling in, followers are growing, and the sales are steady. But this comfort breeds complacency when we’re not careful. When creators and businesses tie their success to one platform, they’re essentially handing over control of their livelihood. And here’s the uncomfortable truth: when a platform collapses or changes its rules, many are left feeling like they wasted years of effort. 

It’s a hard pill to swallow, but it’s not the platform’s fault—it’s the failure to adopt a growth mindset. The real challenge isn’t starting over on a new platform, although that part does suck. It’s accepting that you invested so much time in one space without building a safety net. That realization can be paralyzing, making people feel defeated before they even attempt to pivot. But thank god it doesn’t have to be that way!

The skills you developed—creating content, engaging audiences, storytelling, branding, etc—are all transferable. But if you don’t recognize that, you’ll feel stuck. Growth-minded entrepreneurs know that while a platform might die, their skills and strategies don’t have to. Without sounding like a doomsday prepper, the question isn’t if a platform will change or disappear—it’s when. And when it does, will you be prepared, or will you be caught standing in the ruins of a platform you thought would last forever?

Building What You Own and TAKE Control

Too many creators and business owners ignore that social media platforms are designed to benefit THEM, not you. Every feature, every algorithm tweak, and every metric they show you is designed to keep users engaged on their platform—because the longer people stay, the more ad space they sell. It’s not about helping you grow your business, even if they market it saying they can help you with a space to show up. It’s always going to be about boosting their bottom line. So, why are we still playing by their rules?

If platforms are building captive audiences to profit from them, it’s time we do the same. But the difference is, when you build a captive audience, it’s on your terms. You control the narrative, the customer experience, and ultimately, the sale. Here are some approaches you can explore so that you’re not relying on unpredictable platforms. Make sure you see how they would align with your audience’s preferences and your offer!

1. Create a Central Hub: Your Website

Cost permitting, a website should be the heart of your business. Social media can be seen as  the handshake while your website is where the real conversation happens. For those curious about setting up their own site here are some rapid fire tips:

• Have a Professional Website: No matter your industry, your website should clearly communicate who you are, what you offer, and why people should care. Prioritize user-friendly navigation and mobile responsiveness. The word professional should align with your image, meaning don’t think it has to be a corporate page if that’s not the image you’re going for. 

• Optimize for SEO: Google is still king when it comes to organic discovery and you can tap into it for little to no cost.. Regularly publishing blog posts, case studies, or how-to guides related to your business can help you rank higher and attract the right traffic. Plus if you already do that on other platforms, you can just repurpose those guides on different days so people using those same keywords will find your articles. 

• Include a Clear Call to Action (CTA): Whether it’s joining your newsletter, scheduling a consultation, or purchasing a product, your site should guide visitors toward taking meaningful action. We need to be obsessed with what happens next in any interaction. This way we avoid any vagueness and are transparent with the viewers’ experience. 

Remember to Own the space where people make purchasing decisions.

2. Build an Email List

Social media followers can disappear overnight and having an email list can be a great asset. Those genuine connections become yours, not tied to the platform. It also saves you from any algorithm shifts causing you not to see your entire audience or the risks of a shadow ban. Just direct access to your audience to service them as necessary. Here are some things to consider:

• Offer a Lead Magnet: Create a free resource your audience wants—an ebook, checklist, or exclusive video—and trade it for their email address. We want to constantly provide value with each email and that requires some planning. Never give away the whole farm but ears of corn at a time. 

• Automate Follow-Up Sequences: Set up automated email sequences that welcome new subscribers, introduce your services, and build trust over time. This not only saves you time from having to manually set those messages but will ensure a response is sent when you’re not active. Keep in mind, it does not replace the personalized responses that people are expecting. Take care that you’re finding that balance  between personalization and automation when setting up these sequences. 

• Send Regular Newsletters: Share insights, updates, and exclusive offers. Keep it valuable and relevant to your positioning, not spammy. This keeps your audience engaged and looking forward to your emails. 

All that being said, your email list becomes a direct line to your customers. So Nurture it!

3. Host Webinars or Live Workshops

Want to create a truly captive audience? Get people to show up for you in real time. With in-person and virtual sessions, we’re able to do more showing than telling with our audience. Some of these can help boost other approaches like collecting emails!

• Teach, Don’t Just Sell: Offer a free live workshop that solves a specific problem for your audience. This builds trust and positions you as an authority while also addressing a relevant issue. Imagine how you feel when someone else helps you with an annoying problem. You’re more likely to than give them the time of day and listen to what else they have to say. 

• Collect Registrations: Use webinars to grow your email list and collect warm leads. Ask for names and emails during registration. Talk about a win-win scenario if you’re building that email list.

• Upsell Naturally: After delivering value, present an offer—whether it’s a paid course, consulting package, or product—that directly helps attendees take the next step. With a webinar or live workshop, we have a captive audience. Don’t be afraid to ask them to buy, just don’t make that the ONLY thing you cover as people will tune you out fast. 

Webinars turn passive followers into engaged prospects who see you as the solution they need. 

4. Develop Sales Funnels That Convert

Attention without direction leads nowhere, which makes a well-built funnel page that guides your audience from interest to action important. Keep the following in mind:

• Have Intentional Landing Pages: Create dedicated pages that focus on one offer. Remove distractions so visitors only have two choices—convert or leave. This way you can see at what step people got stuck at and begin to find clues as to why.

• Lead Nurturing: Follow up with leads who don’t buy right away. Use retargeting ads, email sequences, or SMS marketing to stay top of mind. Think like those “cart is still full” messages we often get from sites. They gently remind us that we have an action to complete without being so intrusive. 

• Simplify the Buying Process: The fewer clicks it takes to buy, the better. Streamline checkout processes, offer easy payment options, and make calls to action compelling. The easier it is to complete the process, the better it is for both the consumer and your bottom line.

A sales funnel ensures that every visitor to your platform has a clear path to becoming a paying customer.

Final Thoughts

If the looming TikTok ban teaches us anything, it’s that relying solely on a single platform for your business is a dangerous game. As these platforms don’t owe you stability, and they won’t prioritize your business when their rules change or when regulators step in. This should be a wake-up call for those who were stressed about the ban. If you’ve built your entire strategy around one platform, you’ve built your business on rented land. When that platform disappears or changes the rules, so does your revenue. 

That’s why a contingency plan is important and you should be conducting that practical risk assessment. Take those quality relationships you’ve nurtured and content you’ve created to do more. Direct people into spaces you control, like your website, email list, or a private community. Then create systems that don’t break when algorithms shift or platforms vanish. This way you’re never at a disadvantage. 

If you’re serious about building a business that can weather any storm, subscribe now. Every insight I share is designed to help you future-proof your business and make sure your offer reaches the right people—no matter what platform you’re on. Till next time Pack members!