Instagram and YouTube are set to benefit from TikTok’s ban

On Wednesday afternoon, Meta executives held a Q&A session with some staffers about the state of US politics.

Alex Schultz, the head of marketing, addressed questions about Meta’s embrace of the incoming Trump administration and what he said was the company’s standing overseas, two attendees said. He also said that Meta was paying close attention to the fate of one of its biggest competitors: TikTok.

Depending on what happened with TikTok, which is owned by Chinese company ByteDance and is facing a ban in the US, Meta needs to prepare for what could be a seismic shift in the way Americans use social media. , said Mr. Schultz. Meta had the potential to make a profit, but he said the company needed to be ready.

Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Threads, has a vested interest in the product. The Silicon Valley giant — along with Google’s YouTube and other social media apps — could benefit if a US law banning TikTok takes effect on Sunday, leaving 170 million TikTok users behind. -months to be dry and dry. On Friday, the Supreme Court upheld the federal law in question.

Privately, Meta has sent a team to prepare to round up as many so-called TikTok refugees as possible, said three people familiar with the plan. This includes more courting of TikTok’s popular influencers and possibly more changes to Instagram to make certain features more familiar to TikTok users, they said. Instagram offers Reels, a short video product that competes with TikTok.

“Instagram is a natural home” for TikTok creators and users, said Richard Kramer, a financial analyst at Arete Research. “Like TikTok, the app has strong online shopping and user engagement.”

YouTube has also made changes to its app – particularly YouTube Shorts, which provide users with quick-paced videos – to appeal to TikTok creators. In October, YouTube extended the length of YouTube Shorts videos to three minutes, up from one, to capture creators familiar with TikTok, where videos can be up to 10 minutes long. This week, YouTube invited some developers who use its app and TikTok in the YouTube Shopping “boot camp” program to get up and running on the platform.

In a statement, a Meta spokesperson said the company is “following the news.” He added: “Like other apps and services in this competitive space, we are of course evaluating what potential scenarios could mean for our products.”

A YouTube spokesperson said the company regularly holds workshops to inform developers about product features and designs.

For years, Meta and Google have been preparing for the possibility of a ban on TikTok in the United States. Their plot began in April, when President Biden signed a bill that would have forced ByteDance to sell TikTok to non-Chinese owners or face a US ban. TikTok sued the federal government to challenge the law, and the case went all the way to the Supreme Court.

Publicly, Meta and Google have remained relatively quiet about what would happen if TikTok were kicked out of the U.S., but they have been active behind the scenes, said three people familiar with the company’s plans.

At the Meta meeting on Wednesday led by Mr. Schultz, spoke about how the executive split internal resources – including staff and financial support – in part to deal with the potential influx of TikTok users, said two employees familiar with the call. Some teams have discussed ways to help TikTok users transition to Instagram, including possibly bringing some of the TikTok videos to Instagram, the people said.

Both Instagram and YouTube will get more revenue and time for their apps if TikTok is banned, said John Blackledge, an analyst at the investment firm TD Cowen, in an interview. But Instagram has its edge, he says.

US internet users say they are more likely to watch Instagram Reels after TikTok’s ban, according to a recent TD Cowen survey of 2,500 consumers. Reels will attract 29 percent of respondents, while 23 percent said they will spend more time on YouTube Shorts, and 15 percent will look for new applications, according to the survey.

Among advertisers, the benefits for Instagram were more pronounced, with 56 percent of ad buyers telling TD Cowen in a survey last quarter that their customers are most likely to advertise on Reels this year. Another 24 percent prioritized YouTube Shorts, while 20 percent chose TikTok.

Meta and Google aren’t the only companies trying to capitalize on TikTok’s potential risks. On Saturday, magazine startup Substack announced a $25,000 “TikTok Liberation Prize,” which will be awarded to the creator whose video convinces the most TikTokers to post an entry on Substack, regardless happening on TikTok.

Clapper, a short video app similar to TikTok, this week offered some creators $200 for each video they make that advertises their site as a destination for callers. -TikTok site. The company says rates vary depending on the creator’s content and following. And Xiaohongshu, a Chinese app similar to TikTok known as “RedNote” in English, has risen to the top of the App Store.

However, which company might take over TikTok’s territory remains unsettled. Sammi Scotto, who makes content for TikTok and helps other creators get on the social media platform, said she didn’t put all her eggs in one basket.

“I’m going to focus on Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn,” he said, “but I’m looking at others.”