Navigating TikTok’s rollercoaster environment

Given the recent ups and downs around TikTok’s status in the U.S.—even taking center stage as the president was inaugurated—we sat down with Michael Lyons, Vice President-Consulting, for insights on how brands should now be considering for their social commerce strategies. As Inc. Magazine's #1 Social Commerce Agency of 2024, Market Performance Group’s GO Digital team is recognized as a best-in-class resource for brands aiming to revolutionize their connected commerce strategies.

The team has unmatched expertise across all major digital platforms—including TikTok Shop, Lemon8, Instagram, YouTube Shopping, Flip, Meta, Pinterest, among many other established and emerging platforms—equipping brands with the tools to thrive in the rapidly evolving digital marketplace.

Can you give us a quick summary of how this TikTok situation evolved?

Back in April 2024, given legislative concerns around user data security, President Biden signed a bi-partisan law banning TikTok in the U.S. if its owner, ByteDance, did not divest the platform by January 19, 2025. Citing the first amendment, ByteDance petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to review the law. This January, the Court made the decision to uphold the law. This resulted in a very brief TikTok shutdown in the U.S.—approximately 12 hours—given the president-elect’s communication that he would take measures to delay the ban once in office. On inauguration day, President Trump did just that, signing an executive order extending TikTok’s operations in the United States for an additional 75 days.

The executive order highlighted the president’s concern over the timing of the ban. “The unfortunate timing…interferes with my ability to assess the national security and foreign policy implications of the Act’s prohibitions before they take effect. This timing also interferes with my ability to negotiate a resolution to avoid an abrupt shutdown of the TikTok platform while addressing national security concerns.”

Under the law, the president retains significant discretion on what constitutes a “qualified divestiture” by ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company. As media have reported, Trump “could see” the U.S. government holding a 50% stake in TikTok and having the ability to monitor the platform.

Where do you think this will net out?

While solutions addressing security concerns need to be hammered out, these developments underscore TikTok’s undeniable impact on commerce. This continues to be a fluid situation, but right now, all indications are that there will be a final deal.

Encouragingly, reports from the Wall Street Journal and others indicate that the Chinese government may have reversed its earlier stance on blocking a forced sale of TikTok. This adds to optimism surrounding a potential, favorable resolution in the near future.

Given the evolving social commerce landscape, what have you been advising brands?

If the ban taught us anything it is that social commerce is here to stay, whether it’s TikTok, well established social platforms like Meta and Google, or new emerging platforms like Red Note, Lemon8, or others. Right now, we are telling our clients to continue to leverage TikTok for awareness, engagement and commerce. However, planning to protect your brand and yourself for the future in this quick-changing environment is now critical.

Before the ban went into effect, we worked with client teams to secure all TikTok creative assets, campaign performance metrics, and shopper data. This included reinforcing relationships with current influencers and affiliates for future efforts driving impactful brand conversations and conversions across other platforms. If you haven’t already taken these key steps, I would recommend that you do so now, so that you’re prepared for anything.

We’re continuing to help social commerce clients navigate as needed. Most remain squarely focused on optimizing current TikTok Shop strategies to drive strong results. Should platform functionality shift, we stand ready to help brands pivot accordingly.

At the same time, we’re helping some consider diversifying into additional platforms. Our MPG team is well-versed across the full spectrum of social commerce platforms—both established and emerging. YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels, both short-form video alternatives, are two interesting options, but there are others as well. Regardless of the platform, we consider how it seamlessly fits into the consumer path-to-purchase to support both discovery and conversion.

Could your brand benefit from critical insights and more effective strategies in the evolving social commerce channel? Reach out to Michael Lyons, Michael.lyons@mpgllc.com for a conversation tailored to your business challenges and opportunities.