How Will the TikTok Ban Bill Affect Your Aesthetic Medical Practice?

How will the new TikTok ban bill affect your aesthetic medical practice marketing efforts?

If the new TikTok ban bill gets signed into law, which looks more likely after the US House and Senate both voted to ban TikTok, many content creators who rely on TikTok for revenue will see their income decline. Many users who strictly use the platform to create fun, educational, and engaging content will lose their only source of income. While that is devastating, this article is not for them.

When TikTok became more popular, many aesthetic medical practices hopped onto the platform to begin creating videos to promote their services and connect with a new audience. Some even began using the platform for paid marketing, delivering ads to a local audience who meet a certain demographic.

Let’s look at who will be impacted the most and how you can reduce the negative impact if the TikTok ban bill becomes law.

Who Will Be Impacted Most by a TikTok Ban?

If your aesthetic medical practice falls into one or more of the following categories, you are likely to be impacted more than other practices by this TikTok ban.

1. You put more time, effort, and money into TikTok than other social media platforms.
2. The majority of your engaged audience is on TikTok.
3. You have largely ignored other platforms, like Instagram and Facebook, in favor of TikTok.
4. You have not leveraged your TikTok audience to grow your Instagram and Facebook followers.
5. You haven’t encouraged your TikTok followers to subscribe to your email newsletter or SMS.
6. Your paid ad spend is higher on TikTok than on other platforms.
7. You haven’t invested in search engine optimization (SEO), Google advertising, or Google My Business.

There are likely other reasons the TikTok ban may affect you more than what is listed above, but these are the biggest reasons that a law banning TikTok would affect your medical aesthetics practice more than other practices and businesses in your area.

How to Prepare for the TikTok Ban if it Becomes Law

If you looked at the above list and have started to worry about your business, you have an opportunity right now to make sure you don’t lose your audience and revenue. Here are some tips to help you prepare.

1. Take all of your TikTok videos and post them to Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts.
2. Post videos on TikTok inviting your audience to follow you on Instagram and subscribe to your YouTube channel.
3. Invite your followers to like you on Facebook. Make sure your Instagram reels are auto-posting to your Facebook page.
4. Make sure you have a link tree on your TikTok with links to all of your other social media platforms, your website, and a page where they can subscribe to your email newsletter.
5. Be sure to have a “welcome” email already set up for your new email subscribers, letting them know where they can find you on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and elsewhere.
6. Invest in Google My Business, ensuring it’s set up and optimized completely.
7. Consider boosting your TikTok videos inviting followers everywhere else to make sure they don’t miss your videos.
8. Boost your new videos on Instagram and Facebook using ad dollars, making sure your target demographic sees your videos.
9. Invest in your website’s SEO so you can easily be found in search engine results pages (SERPs).
10. Consider running Google ads for the services that are most important for your ROI.

How to Protect Your Practice From Shifts in the Digital Space

One word: diversify.

While it’s important to put more money toward what is working best for your business, it is essential to avoid putting all of your eggs into one basket.

Think about it — how often do Facebook or Instagram crash? How does that affect your revenue?

You must continuously diversify your marketing efforts to support your business long-term. One day, Instagram is the place to be and no one is on Facebook; the next, Facebook gets more engagement and Instagram’s algorithm change keeps your followers from seeing an important announcement from your practice.

At the end of the day, the best thing you can do is make sure your audience is always directed to send you their contact information so you can add them to your email list. Why? Because you own that email list!

Will TikTok Really be Banned, Though?

In March of this year, President Joe Biden stated that he supported efforts to ban TikTok and would sign a TikTok ban bill into law if it crossed his desk.

However, the bill also states that TikTok must sell to a United States buyer to avoid a ban altogether.

Either way, the new law would affect TikTok users in various ways. Either we lose access to TikTok altogether or the new owner will change how the platform runs, affecting your marketing efforts in unforeseen ways.

The only thing that can save TikTok as it exists right now is for civil rights groups like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to successfully argue and win that the TikTok ban violates Americans’ First Amendment Rights.

In the meantime, it’s wise to prepare for the worst, diversify your marketing efforts now, and avoid a catastrophic impact to your practice’s digital marketing efforts. Again, you should do this anyway, as the digital landscape evolves daily.

Need Help Diversifying Your Digital Marketing?

Your to-do list is long, and you’re a busy practice manager or provider who barely finds the time to create content that resonates with your audience. Consider hiring experienced digital marketers who understand the aesthetic space to assist you in diversifying your digital marketing efforts. An expert can look at your current marketing and make personalized recommendations and even assist with building up your social media channels, improve your email marketing efforts, and help your website rank higher in SERPs.

Our team at Total Social Solutions is available to help with your aesthetic clinic’s digital marketing. Contact us today!