skift take
— Dawit Habtemariam
If the U.S. bans TikTok, travel marketers will likely redirect TikTok resources to Instagram, YouTube, and other marketing channels. How can we know that? Several state tourism boards have already done so after deleting their TikTok accounts.
“We have increased our focus and investment in Instagram Reels,” said Ben Cook, director of marketing and communications for Visit Utah. In 2022, the governor of Utah banned the use of TikTok by state government agencies.
Since then, the possibility of TikTok being banned on a national level has increased. On Wednesday, the US House of Representatives passed a bill to ban TikTok. Although its fate in the Senate is uncertain, President Joe Biden has said he intends to sign the bill into law.
After states ban TikTok in 2022, tourism boards in South Dakota, Utah, Arkansas, and South Carolina will transfer resources for TikTok to the platform's competitors, such as Instagram Reels, YouTube Shorts, or both. I told Skift that I would be redirected.
Fast forward to today, and the state tourism board followed suit. “To expand our reach and engagement with our target audience, we transferred the energy and time we spent on content strategy and production to other platforms,” said Katrin Svendsen, Travel South Dakota's senior director of global communications and content services. ” he said.
Before the ban, South Dakota had grown its TikTok account to more than 60,000 followers and planned to invest $70,000 in advertising during shoulder season.
“We have had success with a strategic approach to reaching similar audiences on platforms like Instagram. [Reels]YouTube shorts, etc.,” Svendsen said.
Cook said Utah Tourism invested in Instagram Reels not just because of TikTok's ban, but because of its growing popularity and effectiveness.
TikTok’s impact on travel
The ban threat comes as TikTok emerges as a popular tool for travel discovery and marketing. Intrepid Travel, Booking.com, Disney Parks, Brand USA, and other brands have invested in the platform.
TikTok joins Instagram, Facebook, Google, Pinterest, YouTube, and Snapchat as the most popular channels for travel marketing.
The success of the short-form vertical video format prompted Instagram and YouTube to develop their own versions: Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts.
“Instagram Reels will benefit greatly; other platforms are also improving their short-form capabilities,” said Amir Ailon, CEO and president of marketing consulting and research firm Longwoods International. . “The transition will be easy.”
