On Jan. 19, TikTok went dark, leaving influencers, creators and users of the app confused. TikTok’s return has left them wondering where its future lies.
NIL allows for college athletes to benefit from their image while playing college athletics. Athletes get deals based on their social media branding. With TikTok’s return, athletes find comfort in the time of limbo due to the newfound hype around the app.
“When it went down for 24 hours, you know, there was an immediate panic, then it came back up,” said Taylor Jacobs, associate assistant director of NIL and strategic initiatives at LSU. “I think everyone is saying, ‘Okay, I’ll continue to create the content that I’m comfortable creating.’”
Jacobs said they have prepared their athletes to use multiple platforms from the beginning. She speculates that Instagram is the next route if TikTok does go dark again.
LSU gymnast Olivia Dunne took to Instagram when the app was down and posted a Reel, appearing sad about the ban.
But when TikTok still worked, Dunne later posted to the app, confused and excited.
“Me opening TikTok out of habit, but it’s actually working again,” Dunne posted to her TikTok.
Jacobs said companies aren’t shying away from the athletes because of the ban. Athletes had been posting to multiple platforms before the scare of a TikTok ban, and that will have little to no effect on the athlete’s branding or the company’s side.
Even though nothing should change, athletes who do not want to move to Instagram could lose their deals.
“If you have a following on TikTok and you’ve never done anything on Instagram, the brand has every right now to say you don’t have the platform and the exposure and the reach that you had when you had TikTok,” Jacobs said.
Before the ban was discussed, Jacobs said that companies had never appealed strictly to TikTok audiences. She said that she’s seen only one deal that was TikTok-specific, and that’s why she has always told the athletes to use multiple platforms.
“We always encourage our student-athletes to try to cross-promote,” Jacobs said. “So if they’re really active on TikTok, be sure they’re taking some of that content, posting it on Instagram or vice versa, because that cross promotes your followers and opens you up to a larger audience.”
Jacobs said that the longer the app went dark, the more hype was created around TikTok.
“I know several people who made accounts when it opened back up, or they had an account and became more active because they were like, ‘Oh, it’s back,’” Jacobs said. “So I think there’s more hype around it now that people are on it, and I feel like it’s increased engagement as of late because everyone’s talking about it.”
But until U.S. President Donald Trump’s 75-day extension of the app’s life in America has passed, TikTok’s fate remains in the air.
