Marketing Hub

As of the start of 2025, social media juggernaut TikTok boasted approximately 1.925 billion active monthly users around the world, with 170 million of these users based in the United States. TikTok, however, is based in China, owned by the privately held Chinese company ByteDance.

Based on long-standing fears that the Chinese government could use TikTok both to gather information on American users and to spread misinformation and propaganda via the wildly popular platform, on January 19th, 2025, TikTok was banned in America, and an attempted log-in to the app or visit to the site was met with a message explaining the situation.

However, on January 20th, the incoming Donald Trump administration ended the TikTok blackout, delaying implementation of the already-approved ban by more than two months.

At the time of this writing, the future of TikTok in America is anything but clear. What is clear is that brands, marketers, artists, influencers, and other people who largely rely on TikTok to reach their audiences need to be ready for the very real possibility that the platform may again go dark, and might even shut down for good.

Best Alternatives to TikTok That Brands Should Know of in 2025

Instagram

“Instagram remains a powerful platform for brands to stay visible and engaged, especially as TikTok faces challenges,” says Iryna Melnyk, marketing consultant at Jose Angelo Studios. “With tools like Stories, Reels, and targeted ads, Instagram supports diverse content strategies. Reels offer a great alternative to TikTok-style videos, appealing to younger audiences with short, visual formats. Also, Instagram’s shoppable posts and in-app purchases make it perfect for e-commerce brands to simplify the buying process.”

“Leveraging Instagram analytics is key to improving campaigns,” Melnyk adds. “Experimenting with content like behind-the-scenes footage, influencer collaborations, and user-generated content can boost results. Partnering with influencers who share your brand values drives meaningful engagement, as Instagram’s algorithm rewards authenticity. For brands adapting to a post-TikTok world, Instagram offers a versatile and effective solution.”

Product: Instagram Reel Ads.

Features:

• Reels are very similar to TikTok videos, in that they’re short-form content created by consumers or brands.
• Reels can be integrated with the popular Meta platform (owner of Facebook). Because you can advertise on Reels as part of your Meta ads campaign, you’re not putting all of your eggs in one basket the way you do with TikTok. In other words, you can split your advertising budget between different placements on Meta platforms — Facebook included.

Advantages:

• Reels allow you to leverage your existing Instagram audience, so both your loyal followers and potential new customers will see your ad.
• Instagram’s audience is older, with close to 29% of its users aged 25-34 and close to 20% between the ages of 35 and 44 years (Statista). That’s helpful when it comes to reaching decision makers and consumers with more disposable income.
• Reels enable marketers to capitalize on Meta’s robust advertising options, including detailed targeting.

Considerations

• While a more mature audience may enable you to reach decision makers and users with credit cards, Instagram’s algorithm changes on a routine basis, posing a challenge for marketers eager to maximize their ad investment. Whereas chronology and the recency of posts used to play a big part in what users would see in their feeds, many other factors — e.g., user preference, user engagement, and follower counts — are now a factor. That means smaller content creators may notice their content is getting buried, leading to fewer impressions, more competition, and higher customer acquisition costs.

YouTube

“Trends don’t die, they evolve,” says Peter Lewis, chief marketing officer with Strategic Pete. “The short-form video isn’t dying off, it’s just shifting to new homes. Smart brands will be already diversified by 2025. Any brand who doesn’t have a TikTok plan B is just behind the ball.

Start with YouTube Shorts: You hook them with a 15-second clip, then pull them into your long-form, where you could tell your full story. The secret is YouTube’s ad targeting, powered by Google’s search data, which gives you surgical precision in reaching your audience.”

Another benefit to YouTube is simply the fact that it’s not a Meta brand, explains Loris Petro, marketing manager of Kratom Earth. “YouTube may be the best alternative, mainly for brands that rely on short-form content. The reason I’m saying that is because a lot of US TikTok users don’t want to migrate to Meta platforms. That’s because Mark Zuckerberg was the one pressing hard to make sure that TikTok would shut down. Many creators and brands are cognizant of that and do not want to move their content and audiences to Instagram or Facebook. YouTube, on the other hand, has been growing rapidly with Shorts, and the long-term discoverability is a huge plus. Unlike TikTok, where videos lose traction quickly, YouTube content continues to get views months or even years later.”

Product: Youtube Shorts.

Features:

• On YouTube, advertisers can purchase skippable video or image ads that appear between Shorts in the Shorts Feed. By creating short, catchy videos under 60 seconds in length, brands can integrate with the widely-used YouTube platform to reach a broad audience of potential customers.

Advantages:

• Unlike TikTok, YouTube pays content creators, which may help to drive more quality content for brands to associate with. Marketers can tap into YouTube’s extensive user base, which includes older audiences. What’s more, businesses that partner with YouTube benefit from parent company Google’s robust advertising ecosystem, which is regularly enhanced and optimized for effectiveness.

Considerations:

• Your campaign performance may vary depending on what type of audience you’re targeting. YouTube is known for having a large and diverse user base, which makes its short videos a good TikTok alternative. Note that the strategic use of keywords in your campaign is an important part of ensuring the discoverability of your ads.

Facebook

Venerable social media platform Facebook, now more than two decades old, has had some new life breathed into it thanks to a new focus on video content, especially on shorter-form videos, of course. “I think the best alternatives to TikTok right now are the Meta platforms, especially Facebook,” argues Holden Andrews, co-founder of Periscope Media. “Right now, Facebook’s competition level is pretty low, making it easier to reach more people, but it’s a good practice for creators to create short-form and post on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram.”

Product: Reels.

Features:

• Facebook reels are short and catchy and allow for likes and comments, and are often cross-linked with Instagram. They are often a mix of shorts submitted by users and clips of celebrities, which can help attract views.

Advantages: 

• Facebook reels are embedded within a user’s feed, so as they scroll through content from friends, influencers, and others they follow, the reels often pop up, potentially catching the eyes and attention of users who otherwise might not even have been looking for the short video clips.

Considerations: 

• Because Facebook is often inter-linked with Instagram, using Facebook reels to attract viewers can be a way to get people paying attention to your brand on two different platforms, potentially doubling their efficacy.

LinkedIn

Anyone seeking to engage with a more professional audience, or looking to connect primarily with brands and companies rather than with individuals, should consider LinkedIn, says Lewis. “All you B2B out there should be aware of the dark horse: LinkedIn video. The decision-makers are devouring the short-form pieces too, and the targeting on LinkedIn will let you cut through to them directly. I’ve seen SaaS brands get insane ROI off of quick, personalized explainers that feel made for that audience. It’s professional, yes, but personal, too, and that’s what sticks.”

LinkedIn users are also accustomed to longer posts with lots of information, so if you can use a short video to grab the eyes and then convert those viewers into readers and followers, you have a strong new hold on your audience.

Product: Posts.

Features: 

• LinkedIn posts can take many different forms, but tend to be heavier on text anchored by one lead image. The posts invite engagement in myriad forms, such as commentary, liking, reposting, and easy sharing off of the LinkedIn platform, such as via email or text.

Advantages:

• LinkedIn posts are uniquely good at fostering active engagement from the community, getting conversations started that get people talking and sharing and, therefore, spending more time with your content. These posts also provide an easy way for people to click through to your brand page and learn more about you.

Considerations: 

• LinkedIn posts are all about engagement and they may be revisited several times by one user and/or shared out widely, so don’t think of them as disposable content that’s just meant to be seen once. Also, make sure you have your facts straight, as people on LinkedIn are often shrewd and critical.

Pinterest

“When TikTok is unavailable, brands should use the opportunity to emphasize their core values on other platforms,” says Jehann Biggs, owner of In2Green. “Pinterest is a natural fit for showcasing sustainability stories and product aesthetics. For instance, using Pinterest to share design inspiration boards can engage visually-driven audiences. Partnering with influencers who are passionate about sustainability on platforms like YouTube or even LinkedIn can also amplify your message in a way that resonates deeply with their followers.”

“Pinterest is quite underrated for brands seeking strong organic engagement without leaning too much on ads,” says Petro. “In particular, Pinterest is great for e-commerce since users come to the platform with a purchase intent. Brands creating engaging product-focused content will be able to drive direct traffic to their stores without fighting the constant algorithm shifts on other platforms.”

Product: Boards.

Features:

• Pinterest boards amass multiple different posts on related topics (think “easy chicken dinners” or “how to grout tile”) and organize them into “Boards” that a user can browse. The experience can be customized and continues to better suit a user the more they use Pinterest.

Advantages:

• Pinterest makes it easy to save Boards and makes returning to favored topics easy and enjoyable, so you can count on lots of repeat visits from users. The better your content fits into Pinterest Boards, the more you will have the attention of people enjoying the platform.

Considerations:

• Pinterest is all about different and distinct categories. You need to make sure your content is well defined so it can fit into the right Boards and reach the right audience. Take the time to carefully craft anything you plan to upload there, knowing it is not as ephemeral as something like a short video clip — people may well come back time and time again.

Taboola

What’s important to remember about digital marketing is that the opportunities don’t end with social media. There are other TikTok alternatives out there for brands, and other ways to connect with consumers at the right time online.

One of these is Taboola and native advertising. Reports show that the global native advertising market is $127.18 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach $68.93 billion by 2032, which represents a compound annual growth rate of about 14.24%. This fast-growing segment of the digital marketing space offers a more holistic approach to advertising, rather than restricting your reach to social media users. While platforms like YouTube Shorts, Snapchat, and Instagram offer similar approaches and targeting solutions, investing in native ads can connect you with target customers beyond the social media space.

Compared to TikTok advertising, native ads are a non-intrusive approach to conveying your brand’s message online. Consumers are generally more open to learning about brands through these formats than via traditional ads like banners, making them a very effective advertising option.

As the leading native advertising platform, Taboola Ads offers a wide network of trusted websites worldwide. Taboola Native Ads combine advertising with great content without interrupting the user experience. This form of programmatic advertising simulates the site environment in which it’s found, so that ads look less like classic banners and more like editorial content. As consumers become more resistant to traditional online advertising like banner ads, non-disruptive ad formats make a lot of sense.

Product: Taboola’s Native Ads

Features: Taboola’s native ads

Advantages:

• Your ads can appear on trusted websites worldwide in front of more than 600M daily active users.
• Placement options include:
  • Homepage.
  • Section Front.
  • Mid Article.
  • Taboola Feed.
  • Mobile-Integrated News.
  • Taboola Stories.
• Ads are easy to create, requiring only an image, headline, and website link.
• Ads can be targeted based on users’ interests.
• Ads can be customized to mirror the look of a Taboola partner site.
• Taboola ads are resilient to third-party cookie deprecation. Any platform that relies on third-party cookies for tracking targeting is impacted by Google’s decision to phase out its support of cookies by end of 2024, which in turn impacts ad performance. As Taboola does not rely on third-party cookies, this impending change doesn’t pose a concern to its advertising brands.

What to consider when choosing the right alternative to TikTok Ads

As with any marketing strategy, selecting the right TikTok alternative depends on a number of factors—chiefly your target audience. Whether your business falls into the category of B2B or B2C, you’ll need to carefully consider where your customers spend their time, your advertising objectives, and the nature of your content before making your choice.

Start by analyzing your target audience’s age, buying behavior, and media preferences. Research is a key pillar in your marketing strategy, as important as monitoring and optimizing campaign performance down the line. The more you understand about your customers, the more tangible insights you’ll have at your disposal, and the better equipped you’ll be to make effective choices about where to place your ads.

Additionally, rather than blindly signing up for TikTok ads manager and investing in TikTok ads automation and TikTok commercials, consider the value of a cross-platform strategy. Integrating multiple formats into your ad campaign in a cohesive fashion can maximize your reach, and diversifying your advertising efforts across platforms by working with sites beyond just TikTok ensures increased visibility and social media engagement in the ever-evolving social media marketing landscape.

Whether you choose to explore Instagram Reels, Snapchat Spotlight, or YouTube Shorts—or other options like Facebook Reels, Triller, and Byte—adapting your content strategy to the unique features of each platform will best prepare you to harness the dynamic world of social media advertising.

More on TikTok

The State of TikTok in 2025

As noted earlier, at the time of this writing, TikTok is not gone. That is despite the fact that, per a document released from the Supreme Court of the United States dated January 17th, 2025: “As of January 19, the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act will make it unlawful for companies in the United States to provide services to distribute, maintain, or update the social media platform TikTok, unless U.S. operation of the platform is severed from Chinese control.” That severance has not happened as this article goes to publication.

What has happened is an executive order delaying implementation of the ban for 75 days. So, at present, and for the first few weeks of 2025, there is no tangible change to the TikTok experience for users, creators, marketers, et al.

Anyone who depends on TikTok for any sort of material gain, though, would be wise to use this uncertain interim period to plan for a future without TikTok. That future may never come to pass and the work may end up a mere thought experiment, but it will be one that has brands and marketers better suited to reach more people in the future — after all, even if TikTok is here to stay, it’s not like everyone who is online is exclusively on TikTok.

What Does the TikTok Ban Mean for Brands and Marketers?

“TikTok’s potential absence is a wake-up call for marketers to rethink platform dependency,” says Saleha Malik, co-founder of the boutique marketing agency S-Squared. “This is a chance for brands and influencers to future-proof their strategies by exploring new platforms, rediscovering owned media, and fostering loyalty through meaningful connections.”

While there isn’t currently any other social media platform that engages users in quite the same way as TikTok, what with its famous (or infamous, depending on who you ask) algorithm that keeps eyes on the screen, there are many alternatives that are similar. There are also alternatives that are not so similar, but that’s a good thing.

Some platforms, like Instagram, offer multiple different tools and ways to customize content that might make it even better-suited to select segments of your intended audience. Other platforms, like LinkedIn, already have an established type of presence online — the more professional/career-oriented, in the case of LinkedIn — which can filter out people who may not find a given brand’s messaging resonant.

What the potential for a TikTok ban means is that you will need to be dynamic and ready to try several new avenues of outreach. “If TikTok is banned, expect further fragmentation in the social media space,” says Petro. “More users might eventually go to Meta platforms, but other users will try to find another alternative, which is either Lemon8 or even decentralized platforms like Bluesky. It will be a testing ground on multiple channels for any brand that stays one step ahead and doesn’t put all their eggs in one big basket.”

Key Takeaways

Former President Joe Biden’s justice department, under Attorney General Merrick Garland, passed a law banning Chinese-owned social media video platform TikTok in the United States in mid-January of the year 2025. A stay of 75 days of implementation of the Biden White House’s ban on TikTok went into effect within hours of Trump taking his second oath of office, meaning TikTok could continue operating as normal in America.

What people love most about TikTok is the ease of digestibility of the platform’s short-form videos, as well as the many customization options that can be used with these clips. Those looking for the best TikTok alternatives should consider Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and the other platforms listed above.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the best TikTok alternative?

“Before the rise of Tiktok, Instagram was the first popular influencer platform,” says Tracie Crites, CMO at Heavy Equipment Appraisal and the mayor of Frederick, Colorado. “This gives marketers an easier way to reach their audience or niche while seamlessly promoting their business or products through creative IG posts or short form content. Reels also allows for easy sharing across stories and posts, boosting your reach without the need to create new content formats.” If you’re only looking to use one social media platform as your replacement for TikTok, Instagram really is your best bet at present, with its easy-to-use tools, its several different types of media, and its approximate 160 million users in the United States.

How does Taboola compare to TikTok?

While both TikTok and Taboola could be thought of as advertising platforms, Taboola focuses on placing ads that blend seamlessly into existing content on other websites, primarily through “recommended for you” boxes, whereas TikTok is a true social media platform where users create and consume short-form video content, albeit with advertising heavily baked into the formula. Its ads are primarily displayed within the video feed, making it a very different user experience and targeting approach compared to Taboola. Taboola is for driving traffic to other sites with subtle recommendations, whereas TikTok is for engaging users with short, visually captivating content while slipping ads into the experience.

Who is the biggest competitor to TikTok?

It’s hard to identify one single main rival to TikTok, but it’s easy to identify the type of content that has the best chance of drawing eyes away from it: Short-form videos. To that end, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube all offer significant competition to TikTok, because all offer that exact type of content. In fact, if one of these competitors successfully lures a TikTok user away with its short video reels, it may have the added benefit of other types of content that keep the new pair of eyes around for longer.