With the U.S. TikTok sell-off bill still intact, which could see the app booted out of America as of next January, advertisers are already weighing their options, new insights have reported.
Overall TikTok ad spend dropped in both April and May, while four of the platform's biggest-spending advertisers have sharply curtailed their TikTok ad efforts in recent months, according to MediaRadar.

The largest percentages cut have been witnessed with Target, with a 30 percent drop in spend on TikTok, DoorDash by 25 percent, Bayer and Procter & Gamble at -20 percent and -10 percent, respectively.

Which makes sense: if TikTok is to exit the U.S. then brands are going to have to look elsewhere in the future, and as such are probably hedging their bets now, and pivoting away from TikTok promotions in anticipation of a more general change.

So should you be dialling down your focus on the app?

There are a couple of ways in which you can look at this:.

First of all, TikTok remains more than too popular, and whereas you can tap into this reach, you probably don't have a choice but to try to cash in on it. Lower ad spend from the major players might also leave the playing field a little more open, with less competition at least in the short term, so it makes sense to keep pushing TikTok promotions and see what you get.

At the same time, increasing your reliance on a platform that may soon be gone can be challenging.

If you become dependent on the results you are getting from TikTok promotions, this is going to be tough to swallow in six months' time, if it leaves the U.S., and could mean leaving a potentially big hole in your performance data as an end result.

Which is why the big teams are shifting their emphasis, to cushion the fall if it soon disappears off the platform.

Is TikTok going to get banned?

Well, for now, it would seem it is. TikTok has filed a legal challenge against the U.S. The government's sell-off bill (for the record, this is a forced sell-off and not a ban as such, but legal experts are mostly of the view that this would not cut ice because of the national security concerns which the government has invoked). The other other alternative would be a sell-off, Chinese authorities have publicly stated is not occurring, so on balance, as it stands at this point in time, it would seem that TikTok is indeed leaving the U.S.

But again, if Donald Trump is re-elected in November, that will change things yet again, since Trump has expressed disdain to the TikTok sell-off bill.

Whether or not Trump could or would reverse the sell-off order is unclear, but, one way or another, there appear still to be a few options that could change TikTok's fate.

Till then, however, it's a judgment call. TikTok offers great reach and resonance for the right ad campaigns. But I wouldn't be putting too much reliance on any one app.