TikTok will also face stiff competition from other rivals that appeal to a younger audience
TikTok’s launch of a new platform to woo small business advertisers on Wednesday is full of pitfalls, particularly after the Trump administration’s threat this week to impose a ban on China-based social media applications .
The new self-service advertising platform, which allows businesses to buy ads without having to speak to a sales team, is key to TikTok’s ability to turn its short video sharing application into a real one viable advertising activity.
But the possible ban launched by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday, and new questions about the ability of the Chinese company to control hate speech and misinformation, cloud the launch, buyers said.
“The trust issues are there because it is a new application,” said an executive at a large advertising agency, adding that TikTok should make it clear to advertisers what it would do “if the luck were greater than zero “, which ads may appear next. harmful content.
The launch coincides with an international backlash against hate speech and misinformation that has proliferated on other services, including Facebook Inc and Twitter Inc, causing an unprecedented advertising boycott of some of these social media platforms.
In recent months, the “PizzaGate” conspiracy theory debunked about a child sex network run in a pizzeria in Washington by democratic elites has resurfaced on TikTok for a new generation of users, reported the New York Times .
TikTok said it is committed to protecting brands from the appearance of objectionable content through content moderation technology and human moderators. He also said he never provided user data to the Chinese government and would not do so if asked about Pompeo’s statements.
These issues, as well as the confusion over the benefits of TikTok for small advertisers, will need to be resolved if TikTok wants to attract more advertisers, said agency executives.
The global launch on Wednesday of the self-service advertising platform, which was previously in beta testing, will include a music library and video editing tools to help brands create ads that match the style of TikTok videos.
The app said it would also provide $ 100 million in free advertising credits worldwide, which small businesses can apply for as they have been particularly affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
“Our users want to identify with brands, and people identify with their local businesses and restaurants,” said Blake Chandlee, vice president of TikTok Global Business Solutions, in an interview with Reuters.
ByteDance, the owner of TikTok, based in Beijing, recorded $ 5.6 billion in revenue in its first quarter, mostly from ads sold on the Chinese version of TikTok called Douyin rather than TikTok itself , Reuters reported previously.
TikTok will also face stiff competition from other rivals that appeal to a younger audience like Snapchat, which has also appealed to small businesses with “direct response” ads that are favored by small businesses.
Local businesses and small businesses prefer direct response advertising that encourages sales or website visits. These types of ads can be difficult to develop for social media platforms, said Darren D’Altorio, head of social media at the advertising agency Wpromote, which has Instacart and Samsung as clients.
“I don’t think TikTok is still there when it comes to the direct response,” he said.
Snapchat’s shares jumped 9% on Tuesday, long after news of the potential U.S. ban on Chinese apps broke.
(Report by Sheila Dang; edited by Kenneth Li and Tom Brown)
(This story has not been edited by GalacticGaming staff and is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
