It’s hard to imagine social media without TikTok. Over the past few years, this platform has revolutionized the way brands, creators, and even higher education institutions connect with their audiences. But, with increased regulatory and security scrutiny, there are still questions about the future of the platform. Higher education institutions should prepare for potential disruptions.
What’s Happening with TikTok?
In April of last year, Congress passed a bill requiring TikTok’s owner, ByteDance, to sell the app’s U.S. operations to a U.S.-based company or face a ban. Here’s a quick summary of all the recent developments:
- January 18 Pause: TikTok shut down the app for U.S. users, and ads experienced a temporary disruption as part of platform responses to regulatory scrutiny.
- January 19: TikTok resumed U.S. operations after 14 hours.
- January 20 Executive Order: President Trump issued an executive order delaying any ban on TikTok for 75 days.
- Ongoing Ban Discussions: Despite the delay, regulatory scrutiny remains high, with security concerns continuing to drive conversations about restrictions.
- Potential Impact: Should a ban ultimately take effect, the app would become unavailable for download and users would no longer be able to update it, making it unusable in the long term. Additionally, TikTok ads could be paused indefinitely.
For higher education institutions, this uncertainty means it’s crucial to have a proactive plan. Diversifying your social media presence ensures you stay connected with your audience, no matter what happens.
In this blog, we’ll share some tips about how you can repurpose video content originally published on TikTok using a new feature recently released on the platform. Ultimately, we hope to equip your team with the tools and skills to give video content its much-deserved attention (because it already has the attention of your next class!).
Diversifying Your Social Media Reach Beyond TikTok
TikTok has become a powerful channel for connecting with audiences from Gen Z and beyond, but with the app’s future still unknown, now is the time to increase your presence on alternative platforms, such as Facebook/Instagram Stories & Reels, YouTube Shorts, and Snapchat. These platforms offer robust short-form video capabilities, each with unique benefits for higher education institutions:
- Facebook/Instagram Stories & Reels: Facebook and Instagram Stories and Reels offer higher education institutions a dynamic way to connect with a wide audience through engaging, short-form video content. These features integrate seamlessly within the platforms’ ecosystems, enabling institutions to reach prospective students effectively while enhancing discoverability through hashtags and cross-platform promotion.
- YouTube Shorts: YouTube Shorts offers higher education institutions the opportunity to reach a broad audience with searchable, evergreen content, benefiting from YouTube’s powerful algorithm and search engine for long-term discoverability while also enabling cross-promotion of longer videos and academic highlights.
- Snapchat: Snapchat allows higher education institutions to engage with a youth-centric audience through short-form, behind-the-scenes content, student takeovers, and event highlights, fostering an authentic connection.
Diversifying your media mix not only mitigates risk but also broadens your reach. By maintaining a strong presence on multiple platforms, you can ensure that your institution stays visible and connected, regardless of potential changes to TikTok’s availability.
Repurpose TikTok Content Across Platforms
Platforms such as Facebook/Instagram Stories & Reels, YouTube Shorts, and Snapchat are ideal places to repurpose TikTok videos for a broader reach. It’s not new news that Instagram will demote Reels with a TikTok watermark, but TikTok recently released a feature that allows videos made on the platform to be saved without a watermark, enabling you to recycle or repurpose content across platforms.
How To Download Videos Created on TikTok
TikTok’s new feature simplifies saving videos without watermarks. Here’s how you can do it:
Download Videos Before Posting on TikTok:
- Within the TikTok Video Editor, click the down caret on the right-side panel of buttons.
- Scroll down and click “Save.”
- The video will be saved to your device’s camera roll/photo album without a watermark.
Download Previously Posted Videos:
- On your profile page, select the video you want to download.
- Click on the three dots in the bottom right corner.
- Click “Save video.”
When repurposing TikTok videos for other platforms, be mindful of platform-specific safe zones to ensure key content, such as text and logos, remains visible and isn’t cut off.
With watermark-free videos, you can recycle your best content across Facebook/Instagram Stories & Reels, YouTube Shorts, or Snapchat for maximum impact.
Making the Most of Repurposed Content in Higher Ed
Repurposing video content is not only an effective time-saver but also a way to build brand consistency across channels and encourage connections with prospective students. As video content on social platforms becomes one of the main drivers of engagement, maintaining a focus on creating video content around TikTok trends and user-generated content will be key in engaging this next generation of students.
Be Ready for What’s Next
With TikTok’s future uncertain, higher education institutions have an opportunity to strengthen their social media strategies and diversify their reach. Repurposing TikTok content and building a presence on platforms like Facebook/Instagram Stories & Reels, YouTube Shorts, and Snapchat can help you stay connected and ahead of the curve.
At Carnegie, we’re always here to help. If you have questions or want to learn more about how we can help you connect with your audiences via social media, reach out and start a conversation.