Big tech companies are taking on TikTokers.

With TikTok on the verge of being shut down in the U.S., pending a Supreme Court ruling on its future (or a Hail Mary for Trump or Biden), other tech companies are preparing to poach creators and users from the video platform.

While tech giants like Meta and YouTube have been vying for TikTok for years, the threat of the platform's imminent shutdown is an opportunity to steal the app's more than 170 million U.S. users and its vast roster of creators, many of whom have been Make a living from the service (or at least try to).

At the very least, the TikTok news cycle is a good excuse to see how many users can be snapped up, although Chinese-owned apps like Red Note and Lemon8 (also owned by ByteDance) appear to be gaining some traction.

With millions of creators and users and billions of minutes suddenly available, sources at multiple tech companies say they fully intend to try to attract as many TikTok users as possible, some behind the scenes. Engage with creators, while others are more public.

Take Snap, for example. The company is launching a new public marketing campaign with the tagline "Find your favorite content on Snapchat," which includes Loren Gray, Matt Friend, Avana Gregg and Harry Jowsey, among others. Influencers known for their posts on TikTok.

At one point, Gregg tells users "You can find all of my daily content on Snapchat, where I share everything from getting ready with me to fun behind-the-scenes moments."

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The campaign is a consumer-facing campaign designed to try and convince TikTok users to continue following many of their favorite creators on the new platform.

“Snapchat is the best and easiest platform to grow a real community, so launching this campaign was a no-brainer,” Jowsey said. "Other apps feel like they need to be curated, but on Snapchat there's no pressure and it feels like I'm chatting with friends. It's been awesome to see how posting on Snapchat every day has helped my podcast numbers grow significantly because they understand The real me."

But as Snapchat's campaign highlights, the future of social video really depends on creators. Wherever creators go, users will follow. As a result, the battle for creators’ attention will intensify.

Substack, for example, hopes to attract TikTokers to its platform with cash rewards and expanded video features.

The company, a newsletter platform traditionally popular with journalists, writers and other creators, announced a $25,000 "TikTok Liberation Prize" to users who post original videos on TikTok to inspire others to join Substack. The award will be given to the most popular video.

“We have been recruiting people from various social media apps for some time because the offers you get on those apps are not that great. You don’t own the relationship with the audience. You don’t have your own space on the internet , you’re at the mercy of algorithms, and algorithms don’t always have your best interests at heart,” said Substack CEO Chris Best.

While Best joked that "we're saving all the smart people from TikTok," he acknowledged that Substack isn't a direct replacement for the social media app, but he positioned it as a place where creators with loyal fans can interact with their Direct contact place. audience.

Best added that Substack has added various video features to its platform in recent years and planned to launch live video soon, but the looming TikTok ban delayed that announcement. On January 14, Substack announced that it would offer live video access to all publishers or publishers with at least 10 free subscribers in the Substack app, a tool that was initially available to bestsellers starting last fall.

Substack continues to gain momentum in the face of a possible ban. The company said Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this week were the three highest days for daily active users on the Substack app.

Of course, while Snapchat and Substack are launching very public campaigns, YouTube Shorts and Meta's Reels are the biggest players in the short video space after TikTok, both using algorithms to engage in pushing relevant content to users and giving videos top priority on their apps and platforms.

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg told investors on the company's last earnings call that more than 60% of Reels recommendations on Instagram are now entirely original. “This helps people find unique and different content on Instagram, while also helping early creators get discovered,” he said.

On YouTube, more than 70% of channels now upload shorts in addition to longer videos, and the platform also allows the uploading of shorts up to three minutes long.

But monetization remains the biggest issue. One creator with a presence on almost all major platforms said that while TikTok does not have the best monetization platform, it is ahead of its competitors when it comes to growing followers.

However, according to the creator, YouTube is far ahead of other platforms when it comes to monetizing videos, even though YouTube Shorts offer less pay than regular videos.

Somewhat surprisingly, they say that after YouTube, Elon Musk's X is one of the more consistent platforms offering payment services.

A source at According to sources, there is an 80% overlap between Generation Z users between X and TikTok, leading to optimism that the platform can attract some of these users.

Meanwhile, Snapchat will overhaul its monetization platform starting February 1, which could increase payments to creators.

In addition to Stories, the new unified monetization plan will also place ads on creators’ Spotlight videos. The new platform will make it easier for creators to get compensated through their Snap, Spotlight platform or more personalized story options.

Meanwhile, Substack says it has generated significant revenue for former TikTok users.

As part of its new initiative, Substack noted that TikTok users Violet Witchel, who has 2.7 million followers, and Coco Mocoe, who has 1.1 million followers on TikTok, brought those fans to Substack. In a recent livestream, Witchel said she's been making over six figures by sharing paid recipes and meal plans on Substack, while Mocoe has been on Substack for three months with her video podcast about the creator economy. Earned $10,000. In addition to Witchel, Tiktokers V Spehar, Meredith Hayden, Leo Skepi and Tini Younger have also joined Substack.

Given the situation with TikTok, it's unclear whether Meta or YouTube plans to change their monetization strategies for Reels and Shorts.

But if there's one thing everyone agrees on, it's that no one knows how things will turn out. Whether TikTok survives or it does get pulled from the App Store, the battle for creators and the battle for attention seems likely to continue.

"I don't think anyone knows exactly what's going to happen with the ban, whether it's going to happen, whether it's going to last, how long it's going to last, everything is very uncertain right now," Best said. "I think even that uncertainty is One of the reasons why in this moment is, 'What platform am I using and how important is it to connect with my audience?'