2024-05-01 00:06:39
TikTok stars, banned in India, struggle to rebuild their fame on other platforms
After the Indian Sahil Kumar, amateur choreographer, made himself known by broadcasting his videos on TikTok, he has struggled since the Chinese application was banned in India to find success on other social networks, according to Agence France -Press.
American platforms like YouTube and Instagram took advantage of the ban on TikTok in India, which saw a large number of fans of the banned Chinese platform resort to reposting their content.
Users who gained some fame through TikTok had to start from scratch on other sites.
“It takes years to build an audience on Instagram or YouTube,” Kumar, 30, told Agence France-Presse at his studio in Rohtak, a few kilometers south of New Delhi.
The choreographer, whose TikTok account is followed by 1.5 million users, says: “It’s difficult to become successful again, because I don’t find the same interaction on any other platform. »
Kumar is originally an engineer, but he left his profession after he started earning money by posting dance videos with Indian influencers and celebrities on TikTok.
But his new career ended in June 2020 when the Chinese app disappeared from the Indian scene, after the government banned it because it deemed it responsible for activities that “undermine sovereignty and the territorial integrity of India.
Two weeks earlier, border clashes had taken place in the Himalayas, the bloodiest in half a century between India and China. It resulted in the deaths of twenty Indian soldiers and four Chinese soldiers.
With the end of TikTok in India announced, Kumar posted his final video on the platform calling on users to follow him on YouTube and Instagram, adding a few patriotic phrases to his remarks. “India first,” he said.
“Everything collapsed”
Four years later, around 94,000 followers follow him on Instagram, while his career as a choreographer ends. “The work has stopped,” he said.
TikTok quickly became hugely successful in India. The platform indicates that the number of its users in this country has exceeded 200 million people, or one in seven people.
Viraj Sheth, co-founder of marketing agency Monk Entertainment, says: “Any influencer or famous personality looking for an audience on the internet should use TikTok, whether they like it or not. »
He added: “As soon as the TikTok ban was announced, everything fell apart for everyone. »
A large number of local emerging technology companies have attempted to take advantage of the TikTok ban by launching apps of their own innovation. But the two American giants still dominate in this area.
In the first year after the ban, around six million short “Reels” video clips were released daily on Instagram.
For comparison, 2.5 million video clips were published daily on the Indian platform Moj, according to local media.
Statista, a company specializing in collecting market data and statistics, says that over 362 million people in India use Instagram, while 462 million people account for the number of users of YouTube, which launched the feature short video clips to compete with TikTok. , that year, the Chinese platform was banned in India.
Redser Strategy Consultants explains that as of November 2023, local apps have a combined base of more than 250 million users.
“YouTube and Instagram have always dominated when it comes to short video clips,” says Amiya Swarup, head of marketing consulting at EY India.
However, not all TikTok fans feel comfortable using Instagram. Because this platform focuses on self-promotion and not on the creation of specialized content, according to Viraj Sheth.
He says, “The user is not obliged to show their personality on TikTok. »
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