Everyone in social media aged about 10 years during this TikTok ban saga. But if you’ve been working in social long enough, you’ve seen your share of chaos. For the best social media teams, this isn’t a time to overreact, it’s a time to calmly reassess.
As a former social content creator for the NFL for over a decade, I’ve seen some sh*t. Platforms rise and fall. Tools that once felt indispensable become irrelevant overnight. Trends emerge that everyone scrambles to jump on, only to disappear the next day, leaving no lasting impact.
And as much as this TikTok ban feels unprecedented, it’s just another chapter in the unpredictable world of social media.
Now is the time to take stock. How are you creating content? How are you engaging your audience across platforms? What tools are you relying on to adapt to the constant shifts in social media?
Be deliberate with your platform strategy
Don’t get distracted by shiny new platforms no one’s heard of yet. Being first to a new app doesn’t mean much for a brand. I remember when the NFL took its sweet time before committing to YouTube. It felt like they were waiting a comically long time to be active there. But they didn’t rush in, and when they did, they became one of the best.
The lesson? Being deliberate beats being first every time.
The reality is, we need multiplatform and owned strategies. Even with TikTok back online, the vibes have now changed. Audiences don’t trust it like they used to. Platforms like YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels only grow in importance. These are areas social teams should already be investing in, regardless of TikTok’s fate.
Time to rethink your content creation workflows
Moments like this are a reminder to reassess how we create content, especially if you’re relying heavily on consumer apps built for individual creators. Are the tools and creation apps you’re using built for where your team is headed, or are they just helping you scrape by? Do they come with legal risks? Do they have a team dedicated to supporting and building features for your specific use cases?
Here’s what I’d prioritize when evaluating content creation tools:
- Centralized Content Creation: Stop switching between apps for editing, collaborating, and posting. A single platform saves time and keeps your team aligned.
- Brand-First Features: Your content represents your brand, and your tools should reflect that. Custom templates, fonts, overlays, and presets aren’t a luxury, they’re essential to making your brand truly stand out.
- Support Across Formats: Every social platform is different. It’s not just about video or static. Your tools should make it seamless to create for all formats without missing a beat.
- Built-In Collaboration: Social is a team sport. From brainstorming to approvals, to working with your design and video teams, your tools should make it easy for everyone to stay on the same page.
- A Team Dedicated to Your Success: As a professional platform service professional social teams, the software you use should have people dedicated to training you, supporting you as needed, and helping your entire team get the most out of their tools.
- Flexibility for the Future: If the last week has taught us anything, it’s that change is constant. Your tools need to help you pivot quickly without slowing your team down.
- Built by Social Media Managers: The best tools are created by people who’ve lived the problem. A creation platform built for social teams by social teams will always better serve your needs.
This is why we built Slate
I’ll be honest: part of the reason I left the NFL to help build Slate was because I was tired of patching together a bunch of apps that didn’t fit how my team worked.
Apps like CapCut and InShot are great for lightweight editing, but they weren’t designed for social teams managing brand content. I needed a tool that combined ease of use with real brand customization, collaboration workflows, and support for every format we were posting.
Most importantly, I wanted a platform that actually listened to my feature requests and worked as a true partner to help with strategy and training, not just an iOS app that sent me to their AI support chat.
That’s why we built Slate: a creation platform designed by social media managers, for social media teams. It’s why top brand social teams like Amazon, Frida, and the WNBA trust Slate as their primary social content creation tool.
Take this moment to level up
This isn’t just a time to react to change, it’s an opportunity to rethink and refine. The social media landscape will keep shifting, but the teams that use moments like this to reassess their strategies and tools will come out stronger.
Ask yourself: Are your workflows set up to adapt? Are you using tools designed to help brand social teams thrive, or just ones that help you get by?
At Slate, we’ve built a platform designed to meet the unique needs of social teams. With centralized workflows, brand-first customization, and support for all formats, we’re here to help your team create, collaborate, and adapt as the social landscape evolves.
Because the social teams that pause, reflect, and build with the right tools today will be the ones leading tomorrow.
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