Should Your Organization Be on TikTok?

There’s one question we get from almost every organization we work with: Should we have a TikTok?

And when we’re the ones suggesting that TikTok—or another new media platform—should be part of the communications mix, we’re often met with skepticism.

Whether the question comes from us or from them, the answer is complicated. It deserves discussion within your organization, especially around audience, resources, goals, and risk. That said, here are a few recent data points worth exploring.

Conceptually, none of this surprised us. However, the scale and speed at which some of these media consumption shifts are happening is a little staggering. 

Traditional media is rapidly changing.

Since 2005, 40% of local newspapers have vanished, according to The 2025 State of Local News Report. One in four Americans, or about 88 million people, now live in an area with zero or only one local newspaper.

The amount of news airtime on radio and television also declined in 2025. The Radio Television Digital News Association reported that the median amount of daily weekday local TV news fell by a full hour, to 5.5 hours.

And according to Civic Blueprints, Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows that newspapers lost more than 60% of their newsroom employees between 2008 and 2025. In 2025 alone, the newspaper industry shed roughly 5,800 jobs.

The takeaway: The old pitching strategy is going to get harder. There are fewer outlets to earn coverage in, fewer people to pitch, and less space available to publish your story. Depending on where you live and the media landscape in your community, traditional media can still be an important part of your earned media strategy, but it can no longer be the only part.

Where people get their news has changed.

Pew Research found that 20% of U.S. adults now regularly get news on TikTok, up from just 3% in 2020.

Reuters’ 2026 Digital News Report found that, for the first time, people globally were more likely to access a news organization through its social media channels (54%) than through its app or website (51%). The report also found that 77% of people globally consume online news video each week.

News outlets are responding. They’re cross-posting content. Livestreaming broadcasts. Creating vertical video specifically for social platforms. And journalists are building their own channels to share news directly with audiences.

But adapting how news is distributed doesn’t necessarily solve the underlying business-model challenge. People should pay for quality journalism, but when audiences have more ways to access news and information without encountering a paywall, convincing them to pay becomes that much harder.

The takeaway: Social media is increasingly becoming a first stop for news and information.

Social media is how young people especially receive their information.

Pew Research reports that 38% of adults ages 18 to 29 regularly get news from news influencers, compared with 8% of adults 65 and older.

And TikTok remains a major platform for younger audiences. In 2025, Pew Research reported that 6 in 10 U.S. teens used the platform. 9 in 10 are on YouTube.

This isn’t exactly new news. Since around 2017, teens have been moving away from some legacy social platforms, with fewer using Facebook and X.

The takeaway: If your audience is changing where it gets information, your communications strategy needs to change, too.

Good and done is better than perfect. No, really.

A TikTok study found that three in four consumers now skip content that feels too polished or inauthentic.

Another TikTok study found that 71% of global TikTok users prefer brand posts that don't feel too polished, while 65% say overly professional-looking brand videos feel out of place on the platform.

The takeaway: A fear of imperfect content shouldn’t be the thing that stops you from posting.

So, should your organization have TikTok?

The data is increasingly pointing to a solid “yes,” but every organization’s needs and audiences are different. Use this data as a discussion point when making your decision.

A side note:

We know some organizations are hesitant to use TikTok because of security concerns. We’re not cybersecurity experts, and you’ll never catch us pretending to be. That’s a conversation to have with your IT and security teams. Weigh the risks against the potential benefits, consider your organization’s policies and make an informed decision.