TikTok’s Ban Can Cause Disruption for Small Businesses.

(VOR News) – The millions of small businesses who depend on the social media app TikTok for short videos to help them expand their operations would be significantly impacted. These businesses would be greatly impacted if TikTok were to be banned.

Desiree Hill, the owner of Crown’s Corner Mechanic in Conyers, Georgia, took the initiative to launch her own business after working as a mobile mechanic in the past. She was able to start a brick and mortar business with five employees and 9,000 square feet eighteen months ago.

This was made possible by her growing popularity, which enabled her to publish videos of her work on TikTok and spread the word about it. “Every day, I receive at least two to three customers who have seen me on TikTok, watched my videos, and want to become a customer,” she informed the news crew.

“I also get customers who have seen me on TikTok.”

Despite TikTok’s relatively recent launch in 2016, small business owners utilize the site in a multitude of ways. These include expanding their clientele, promoting and marketing their brand, and selling goods directly from the internet.

Small businesses that use TikTok would lose more than $1 billion in income in a single month if the ban were to be enforced, according to estimates provided by the company itself.

The Justice Department has ordered ByteDance, the Chinese app’s parent company, to sell TikTok by January 19 or risk the app being blocked in the US government. Security issues with the app were the reason for the order. In January, the Supreme Court will meet to consider the matter and render a ruling.

A plea to postpone the case has been filed with the Supreme Court by Donald Trump, the incoming president who will take office on January 20.

Small businesses will need to move their clientele to other platforms in order to continue operating if a ban is implemented. Other options to think about are YouTube Shorts, Instagram Reels, and Snapchat Shorts. The likelihood that brands already have a presence there is high, which is a really positive development.

However, compared to other social networking sites, it can be more challenging to communicate with teenagers who have made TikTok their main social networking tool.

Another method is to build an extensive database of clients who have voluntarily provided their contact details, including phone numbers and email addresses. This enables business owners to communicate directly with their clients and offer them promotional materials and marketing messages.

TikTok will reach more people than any other website.

In contrast to the preceding assertion, Hill makes this one. She went on to say that even though she is active on YouTube, Instagram, and Facebook, it is not the same as being on Facebook. This, she admitted, is the case.

She expressed her concern with the following statement: “I am worried because there is no preparation for this.” I would either lose a sizable portion of my business or my future growth potential if I were to lose TikTok. For me, one of these outcomes would be catastrophic.

This may be specifically attributed to the significant influence TikTok has on my clientele and how I interact with prospective clients.

Mommy and I both: Crystal Lister is the owner and operator of The Listers, a business with its main office located in Cypress, Texas. The organization offers interactive seminars that focus on learning STEM subjects.

However, her report claims that TikTok is more convenient. She is also working on moving the videos to YouTube and the previews on Instagram Reels so that people may find YouTube.

“It is going to be a challenge because we are losing kind of all the functionality you want,” she claimed when asked about the possible consequences of TikTok’s ban. The capacity to produce movies and spread the word via social media are two examples of this specific feature. We will therefore need to use a large number of additional websites in order to complement what TikTok accomplished on a single platform.

SOURCE: AP

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