Hey Newsies,
Today we’re looking at an article from Forbes reporting on how the passing of a bill banning the use of TikTok in the United States can affect small business owners. I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences on this!
Forbes: How the TikTok Ban Leaves Small Businesses ‘Devastated’
The article explains that Congress has passed a new bill to essentially ban the social media app TikTok in the US, which can have a massive impact on small businesses. The bill says that within 6 months, the parent company ByteDance must either sell TikTok to a US entity, or shut it down in the US. This is due to security concerns about the app data potentially being used by China.
Some small businesses exist only on TikTok, making their money directly through ads, views, and sponsorships (influencers and affiliates absolutely count as businesses). Even more traditional businesses use it as a platform for marketing and visibility, as well as making a majority of their sales directly through the app. Some hold live sales events, others just link out to their ecommerce page for customers to quickly and easily buy their offerings.
Getting rid of the platform in the US has the potential to completely destroy some of these businesses, and severely limit sales for many more. They are trying to appeal the bill, calling it unconstitutional. So we have to wait and see if it goes through or not.
Some other countries that have fully banned TikTok are Afghanistan, China, India, and Nepal, with others only banning use of it on government issued devices for federal employees.
We didn’t use TikTok for my ice cream shop, but we relied extremely heavily on social media like Instagram and Facebook. I posted at least once every single day that we were open, both standard posts as well as stories. It really made a difference and brought in more new customers and kept our current customers coming back, since our posts with new flavors and offerings kept us top of mind and social feed. If one of those apps were banned, I’m not really sure what we would have done. I might have searched for the next big app and moved my posts there, or I might not have wanted to put in the effort to learn something new, since I didn’t start to go on TikTok even when it was getting big.
What’s your perspective:
- How do you use TikTok for your business?
- How would a TikTok ban affect things for you?
- What would you do if the ban goes through and TikTok shuts down?
Can’t wait to hear your thoughts!
Pesso
This article is for informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. For guidance or advice specific to your business, you should consult with a qualified legal professional.
We use TikTok heavily when we are working a fair, then make casual postings in between fairs. If it was shutdown I don't think it would have a huge impact on our business, because we use so many social media outlets. It’s like the old saying don’t put all your eggs in one basket.
I figure there is some form of TikTok waiting in the wings to jump in if TikTok does get shut down. Everyone will jump on it when and if it happens.
