An impending TikTok ban could impact millions of small businesses that use the short-video social media app to help them grow their businesses.
Desiree Hill, owner of Crown's Corner Mechanic in Conyers, Georgia, started out solo as a mobile mechanic. Sharing videos of her work on TikTok helped spread the word and she became so popular that she was able to open a 9,000-square-foot store with five employees 18 months ago.
“Every day I get at least two or three customers who saw me on TikTok, saw my videos and wanted to become customers,” she said.
Although TikTok has only been around since 2016, small business owners are using the platform in a variety of ways, from growing their customer base to advertising and marketing, as well as selling merchandise directly from the site.
According to TikTok's own estimates, small businesses on TikTok will lose more than $1 billion in revenue in one month if the ban goes into effect.
The Justice Department ordered the app's parent company, ByteDance, based in China, to sell TikTok or face a US ban by January 19, due to security concerns. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the case in January. President-elect Donald Trump, who takes office on January 20, asked the Supreme Court for a delay.
If the ban occurs, small businesses will have to turn to other platforms to find their customers. Instagram Reels, Snapchat, and YouTube Shorts are alternatives. The good news is that brands likely already have a presence there. But it can be difficult to reach teens who have made TikTok their favorite social media app.
Another alternative is to build a strong database of customers who choose to provide email addresses or phone numbers for contact. This allows owners to communicate directly with customers through promotions and other marketing messages.
But Crown Corner Mechanic's Hill said she's concerned other sites may not have as much exposure as TikTok. She said she has a presence on YouTube, Instagram and Facebook, but it's not the same.
“I'm worried because there's no preparation for this,” she said. “It's such an important place in terms of my customer base and how I reach customers, that if I lost TikTok, I would lose a big part of my business or lose my ability to grow anymore.”
Crystal Lister is the owner of Mommy and Me: The Listers, in Cypress, Texas, which offers interactive workshops on STEM education. She's working on focusing on YouTube for videos and Instagram Reels for teasers to drive people to YouTube, but she said TikTok is easier.
“It's going to be a challenge if TikTok gets banned because we kind of lose all the functionality that you want, like the ability to create video, the ability to spread the word through social media,” she said. “So we will have to use many other platforms to complement what TikTok did in one platform.”
Originally published: December 31, 2024 at 10:34 AM CST
