Small business owners in Ohio are concerned that banning TikTok could have a negative impact on their business.
The US House of Representatives passed a bill earlier this month that would lead to a nationwide ban on TikTok if China-based owner ByteDance does not sell its stake. Lawmakers are concerned that ByteDance could share user data with the Chinese government or spread propaganda and misinformation.
President Joe Biden He said he would sign the House bill.l (currently in the Senate)despite having an account on the popular video app for his re-election campaign.
But the Ohio Capital Journal spoke to a handful of small business owners around Ohio who are using TikTok to promote their products and build community.
“TikTok is by far the best social media platform for small businesses,” said Kimberly Oxenbein, the company’s owner. Akron Lights Candle Company.
More than 70% of her customers come from TikTok, and she fears her business won’t survive if TikTok is banned.
“The viral potential and reach you get from TikTok is something you don’t get from other social media platforms,” said Oxenbein, who uses the app to interact with her audience and give them a behind-the-scenes look at her candles. Ta. .
He said the appeal of TikTok lies in the speed and originality of the videos. Alexa Fox, an associate professor of marketing at the University of Akron, teaches a class on social media marketing.
“It’s easy to see, so it piques people’s interest.” Fox said.
TikTok is especially attractive to small and medium-sized businesses, Fox said, because it has a great potential to gain traction quickly.
“Discoverability is higher on such platforms,” she said.
Akron Lights Candle Company
Oxenbein launched her business in 2021 as a way to earn extra income as a stay-at-home mom. Her candles resemble various drinks, desserts, and foods.
“I tried to find a way to make my candles stand out instead of the traditional bottled candles that you can buy everywhere,” Oxenbein said.
She joined TikTok in 2021 to edit videos for other social media platforms, but then saw her sales skyrocket as her videos started going viral with millions of views. I did.
“I started posting more and more,” she said. “And the great thing about TikTok is that you can create a huge community for your business, you can grow that community quickly, and it has viral potential beyond anything I ever thought possible. It’s a secret.”
Coco’s Confectionery Kitchen
Adriana Wise launches a bakery business Coco’s Confectionery Kitchen He started using TikTok with his mother and sister in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic to promote his Columbus-based business the same year.
“You see that you actually have a global reach, which is even better for your brand awareness and your business,” she said. “This is elite. There’s nothing like it.”
She uses her TikTok account to show her followers baking tips and tricks and how to make cakes. She uses TikTok to learn about the latest trends.
“Many of us use TikTok as a search engine,” she said. “I think if TikTok is not a platform, not only will marketing agencies as a whole lose money, but the way companies can be innovative and creative will also lose money.”
About half of her content on TikTok goes viral, and people who see her on TikTok contact her to place orders or send her messages asking for specific baking advice. It often happens.
“It was also beneficial for me because I was able to help influence a new generation of bakers,” Wise said.
She says banning TikTok could stall small businesses.
“We know it’s very difficult to make such a big change in your (marketing) strategy,” Wise said.
Hello, this is Happy Company.
Sarah Hall opened her boutique Hello Happily Co. in Greenville in 2018. A year later, he started using TikTok to promote his business. But it wasn’t until the coronavirus pandemic hit that her videos really took off and her online sales increased.
“I mainly use this to showcase different types of styles,” she said. “I’m just having fun.”
Hall tries to post a video once a day;People from Illinois, Michigan, and Kentucky I went to the store after seeing her TikTok.
The ban on TikTok comes as 60% of its current sales come from online orders and TikTok has become the main source of social media to the website.That could mean a loss of sales and potential customer reach, she said.
“Right now, we don’t pay anything at all for social media marketing or advertising or anything like that. It all came naturally to us,” Hall said. “That can definitely have a negative impact on business, even on the sales side and being exposed to people who are looking for something like us and aren’t easily found.”
Ohio House Bill 17
In Ohio, House Bill 17 would ban state employees from using apps like TikTok on state-issued devices. The bill does not apply to state employees’ personal devices.
State Rep. Gene Schmidt, R-Loveland, and Rep. DJ Swearingen, R-Huron, are co-sponsors of the bill. HB 17 was passed by the House of Representatives over the summer and the Senate Financial Institutions and Technology Committee.
This bill doesn’t just restrict TikTok. Additionally, certain apps are also prohibited, including: Weibo, Xiaohongshu, Alipay, etc. The bill specifically targets TikTok and messaging app WeChat, banning services “developed or provided by their respective parent companies, ByteDance and Tencent.”
Follow OCJ reporters Megan Henry of X.
Get the morning headlines delivered to your inbox
