TikTok timeline takes toll on local creators and businesses
After a more than 12-hour shutdown, TikTok and many American businesses are back online. But for how long? “So, we’re kind of left uneasy here,” said Ryan Roach, a TikTok content creator who lives in Asheville. “We don’t really know what’s going to happen. Luckily, or hopefully, it doesn’t get banned, but you never know.”The app supports more than 7 million small businesses, including some in our region, according to Oxford Economics. Sixty-nine percent of those businesses said they saw a boost in sales from the video platform. “Massive. There’s been times I posted a video and gotten 25 new clients,” said Jenna Regare, who owns Nomad James Hair Salon in Greenville.According to a court filing last week, an American shutdown would mean millions of creators losing a total of $300 million in earnings. “I’m able to pay bills and get groceries and use that money for things that I need. And if that gets taken away, we’re going to have to really restructure,” Roach said.While TikTok’s fate is up in the air, millions of users and businesses are trying to figure out how to adapt. “I’ll probably use maybe Instagram some more,” Regare said. “I know there’s some other apps that are, of course, trying to swoop in and slide into our TikTok slot, I don’t think they’ll really be able to.” “There’re several hundreds of small businesses that are on there that use TikTok to promote their products and sell their products,” Roach said. “And that’s their, that’s their lifeline. That’s their whole source of income.”All this uncertainty is coming to a head now that the second Trump administration has begun, and the president seems open to keeping the platform.
After a more than 12-hour shutdown, TikTok and many American businesses are back online. But for how long?
“So, we’re kind of left uneasy here,” said Ryan Roach, a TikTok content creator who lives in Asheville. “We don’t really know what’s going to happen. Luckily, or hopefully, it doesn’t get banned, but you never know.”
The app supports more than 7 million small businesses, including some in our region, according to Oxford Economics. Sixty-nine percent of those businesses said they saw a boost in sales from the video platform.
“Massive. There’s been times I posted a video and gotten 25 new clients,” said Jenna Regare, who owns Nomad James Hair Salon in Greenville.
According to a court filing last week, an American shutdown would mean millions of creators losing a total of $300 million in earnings.
“I’m able to pay bills and get groceries and use that money for things that I need. And if that gets taken away, we’re going to have to really restructure,” Roach said.
While TikTok’s fate is up in the air, millions of users and businesses are trying to figure out how to adapt.
“I’ll probably use maybe Instagram some more,” Regare said. “I know there’s some other apps that are, of course, trying to swoop in and slide into our TikTok slot, I don’t think they’ll really be able to.”
“There’re several hundreds of small businesses that are on there that use TikTok to promote their products and sell their products,” Roach said. “And that’s their, that’s their lifeline. That’s their whole source of income.”
All this uncertainty is coming to a head now that the second Trump administration has begun, and the president seems open to keeping the platform.
