Small Business Boom
Is social media really as horrible as we thought?
Social media has many ups and downs depending on what generation you’re viewing the platform from. Today we are taking a look through the “Gen Z” lens at this not so new topic. The focus of media in this article is going to be about entrepreneurship and the huge growth in small business and creative output. We will also mainly take a look at a media platform called TikTok.
Here’s a little background on small businesses on social media: they are mainly young adults with a creative brain and a drive to share their content with others. A fairly new video app called TikTok has gained a lof of popularity not only in the past year but the past months during the COVID-19 lockdown. Because of the lockdown many people turned to TikTok for a variety of reasons including: entertainment, to stay social, and to earn money when they couldn’t physically go out into the workforce.
This isolated lockdown combined with the consumer force of staying stuck inside and wanting to online shop has skyrocketed views, shares and purchases.
TikTok specifically targets a large audience with the use of tags, trending audios, and visual bliss. For example a TikToker and business owner named Daisyscases has a video that has reached over 20 million views and she has now stopped taking orders until after Christmas. Due to the video reaching such a wide audience she was able to sell out in seconds with hundreds of different customers now finding her instagram through that single TikTok video. The power that the media holds in how it can either make or break a business is outstanding.
The great thing about TikTok compared to other social media sites is that it took the format of Vine which worked to reach millions of users but was cut too short. TikTok was able to gain that following and more with that same creative outreach, it essentially makes space for everyone. Including those young adults with that drive to create items and share their products with the world.
Another example on just how much TikTok skyrockets small business careers is a mother of three that goes under the name beauty_holics on TikTok and beauty_holics_ on Instagram. She posted a video that has now reached over 60.5 million views. Thanks to that exposure from that video, on September 12th she was able to open her first pop up event in Las Vegas.
Sadly, however TikTok may be leaving the U.S fairly soon due to an ongoing battle with the President and the company about banning the social media app due to it gathering data from citizens. The reason this is as serious as it is, is due to the company being based in China and with the way the United States relationship with China is at the moment there is a lot of tension and uneasiness. The situation is constantly changing each day so there is no sure knowledge on when or if the app will end up getting banned in the states.
Over the years media consumption has raised a lot of eyebrows on its effects on people but rarely have they focused on the positive. Even though the media isn’t going to keep their small businesses afloat on it’s own, it does give the new business owners a good footing on where they can go from there. It also helps them gain a loyal enough following so that their business can grow at a steady pace and give them a place to make their dreams a reality.
-Emma Libby
Sources
Allyn, B. (2020, September 20). TikTok Ban Averted: Trump Gives Oracle-Walmart Deal His ‘Blessing’. Retrieved September 24, 2020, from https://www.npr.org/2020/09/20/914032065/tiktok-ban-averted-trump-gives-oracle-walmart-deal-his-blessing
