ROCHESTER, NY – A House vote to ban TikTok has users worried about the future of their business marketing strategies.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been able to connect with Tempest Paige since she created her account in December 2019.
“I had a random video that got a lot of attention and then two weeks later the closures came and I couldn’t work at the store anymore. So I started recording TikTok by myself at home,” Tempest explained. “From there, my account little by little began to grow and grow. And then when I was able to go back to work, I had almost 300,000 followers. And from there, I started making more TikToks about the store and everything exploded.”
With the click of a button, Paige has created her own community on the social media platform.
“Right now, I have about half a million people on TikTok,” Paige said.
In her five years as a user, Paige has used her platform to help market her business, Sweet Poison Cupcake. It is an alternative fashion and anime store, inspired by Paige’s passions.
“When I was in high school, I always dreamed that one day I would love to have my own store, one day maybe I would sell clothes. That could be my job. And I didn’t think that one day it would be when I was 19 years old. And now I’m 29 and still doing this, and never in my wildest dreams did I think this would be my life,” Paige smiled.
Since starting her TikTok, she says her business has doubled. He uses his page to advertise new products, connect with people across the country, and even make new friends.
“TikTok has contributed not only to the success of my store, but also to the success of Rochester and other local businesses. On TikTok, that’s attributed to increased in-person traffic and increased awareness of TikTok on social media. And on a personal note, I met my husband on TikTok. So he has changed in more ways than just my business: he has changed my life,” Tempest explained.
She says this has given her the opportunity to collaborate with other brands and learn new skills that will help her get her name out there.
“It’s great how many companies I’ve had the opportunity to work with and the collaboration aspect is so great and, you know, you can take a backseat to see how things work and how the advertising works. And “Then I learned all these tips and then I was able to implement them in my own business, which is really cool,” he explained. “TikTok has made me a lot more confident in myself. I’ve never actually made content where I talk and I always thought that I have an annoying voice and because of TikTok, I’m more open to being funny and being the goofball myself and now, you know, on Instagram I take it perfectly. I pose for pictures like on TikTok, I can be goofy and goofy and people really like it. that”.
However, with a possible ban on his main form of marketing, he is concerned about the financial burdens it could place on his business.
“You’re missing out on an aspect of marketing and that should worry any business because fake social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram prioritize larger businesses,” Paige said. “While Tiktok, I think, gives more voice to smaller businesses, independently owned businesses, and women-owned businesses; people of color to LGBTQ+ businesses, and those businesses need that attention more than larger businesses, and I feel like losing that is potentially problematic, not just for my business, but for any business that fits that criteria.”
She says other platforms have worked, but the cost of ads increases quickly for small business owners.
“It’s a little frustrating dealing with the TikTok ban just because as a business owner we’ve used Facebook and we use Instagram and that worked well for us at first, but as any social media platform goes, it stops to reach all of them. their audience, they really encourage paying for ads; pay a business account. And with TikTok, going viral is a lot more random than just paying,” Paige said.
While the waiting game continues, she is preparing a new worst-case scenario plan.
“If TikTok is banned and we can’t access it from our phones here in the United States, I will continue creating content on Instagram. “I will continue to create content on Facebook,” Paige said. “I will look at other ways to get my voice out there and make my voice heard.”