LANSING, Mich. (WILX) – The end of an era is approaching for people who use popular social media app TikTok, but some small business owners in Mid-Michigan aren’t worried about losing customers as a result.
With over 170 million monthly U.S. users, TikTok has managed to rival other popular social media apps, but come Sunday, the U.S. Supreme Court says it will be banned nationwide.
Government officials have pointed to concerns over national security, related to TikTok’s Chinese-owned parent company Byte Dance, as a reason to ban the app for years.
“It definitely seemed like an app that a lot of people enjoyed,” said Lansing-based small business owner Amy McMeeken. “It’s a bummer that a lot of people had accounts they worked really hard at and now have to start over.”
While some people are struggling to let go of the platform, McMeeken is taking it in stride.
TikTok has been a valuable marketing tool for small retail stores like Vintage Junkies, but McMeeken said she’s been careful not to put all her eggs in one basket, working with her marketing team to create content for all available social media platforms.
“We’re always adaptable anyways, because the apps are always changing within themselves, like algorithms and stuff, we have to keep up on that anyways,” she told News 10. “It’s just another new thing and a new avenue to learn.”
Those feelings of optimism are being shared at Preuss Pets, where a number of TikTok videos highlighting the store’s unique critters went viral. Owner Kirbay Preuss is not concerned about the app’s farewell.
“Personally, and even from a business perspective, it really hasn’t rocked my world so to speak,” Preuss said.
Instead, Preuss sees an opportunity for people to come into the decades-old pet store and connect offline, something they’ve become passionate about.
“Our philosophy here is really, disconnect to reconnect,” Preuss told News 10. “Everything we do is sharing our passion with life, animals, and we need to be connected and value that in-person connection to do that.”
It may be a different story for anyone who got a piece of the $16.1 billion pie that TikTok revenue generated in 2023, but for now, it’s onward and upward for local retailers.
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