The TikTok app has captured the interest of billions of people worldwide since its release in 2016. It started out as a way for people to express themselves by creating, watching and sharing short videos. Over the years, however, TikTok has grown to be much more than that, becoming one of the most downloaded social media platforms in the world.
“It’s tailored to the person, which is why it got so popular,” says TikTok user and small business owner Lindsey Jenkins. “It wasn’t just like a basic video for everyone—it’s for you, the viewer.”
Unlike other social media apps, TikTok uses a specific algorithm that creates a feed of videos based on a user’s individual interests. The platform displays content they predict a user will find engaging based on the user’s past interactions. Theoretically, a user ‘creates’ their own feed.
“They’ll take what you like, what you repost, and what you comment on and use that to show you the video that you’re going to want to see,” Jenkins explains.
“Before, nobody had anything like this,” says TikTok user Cadence Bennett.
The app’s unique design has provided a way for people to entertain, inform, and promote.
“If you want your business to thrive, there are so many different ways you can do it, but, really, it’s through different platforms of social media,” says Jenkins.
Jenkins and her husband are founders of their own photography company, Elle Tee Photography. Jenkins says she started using TikTok for her business over a year ago to reach potential clients and share ideas with others who have similar interests, such as different ways to edit photos or strategies to draw clients in.
“There’s even photographers I follow on TikTok where I’ll see their little trends that they’re doing, and I get inspiration,” she says.
She says posting content also serves as a way to show her viewers she’s engaged and in tune with her clients’ wants and needs.
A ban could have detrimental effects for Jenkins and other business owners.
“There will be devastation, for sure, because I feel like a lot of people have clung to it,” says Bennett. “There’s million and millions of people out there who have quit their jobs and started small businesses.”
Additionally, the app can be used as a way to seek help from the community and spread awareness about important personal or societal issues.
Jenkins says she recently discovered a video on her feed that featured a man asking for help to pay for medical treatments.
“He was making money off of the app to pay for his cancer treatment and would get millions of views and likes,” says Jenkins. She continues, “I think it’s so cool as a collective when people can come together for the greater good for something, and there’s a lot of greater good on TikTok of people helping people.”
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