NOW. THANKS FOR WATCHING. IN FIVE. TIKTOK MAY BE BANNED IN THE US BY SUNDAY. SUPREME COURT ENDORSES APP BAN LAW, WHICH WILL AFFECT MILLIONS IN THE COUNTRY WHO ARE ON TIKTOK. MANY CENTRAL IOWA BUSINESS OWNERS INCLUDING KCCI. KAYLA JAMES SPOKE TO SOME WHO SAY LOSING TIKTOK LIMITS A FEW LIMITED THINGS. KAYLA LIKES EXPOSURE. LAURA, THE TWO BUSINESS OWNERS I TALKED TO, BOTH SAID THEY HAVE BANNED PEOPLE WHO SAID THEY SAID A VIDEO ON TIKTOK. BIDE TELL ME YOU HAD PEOPLE WHO WERE IN THE AREA FROM DIFFERENT STATES ALL THROUGH THE PROHIBITED APP AS QUICKLY POSSIBLE. IF YOU COME FOR COFFEE OR FOR METE. VINTAGE ROAD COFFEE OWNER MELANIE CLARKE KNOWS IT’S THE PEOPLE WHO VISIT HER MERCYONE, WEST MADRID STORES AND MOBILE TRAILER THAT KEEP THE FOUR-YEAR-OLD BUSINESS KEPT. I WALKED THROUGH AYRESVILLE AND ITS TICKET VIDEOS LIKE THIS, showing an employee making one of the off-menu drinks. THAT REALLY HELPS ATTRACT COFFEE LOVERS, AND PEOPLE WILL COME AND ASK FOR THE BEVERAGES WE’RE MAKING, SO WE KNOW IT’S WORKING, I SAID OUR FAVORITE POP TARTS. CLARKE SAYS SHE KNOWS ABOUT 1,000 TIKTOK FOLLOWERS. THEY HAVE. IT’S NOT MUCH, BUT THE VIDEOS YOU SHARE THROUGH THE APP REALLY MAKES A DIFFERENCE. THEY REACH AN AUDIENCE OF 80% NEW PEOPLE VERSUS AN AUDIENCE OF OUR 20% OF PEOPLE ALREADY FOLLOWING US. THIS IS WHY CLARK SAYS BANNING TIKTOK WILL AFFECT SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS. UNKNOWN LEGISLATORS TAKE ACTION ON NATIONAL SECURITY SECURITY, THERE IS TRULY NO SAFE PLACE FOR YOUR DATA. I FEEL LIKE MOST OF THE TIME, YOU KNOW, YOU TAKE THAT DANGER WHEN YOU PUT YOURSELF OUT THERE. IT IS DIFFICULT. IT’S A DIFFICULT POSITION FOR BUSINESS OWNERS, DIFFICULT POSITION. STACEY’S BRIDAL STORE OWNER, CASSIDY MARKS, KNOWS A LOT ABOUT WEDDING AND PROM DRESSES. BE BRAVE, BE BRAVE. FIND A PART OF THE STATEMENT AND MORE. MARK SAYS THE SOCIAL MEDIA TEAM HAS HELPED THE STORE GET ALMOST 250,000 TIKTOK FOLLOWERS, WITH THIS VIDEO SHOWING ONE OF THEIR MODELS WITH THE FUSHAN, GETTING 2 MILLION VIEWS. I CAN REALLY RECOGNIZE WHAT SOCIAL MEDIA DOES TO SPECIAL YOUNG MINDS AS A PERSON, I AM AWARE OF THE FACT THAT OTHER STATES COULD POTENTIALLY HAVE ACCESS TO ANY INFORMATION, B. LOSS OF GREATER ABILITY TO ABOUT OUR CUSTOMER BASE. MARKS SAYS ONE THING SHE AND HER TEAM REALLY FOCUS ON IS BODY POSITIVITY, ESPECIALLY ON SOCIAL MEDIA. WITH THE TIKTOK BAN IN EFFECT, SUNDAYS, MARKS AND OTHER BUSINESS OWNERS USING THE APP NOW WISH SOMEONE WOULD HURRY UP AND CREATE AN ALTERNATIVE SOCIAL. Like TIKTOK. THIS IS BASIC TO US. LIKE, WHY HAS THIS NOT HAPPENED YET? NOW, PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN HAS SAID HIS ADMINISTRATION WILL NOT ENFORCE THE LAW WHEN IT IS IN EFFECT. ON HIS LAST DAY IN OFFICE AFTER A SUPREME COURT RULING TODAY, PRESIDENT-ELECT DONALD TRUMP said he needs time to review the situation. LAURA. WE WILL SEE WHAT HAPPENS. KAYLA. THANK YOU. KCCI HAS FOLLOWED THIS STORY SINCE THE TIKTOK BAN WAS FIRST PROPOSED. WE TALKED TO LOCAL INFLUENCERS LEADING TO THE HIGH COURT DECISION ABOUT THEIR CONCERNS ABOUT THE FUTURE OF THE PLATFORM. YOU CAN FIND IT
Iowa business owners who use TikTok share what banning the app could do to businesses
“What I wish is for someone to hurry up and find an alternative social media platform like TikTok that is based in the US,” said one business owner.
With the United States Supreme Court upholding the law banning TikTok starting Sunday, business owners who use the app to expand their business and exposure are worried about the change. Some of those business owners are right here in Iowa. Whether people come for coffee or a treat, Vintage Road Coffee owner Melanie Clark knows it’s the people who visit her shops in MercyOne West, Madrid and the mobile trailer that keeps the business going. “People will come and ask for the drinks we’re making, so we know it’s working,” Clark said. Clark opened her business in 2021. The company’s TikTok page has nearly 1,000 followers. While she knows she’s not a huge following, Clark says the videos she and her employees post to the site really make a difference. “The videos we put out, they reach like an 80% audience of new people versus a 20% audience of people who already follow us,” Clark said. Business owners believe the TikTok ban will affect them, despite knowing lawmakers took the action because of national security concerns. “There’s really no safe place for your data,” Clark said. “I feel like most of the time, you risk it when you put yourself out there.” “It’s tough. It’s a tough position for business owners,” said Cassidy Marks, owner of Stacey’s Bridal, Prom & Formalwear in Urbandale. Marks has owned Stacey’s Bridal, which has been around for decades, for the past three years. They sell wedding dresses, prom dresses, formal wear for men and more. “One of the things we do here is we really focus on self-esteem and body image,” Marks said. “Being able to have people come in and shop for their daughters and tearfully say, ‘Do you have anything that fits my daughter?’ Other stores stop at size 14.” I get a big smile on my face and say, ‘Let me show you all the sizes: triple 0 to 30.'” Marks says the social media team has helped the store’s TikTok account gain nearly 250,000 followers. Recently, a video featuring their model has received two million views. “I’m aware of the fact that other countries may be able to get access to information that we don’t want them to have from ours,” Marks said. “However, as a business owner, we would lose our greatest ability to connect with our customer base.” With the TikTok ban set to go into effect on Sunday, Marks and other business owners who use the app now have a wish. “What I wish is for someone to hurry up and find an alternative social media platform like TikTok that is based in the US,” Marks said. KCCI FOR SOCIAL MEDIA:Facebook | YouTube | Instagram | X/Twitter
With the United States Supreme Court upholding the law banning TikTok starting Sunday, business owners who use the app to expand their business and exposure are worried about the change. Some of those business owners are right here in Iowa.
Whether people come for coffee or a treat, Vintage Road Coffee owner Melanie Clark knows it’s the people who visit her shops in MercyOne West, Madrid and the mobile trailer that keeps the business going.
“People will come and ask for the drinks we’re making, so we know it’s working,” Clark said.
Clark opened her business in 2021. The company’s TikTok page has nearly 1,000 followers.
While she knows she’s not a huge following, Clark says the videos she and her employees post to the site really make a difference.
“The videos that we put out, they reach like an 80% audience of new people versus a 20% audience of people who already follow us,” Clark said.
Business owners believe the TikTok ban will affect them, despite knowing lawmakers took the action because of national security concerns.
“There’s really no safe place for your data,” Clark said. “I feel like most of the time, you risk it when you put yourself out there.”
“It’s tough. It’s a tough position for business owners,” said Cassidy Marks, owner of Stacey’s Bridal, Prom & Formalwear in Urbandale.
Marks has owned Stacey’s Bridal, which has been around for decades, for the past three years. They sell wedding dresses, prom dresses, formal wear for men and more.
“One of the things we do here is we really focus on self-esteem and body image,” Marks said. “Being able to have people come in and shop for their daughters and tearfully say, ‘Do you have anything that fits my daughter?’ Other stores stop at size 14.” I get a big smile on my face and say, “Let me show you all the sizes: triple 0 to 30.”
Marks says the social media team has helped the store’s TikTok account gain nearly 250,000 followers. Recently, a video featuring their model has received two million views.
“I’m aware of the fact that other countries may be able to get access to information that we don’t want them to have from ours,” Marks said. “However, as a business owner, we would lose our greatest ability to connect with our customer base.”
With the TikTok ban set to go into effect on Sunday, Marks and other business owners who use the app now have a wish.
“What I wish is for someone to hurry up and find an alternative social media platform like TikTok that is based in the US,” Marks said.
KCCI FOR SOCIAL MEDIA:
Facebook | to YouTube | Instagram | X/Twitter
