As TikTok attempts to pause a fast-approaching deadline that forces it to separate from its Beijing-based mother or father firm ByteDance or face a ban in the USA, small enterprise house owners are beginning to put together for the worst. The Supreme Courtroom listened to arguments on Friday and is anticipated to rule on the case by the top of subsequent week.

Within the meantime, creators are building email lists, becoming a member of different social platforms, and beginning newsletters.

Lizz Smoak, co-founder of branding and advertising company, Maiden Media, and a mentor and chairwoman for volunteer enterprise mentor group SCORE mentioned the ban is about greater than the app.

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“It is in regards to the companies and creators that depend on it,” Smoak informed Entrepreneur. “I’ve seen how crucial platforms like TikTok are for entrepreneurs. They’re greater than advertising instruments; they’re lifelines for companies.”

Creators who protested outdoors the Supreme Courtroom Friday in Washington mentioned the identical. Andrea Celeste Olde, a TikTok content material creator, told the New York Times that the platform helped her launch her enterprise after being a stay-at-home mother for 10 years.

“TikTok is the place I created my group,” she informed the publication. “I’ve made friendships. I’ve enterprise companions. That is how we join.”

Smoak says that TikTok’s algorithm makes it one of many solely platforms the place small enterprise house owners and rising entrepreneurs can go viral with out spending a fortune pushing their content material, and a ban would throw “hundreds of companies off observe.”

In December, TikTok warned in a court filing that if the ban goes by means of, creators and small companies within the U.S. may lose $1.3 billion in income and earnings—in a single month.

Associated: Looming TikTok Ban Has Creators Questioning How Much of Their Business They Really Control

Nonetheless, a Statista survey, performed from April to Might 2023 amongst U.S. TikTok customers discovered that 73% of respondents thought TikTok was addictive and 27% mentioned they skilled unfavorable psychological well being results due to the app.

“A ban might be a wake-up name for more healthy on-line habits,” Smoak acknowledged.

The founder and CEO of handwritten notes service Handwrytten, David Wachs, told Entrepreneur last week that manufacturers ought to strengthen the group they’ve grown on TikTok by internet hosting digital occasions like webinars, reside Q&A periods, and digital product launches that encourage real-time interplay.

“The potential ban of TikTok has despatched ripples by means of the advertising world, urging manufacturers to rethink their methods,” Wachs mentioned. “Whereas it might appear to be a setback, this shift opens up a invaluable alternative for manufacturers to boost direct engagement with their viewers.”

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Different specialists recommend reaching out to large manufacturers with influencer marketing applications, like Walmart and Amazon, to diversify your content material and choices.