Reviewed by: Nathan Watson
Our local company has over 93K TikTok followers. Here’s what will happen if it’s banned
Do you remember seeing North Alabama’s unique celebration of Groundhog Day?
This video on the Hville Blast TikTok channel has reached over 623,000 views since being posted on Feb. 2.
Well, you may not get to see this type of video for much longer.
A bill to potentially ban TikTok across the country has passed the U.S. House of Representatives and it now heads to the Senate where its fate is currently unclear.
Across the Bham Now, The Bama Buzz and Hville Blast brands, TikTok is being used to connect to a younger audience. While a ban might not be welcomed, company President and CEO Cindy Martin hopes TikTok users will make the move to other social media sites along with the brands’ websites to stay connected.
“Our aim is to serve our audiences with good, fun, useful content. We promote local businesses, education, events and more. We don’t cover crime nor politics.
TikTok allows us to reach a unique, local urban market. We serve over 93K locals with free, uplifting content.
While we would adhere to the decisions of our government, we would miss the connection with this following and would seek to connect with them through our other digital platforms Including our websites, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.”
~ Cindy Martin, President/CEO
The content also remains free of charge and never requires a registration.
How we use TikTok
The company has 93,000 followers. That accounts for just 15 percent of the company’s total social media following.
Martin said the following on TikTok is special because it allows the brands to reach a youthful and urban audience which may not be seeing the news anywhere else.
This video on The Bama Buzz channel of Tutwiler Hall’s demolition on the campus of the University of Alabama appealed to former, current and even future students of the school. It received over 140,000 views and over 5,000 likes.
You can find TikToks of everything from breaking news to the latest trends to the top local places to eat and drink. Viewers are encouraged to give ideas of what content they want to see and what they recommend!
This video from Bham Now of places to eat around Birmingham has gotten 298,000 views with over 250 comments.
What happens without TikTok?
Long story short: Not much.
The TikTok audience continues to grow but if a ban is put in place by the federal government, you will no longer see the brands on the app. But content will still be pushed across several platforms for our audience!
You can still expect plenty of posts on other social media channels including Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. Plus, the websites average over 1 million unique visitors every month.
A ban would also not have an impact on staff. The company continues to grow and does not expect for that to slow down anytime soon.
What do you think?
We want to hear from you! Last year when a potential ban of the app was first introduced, we posted a poll on our LinkedIn page asking you if you believe the app should be banned nationwide.
40 percent of voters said it should be banned while 48 percent said it should not be banned. 12 percent still needed more time or information to decide.
Do you think TikTok should be banned or not? Tag us on one of our social media platforms—@bhamnow, @thebamabuzz and @hvilleblast—to let us know your thoughts!
