MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — After going offline for less than a day, TikTok has restored service for users, but how long that may last is up in the air.
Newschannel 5 has been sharing several stories over the last few days, hearing from local content creators and businesses that rely on TikTok.
Level 13 Hair Studio physically sits in Murfreesboro, but digitally it's got a gigantic, worldwide reach thanks to social media.
“I posted a lot of just hair curling, washing, things like that, rinsing, those were big. And then we started doing skits here in the salon,” said Cassie Gibbs, a hairstylist and manager at Level 13 Hair Studio.
Filming one of those skits she tripped, creating a fail video that went viral on TikTok.
"I think, like 10 million people saw me fall,” Gibbs said.
In addition to entertaining people, it helped raise the profile of the salon on the app.
Owner Meme Shahan said she posted a simple tour video on TikTok and it brought in so much business it almost crashed the salon's website.
“We had 200 appointment requests within 24 hours. It was life-changing for my stylists. They went from booking out a couple days in advance to weeks and months booking out,” said Shahan, owner of Level 13 Hair Studio.
Shahan encourages stylists at her salon to build their own followings on social media platforms.
To plan for TikTok's departure Shahan said many at the salon are working to diversify where they post.
"We have ensured that we haven't put all of our eggs in one basket by only growing our TikTok, we have also had a presence on Instagram and Facebook,” Shahan said.
However, there's something about TikTok that separates it from the rest.
"Once you truly figure out the algorithm and how to work social media like TikTok, you can truly drive everyone straight to where you want them to be," Shahan said.
Posting on the app drives people to Gina Macias.
Macias is a nail artist, she said TikTok helps bring in nearly half of her clients in one way or another.
“Part of that percentage would be people that actually come in because of TikTok because they found me on TikTok, part of it is, that's where they find their inspirations," Macias said.
During our interview, the app came back online.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at robb.coles@newschannel5.com.
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-Carrie Sharp
