Concerns about security on the app TikTok continue to mount as provincial and municipal governments consider or implement plans to restrict employees from accessing the platform on their work devices.

At the end of February, the federal government officially announced it was removing TikTok from all its mobile devices, joining a growing list of governments worldwide doing the same, despite assurances from the Chinese company Bytedance which owns the app that it does not share data with the Chinese government or store it in the country. 

All Canadian provinces are implementing or considering bans, however, at this time it remains unclear if the Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut will do the same.

Other organizations, including Waterloo Regional Police Service and Conestoga College, have also banned the app on work devices.

But what does this mean for businesses, many of whom now rely on the popular social media platform to promote their business?

We asked Cambridge Chamber of Commerce Members and marketing experts, Ashley Gould of Cinis Marketing and Cathy Lumb of Cali Marketing Communications, to share their insight:

Q. What are some of the key benefits for businesses who use TikTok?

Ashley: TikTok is a great form of marketing for businesses looking to attract a younger audience. They also currently have a huge user base and extremely high engagement, so it is an easier platform to grow your audience on.

The third benefit is that less businesses are using TikTok which translates to less competition, meaning that your posts will be seen more favourably and if you engage in paid ads the cost per engagement will be lower.

Cathy: TikTok lets you tell your business’s story with short, fun, and entertaining content that will attract and keep people’s attention. It’s ideal for fun interactive activities and challenges to keep your audience involved and growing. A benefit for your customers is that they won’t feel they are being advertised to, as with some traditional advertising.

Businesses can get a great idea of what their customers like about their products or services as well as what needs to be improved. But it’s important to answer the question: Is my audience on TikTok?

Q, What has made it such an attractive social media tool for them, and can they rely on it too much?

Ashley: The pandemic helped tremendously with the success of TikTok as a platform. Suddenly, people found themselves with extra time and TikTok was a great place to find the most recent dance or trend that you could then try for yourself. Now, TikTok has a billion active users, who are on the app daily looking to be entertained.

Relying on TikTok as your main form of marketing only works for a very small number of businesses, specifically those who can ship internationally and who are geared to a younger audience.

Though TikTok can be helpful for other businesses, it is equally important to spend time on platforms like Instagram Reels that take into account, geographic location on a broader scale.

Cathy: It feels more personal and is interactive, videos can be quickly created to be current and in the moment. (You still do need to carefully plan and create engaging material on TikTok.) It is easy to create content with TikTok’s dynamic music and graphics. It’s also a great way to work with influencers who are using your product or service.

If your main target audience is on TikTok then it would be hard not to be there. If TikTok is your only social media platform and at some point, feel you want to get off, it is best to be building your audience on other platforms.

Q. Should businesses be concerned about their information being compromised and shared?

Ashley: Mainstream media has made it readily known that the majority of apps access more data on our devices than they need to. That said, what is on your device should play into that decision. If your phone holds confidential information that could compromise the government, or a hospital, yes keep TikTok off that device.

If the most private thing you have is your banking app, studies thus far have shown you are OK to keep the app at this time.

Cathy: This is a big concern as we never want our or our customers’ confidential information to be compromised and used by others. We have already seen many examples of data being collected by other companies and put at risk by being passed on to third parties, without their customers’ consent. TikTok is very good at collecting a lot of information about its users and we can’t be sure where it will end up. More investigation is needed. 

Q. What are some steps businesses can take to protect themselves? Or can they?

Ashley: There is definitely something to be said about keeping TikTok on your personal device only and off your work device. TikTok has developed several strategies for keeping your information more private from an audience perspective, but not from a downloading and data collection perspective.

Cathy: As with all social media platforms and search engines, TikTok collects a lot of information from its users so they can effectively target ads. It is impossible for a business or individual to fully protect themselves as there is no way to opt out of all the information TikTok collects.

It’s up to each business and individual to manage their privacy, security and cookies consent on TikTok as well as their browser settings. Even so, it’s impossible to fully protect yourself from your data being collected and possibly shared as there is no opt out for all information being gathered.

A business or individual can minimize some risk by choosing not to post easily identifiable locations in TikTok videos. Individuals can set their TikTok to private to reduce risk.  

Q. Do you see businesses moving away from using this platform?

Ashley: The answer to this question is complicated as it is extremely industry specific. If government employees can no longer download TikTok on their devices, then businesses that are using social media as a means of marketing to this demographic will have to find alternative routes.

That said, for the majority of businesses the opposite is true, where more and more businesses are starting to create TikTok strategies.

Cathy: I think it will be a tough call to make if a business’s customers and competitors continue to use TikTok, especially if the business is benefitting. A lot will depend on what we learn in the coming weeks about TikTok, as well as what the consumer decides to do. I do think that if a business is not benefitting in a tangible way, then they may be more inclined to move away from it. 

We know that Facebook has faced criticism over the past few years, as has Twitter, but it has not stopped people from using these platforms.

However, major advertisers recently moved away from Twitter in droves, so we can see that if businesses are not happy with a social media platform, they will take action. Many individuals on social media do not feel the need to stop using it and some find it hard to understand how they can be of any interest to TikTok or Facebook. 

Q. Are there any social media platforms that are ‘foolproof’ when it comes to security concerns?

Ashley:  In my opinion, no. Apps are always collecting data, it is part of how they are created, and that data is meant to further your user experience. Therefore, there is always some kind of security concern with an app. 

Cathy: All social media platforms have their strong and weak points regarding security, and all are collecting data about us. Users of social media need to adjust the security, privacy, and advertising cookie settings to the levels they are most comfortable with.

Businesses on social media platforms need to keep a close eye on their social media accounts, monitor frequently and address any concerns right away. 

Regularly review your analytics to determine if your business’s marketing objectives are being achieved on social media.

The arrival of the pandemic has altered our lives in many ways, especially how business is now being conducted.

As more businesses and organizations look for ways to present their message to potential customers and supporters, creating quality videos should be the method near the top of their list.

“In light of COVID-19, we have seen the world turn to video as a lifeline not only professionally, but personally,” says expert video strategist Sheryl Plouffe. “It is the way of the future and businesses that do not integrate video will fail over the next decade.”

The international speaker and successful entrepreneur will share some of her valuable insight at our next YIP Growth Learning Series event that focuses on video messaging, which experts say is a great way to connect on an emotional level with your audience compared to other content.

“I see a lot of people watching their competition using video, taking their prospects and clients away from them because they’re not willing to face their fear or nervousness about stepping in front of the camera,” says Sheryl. “A lot of people are hanging onto a level of perfectionism that is hindering their growth.”

Known for using simple, yet strategic storytelling, she will share some of her best on-camera strategies to assist participants in creating polished and professional products, with an emphasis on how video messaging can benefit their business by making bigger impacts.

“My intent is that they’ll feel motivated to take those first few important steps towards building a video strategy that builds their platform and brand,” says Sheryl, adding she’s an ‘open book’ when it comes video. “I also consider myself a video marketing crash test dummy to some degree, so I feel like people who come to this presentation will benefit from asking me anything.”

Find out more by joining our session, YIP Growth Learning Series: Video Messaging, on Tuesday, April 6 from 11 a.m. to noon. sponsored by Deluxe.

To register, visit: https://bit.ly/3smSWPY

Depression. Anxiety. Addiction.

These issues have intensified over the course of the last few months as COVID-19 continues to take its toll on our mental health, just ask Angela Englander, a registered psychotherapist and trauma specialist who operates Ways to Wellbeing Therapy in Cambridge and Tillsonburg.

“I’ve had clients who were perfectly stable pre-pandemic and now have completely fallen apart,” she says, noting some are in the healthcare profession which is facing much strain as this health crisis continues. “I’ve talked to a lot of doctors and nurses who want to go on leave. These people are the webbing of our health system and if their mental health crashes, everyone is going to fall through that gap.”

Identifying what mental health is, as well as trauma and therapy, will form the base of her discussion at our YIP Growth Learning series event on November 19.

“People have such a small amount of knowledge they’re working from when it comes to mental health,” she says, adding the amount of stress people are under right now is skyrocketing as the second wave of the pandemic appears to be escalating.

According to a CTV report, a recent federal study has highlighted a jump in alcohol and drug use during COVID-19, as well as an increase in opioid deaths. Also, according to that same CTV story, overdose calls in Waterloo Region have spiked higher since August and 68 people have fatally overdosed so far this year compared to 63 deaths in 2019.

Angela says at the start of the pandemic in March adrenaline was high as people went into ‘crisis mode’, putting their emotions on the backburner as they adapted to this new reality.

“But the bigger risks will be over the next year because that excitement and adrenaline has started to wear out,” she says. “People are starting to feel more hopeless and facing depression and anxiety.”

Angela says the approaching winter will only add to that negative situation since unlike the past few months, many won’t have the option to go outdoors and enjoy the sunshine and nicer weather.

“I’ve already talked to people who say they’re experiencing SAD (seasonal affective disorder) and are already getting their winter blues and we’re only in October.”

Besides current concerns such as increased addiction issues and a rise in suicides, Angela fears the ripple effect of COVID-19 could manifest in other mental health problems over the next several generations.

“Many people may become germaphobes or even become agoraphobic,” she says, adding people must learn to accept the negative emotions they may be facing now in order to deal with them in a healthy way.

“We are a very emotion-phobic society. The truth is you have to be willing to step towards those emotions and feel them and accept the reality that is.”

During her YIP presentation, Angela hopes to break down how the brain functions into several categories pertaining to mental health and outline how trauma works.

She intends to provide participants with some valuable takeaways.

“They’re going to get a lot of self-awareness and coping skills,” says Angela, noting more typical coping skills such ‘date nights’ with a partner or hanging out with a few family members may not be sufficient enough for some during this pandemic.

She says self-care and emotional awareness will play key roles in the presentation in hopes of giving people more understanding.

“No one is above this virus,” says Angela.

Our YIP Growth Learning series virtual event ‘Mental Health for Young Professionals’ sponsored by Deluxe will take place Thursday, Nov. 19, from 9-10 a.m. For more, visit: https://bit.ly/3efsfGG

What is a young professional?

What is a young professional is a term that can be answered in many ways but typically they are someone who is between the ages of 20-40 years old. Age is not so much a factor in my mind to be a young professional as there are some people who enter the professional world at 20 years old and there are others who enter at 30-35 years old. A young professional is someone who is in the learning and development stages of their careers. These people are motivated to meet others, are innovative, want to be a part of the community, and are humble in knowing that there are others who can provide mentorship and leadership to help develop their own skills. They are hungry for knowledge and the opportunity to meet other business professionals to develop their clientele and social network. Young professionals are the people working early in the morning and late at night to make a name for themselves in the community and in their business life. Through proper networking, education, mentorship, and community involvement, young professionals will be the future business decision makers.
 

Why Should we Network?

Networking can be one of the most powerful ways to spend one’s time to help grow as a person both in their personal lives and their business lives. For me, networking helps in the following ways:

1. Building a social network- as a young professional especially, you are at the early stages of your career and are finding ways to make yourself of value to the business you work for. Networking is the answer. You need to build a social network of people that are like-minded, have similar goals, and can possible provide you leads and business in the future. It is important to know a variety of people in a variety of different fields as everyone has something to offer.
2. Lead Generation- Networking is a fantastic way to build your business and your personal profile. Whether you are a brick layer, a fashion designer, or a sales rep, you need to let people know what you do in order to have them think of you when opportunities arise in their day-to-day activities. The more people you touch on a regular basis to remind them of the services you provide, the more opportunities will come your way.  Through networking, you will build relationships with others, have opportunities to talk to people you may have been trying to get a hold of, or just learn about what is going on in your community that will spark up opportunities for you to provide a service.
3. Personal growth- As a young professional, we still have a lot to learn and are dealing with obstacles that many go through everyday. We are very confident people but also understand that there are people who have been doing this a lot longer then we have. Networking allows you the opportunity to meet people who have seen and done things you may not have. You can talk to them about their experiences, their mistakes, and how you can apply that to your life and business. You can meet people who are where you want to be in twenty years and they can provide you with advice on how to get there. Sometimes it is just nice to talk to someone who is in the exact same position as you; young, working long hours, trying to make a name for yourself. Let it out, work through problems together, LEARN.

This world is full of interesting people that can make a huge difference in your life and the only way to meet them is to put yourself out there and network. Your future best friend, boss, wife, mentor, sale could be right next door.