BCBusiness
From electric trucks to Indigenous fashion, B.C. small businesses are turning TikTok virality into real economic impact—$228M and counting.
British Columbia-based small businesses are having a moment on TikTok. According to a new report, The Economic Impact of TikTok in Canada by TikTok and Nordicity, likes, re-shares, stitches and other engagements are translating to dollars.
The report notes that B.C. ranks among the platform’s top three “economic powerhouses” in Canada, responsible for 16 percent of TikTok’s national GDP impact, which includes $228.2 million contributed by small businesses alone.
Also in the top three provinces contributing to the platform’s economic impact are Ontario (accounting for 39 percent of the total national GDP impact) and Quebec with 21 percent—that’s coming from an estimated 613,000 small businesses across the nation who leverage TikTok to market themselves.
Behind those big numbers are a handful of B.C.-based entrepreneurs who are taking to the platform to build their communities and market their products.
Merritt-based clean tech company, Edison Motors, for example, took their electric hybrid truck for a test-run. The video that took the audience along for the ride earned more than 7.6 million views. The company—founded by Chace Barber—is responsible for building Canada’s first production electric hybrid truck, and is set to contribute roughly $7 million to the province’s economy this year.
“There is no other platform where I can share ideas and have active, ongoing conversations with my community,” Barber, who shares behind-the-scenes footage of builds and road tests, says in the report. Barber himself has more than 826K followers on the platform.
@_edison.motorsTest tract location #edisonmotors♬ Light fiddle bluegrass solo(889154) – 2strings
Also reeling in the likes and shares is Kamloops-based Indigenous entrepreneur Ashley Michel of 4 Generations Creations.
“If I didn’t share my story [on TikTok], 4 Generations Creations wouldn’t be as successful,” she says of the account, which has nearly 180K followers. “I am the business.”
She was able to take her online Indigenous apparel business to brick-and-mortar by translating digital engagement to sales, allowing her to open a 6,200-square-foot retail space that now stocks more than 40 other Indigenous brands.
@4generationscreationsLearnt it all on her own 🥺💖 video inspo: @lakeeyshamarie #fancyshawl #powwow #netivetiktok #myristorantecreation♬ Trumpet Echo – Ashtonic_
Vancouver cafe, CowDog, is similarly sharing their personal stories behind-the-counter of their living-wage operation. The owners behind the brand shared how they opened up shop with no money in a carousel, which now has more than 68K views.
Another Vancouver-based company, Somedays, made period pain go viral on TikTok with the brand’s period pain simulator. The brand, which sells period pain relief products has more than 760K followers, and normalizes conversations about menstrual health on their page.
@getsomedaysYou asked for the 💩 simulations 👀 #periodpain #periodtiktok #periodsimulator #endo #periodpoop♬ original sound – Somedays | Period Pain Relief
Eighty-four percent of small businesses surveyed in the report said that promotion on TikTok is essential to their survival.
As digital platforms like TikTok continue to reshape how small businesses connect with audiences, British Columbia is among the leading population showing the rest of the country what’s possible when you let audiences come behind the scenes.
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