The international version of TikTok is entering the Middle East. Will it be a new opportunity for e-commerce in the Middle East?

TikTok has become a global sensation, with more than 2 billion downloads worldwide in April 2020, according to app intelligence provider Sensor Tower.

According to Route Note data, the Middle East is no exception, with Saudi Arabia ranking eighth in terms of the number of users in 2019.

In 2018, TikTok established a regional office in Dubai to provide services to the Middle East and North Africa.

It has hired talent familiar with the local market, such as Fahd Osman from IBM, Gita Ghaemmaghami from Sony, Rami Zeidan from Anghami, and Shant Oknayan, who was at Facebook, as general manager of its parent company ByteDance.

TikTok has been working to expand its content from dance videos to short-form videos covering food, fashion, music, sports, games and technology.

“We did this through the idea of ​​co-creation,” said Rami Zeidan, TikTok’s head of video and creative.

“There are a lot of really great Arab talents doing great things on the platform, like singing beautifully, interacting with people, and bringing their personalities to life through guitar.”

TikTok has launched a Creator Academy to guide creators on various topics such as writing and post-production.

Zeidan gave the example of Mohammed Abbas from Saudi Arabia, who joined TikTok in late 2018 and wanted to be an actor.

Today, through Creator Academy, Abbas has over 1.2 million followers, which has led to him becoming the face of Rotana’s TikTok Ramadan show, “Who Said?”

After diversifying content and mentoring creators, TikTok turned to advertisers. “Our first priority is to make brands understand that TikTok is a safe environment and a creative haven for creators, and the great work they are doing can be connected to everything brands do,” Zeidan said.

He stressed the role of the platform in marketing campaigns across the entire funnel, from brand awareness to conversions and everything in between.

The internet celebrity economy will also be an opportunity for China's small and medium-sized sellers going to the Middle East. Sellers can use Tiktok to introduce their products, allowing consumers to understand the products more intuitively and increase sales.

But behind this, there needs to be a strong supply chain support, such as supply, logistics transportation, last-mile delivery, and overseas warehouse services that can bring better experience to customers.

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Source: zawya

Reprinted from: Middle East Cross-border E-commerce Exchange