With 3 billion global installs, TikTok is the number one downloaded app in the world and is a vital communications channel. Here we talk to Hany Kamel, Content Operations Director at TikTok MENA about the company’s strategy, how they support local creators and how to build and retain an audience on the platform.
Rapid growth
TikTok, the video-based social media platform where users post short video clips to a vast audience, is growing rapidly within the region. With 3 billion global installs, the app is growing at an incredible rate and one of the most popular regional creators, SarahhMiladd, has seen her following grow from 4 million in February of 2020 to 7.4 million at the time of writing.
“Our growing influence across the region stems from our unique, engaging short-form video content offering. TikTok provides an environment in which users are comfortable being themselves,” says Hany Kamel, Content Operations Director at TikTok MENA. Spontaneous, fresh, and perceived as ‘authentic’, TikTok content is quick and easy to consume and the most popular uses update their channels constantly.
Authentic experiences
The rapid-fire videos offer a seemingly authentic experience for fans and successful creators largely post engaging, fun videos. “What’s more, our highly engaged TikTok community has brought about an entirely new way for creators to connect with their fans, brands, and one another,” says Kamel. Fan interactions, a growing install base and the rapidity with which new content appears online means that TikTok users are constantly engaging with fans and brands.
The platform offers users the means to discover trending content, allowing them to remain in the know about what their favourite influencers are talking about, “The TikTok Trending Hub is a one stop shop for the up-to-the minute trends, challenges and content that is happening on the platform right now. Part of TikTok’s magic is the ease of discoverability – allowing aspiring creators to be easily discovered on TikTok and share amazingly creative and authentic content – and the Trending Hub only elevates this element of our offering,” explains Kamel. Designed for easy discovery of new topics, the Trending Hub allows users to remain up to date on current trends in the region and further afield.
Businesses get onboard
From a business perspective, it can seem intimidating when trying to remain relevant and engaged on such a fast-moving platform. However, that shouldn’t be the case, according to Kamel, “We have seen that users’ attention spans are more committed to content on TikTok and less likely to be interrupted or distracted by other devices. Through a full screen, sound on experience, TiKTok’s audience is actively engaged in the platform and their usage behaviour is more participatory,” he says. To cater to this higher level of engagement, the company has extended their maximum video length to three minutes, allowing for longer engagement and more creative videos.
The question then becomes, “How do you grab attention and retain it?” Kamel has a few suggestions, “TikTok’s videos are typically built around music that is trending which initially grabs the user’s attention, so I would say music is one main factor that contributes to retention. Another way to retain the user’s attention span would be including a title or text on the first few frames that builds intrigue about what will happen in the video – hooking your audience in the first three seconds is always more likely to get them to continue watching until the end. Lastly, I believe fun and authenticity is what makes TikTok unique and what keeps our users engaged throughout the end,” he says.
The local community
The company works hard to support local content creators and has launched a series of initiatives to encourage local talent. The Trending Hub showcases content that’s relevant to a changing series of bi-weekly trends that highlight hot topics and regional trending themes. The Meet the Talent series provides creators with a supported platform where they can engage with fans on subjects of mutual interest and the TikTok Hero Awards honour the creativity of creators and help to open up a wider audience.
“What’s more, as part of our focus to incubate talent and build a better ecosystem on the platform, we run the TikTok Creators Academy, a dedicated programme to help content creators design and deploy a content strategy on TikTok. Moving forward The Academy will offer brands, content creators, universities and publishers, individual or group workshops to educate them on how they can become storytellers and entertainers on the platform,” says Kamel. The various initiatives have been well-received, according to Kamel, with the Trending Hub content reaching nearly 500,000 users on a weekly bases and furthering the reach of local trends through the use of hashtags.
The future
Going forward, Kamel is confident about the company’s mission to “inspire creativity and share joy will continue to resonate with people in the Middle East and across the world” given the creativity of its users and the strong degree of community involvement. TikTok continues to work to create a positive environment for all, “This includes extensive family pairing options that allow parents the opportunity to monitor the experience their teenager has on the platform, as well as updating our self-care and mental wellbeing resources on a global scale,” says Kamel, mentioning that efforts to further improve the protection and support they offer are ongoing.
The future looks bright for TikTok and its users and this certainly scope for engagement on an unprecedented scale, provided that companies can engage and provide fun, enjoyable content with an underlying message of positivity.
