TikTok aims to engage more local content creators: Official

Jamil Khan, Senior Reporter

Youngsters in the country as well as all over the world are by storm embracing the new mobile application to showcase their hidden talents to reach masses in a record short time as TikTok’s popularity is surging, not just in the region but the world over. And it’s no surprise given the positive, joyful and safe experience it provides to its users.

This was stated by Gita Ghaemmaghami, Regional Communications Director at TikTok MENA, in an exclusive interview with Gulf Today.

TikTok is the world’s leading destination for short-form mobile videos and one of the most downloaded apps in the world. It is a platform where users create, share and consumer short 15-seconds videos on the go. The platform also enables everyone to express their creativity and share fun and entertaining moments.

“An aspect that feeds into TikTok’s popularity is the fact that we are attuned to local sensitivities and we expend every effort to ensure that our content is culturally appropriate. In fact, we are constantly looking for regionally relevant partnership opportunity and host a wide array of challenges that appeal to local audiences. We also have teams on the ground in the region to monitor the kind of content that’s on our platform to ensure it is inoffensive and resonates with local Arab values,” she said.

They have dedicated team in Dubai along with Arabic-speaking Content and Partnerships who identify and nurture local content creators across the region.

“This helps them get the best out of TikTok. When it comes to specific countries, we are currently focusing on Egypt, KSA and the UAE. And this is all down to the wholesome and relevant content TikTok delivers to its regional users,” she added.

Responding a question related to most popular segment and age group using the application, the response, she said, “at TikTok, we are committed to encourage our content creators to express their creativity across a variety of verticals from music to food, education, travel and comedy. In the UAE, there isn’t one particular segment which is the most popular and we’ve seen users post very creative and engaging diversified content.”  

“When it comes to the demographics of our users, most of our fans are young at heart, creative and extremely tech-savvy, irrespective of their nationality or age. TikTok is a platform for everyone who is looking to create very engaging video content through their mobile phones,” she added.

On safety issue, the official said, “safety is of paramount importance, irrespective of the region. For us, creating a safe in-app experience is key, and to achieve this we use a combination of policies, technologies, and moderation strategies, which help us review and root out problematic content and accounts. To ensure that safety remains a top priority, we implement appropriate penalties for people who breach our policies.”

They have introduced a variety of industry-leading features such as screen time management, restricted viewing mode, comment filters, privacy controls, in app-reporting of content deemed inappropriate as well as an age gate, setting the minimum age requirements of 13 years old to login. Finally, we offer our consumers access to the TikTok safety centre which consists of safety policies, tolls and resources to equip users with product education and protection measures when using TikTok.

The firm behind the mobile application has had several partnerships and challenges that were directly aimed at the local markets and users. “For instance, the #TikTokCares challenge during the Holy Month of Ramadan saw our content creators provide tips on how to stay safe in the summer while fasting – it proved immensely popular.

“Earlier this year, we also joined hands with Arab Hope Makers initiative to launch the #arabhopemakers challenge, which encourages the community to share their good deeds via short videos on TikTok. We also partnered with DTCM to celebrate Dubai and showcase everything the city has to offer by hosting the #ThisIsDubaichallenge which clocked over 54 million views,” she said.