By Shant Oknayan, General Manager, Global Business Solution at ByteDance MENAT

Don’t get me wrong: I’m passionate about the art and science of advertising. But as we continue to navigate a world increasingly characterised by digital connectivity, consumer decisions and brand preferences are increasingly motivated by emotional drivers. Consumers connect not only to what a brand stands for but how it makes them feel. They’re much more receptive when brands are able to authentically participate in a conversation rather than broadcast explicit advertising messages and, so, ads have had to evolve. I’m here to say that it’s time to stop making “ads” in the traditional sense.

Shant Oknayan, General Manager, Global Business Solution at ByteDance MENAT

We’re witnessing a paradigm shift in the way content is created and consumed. Without a doubt, there’s a profound opportunity for marketers to switch things up and connect with audiences with a new level of agility, authenticity and originality.  

Across the world, but especially in the tech-savvy Middle East, we are seeing a leap in the way people discover and consume digital content. People are signalling with their thumbs, their cameras and their voices that they desire positively-emotive content. In a world of over stimulation, people want to be inspired, amazed and entertained. 

As advertising undergoes perpetual change, the constant that remains is the symbiotic relationship between the craft (the art form and substance of the advertising) and the delivery (the medium of distribution).  

And in comes TikTok; a new entrant to this world delivering a new way of connecting with consumers.  

I feel we’re at an exciting juncture at TikTok. It’s no secret that TikTok is a platform that many marketers have been watching with anticipation. As the world’s leading short-form mobile video platform, I see firsthand how TikTok lives as a destination that cultivates spontaneous content. It’s a place where our community can and does express themselves without inhibition and that ‘realness’ is really resonating. 

And already brands have found initial success in the TikTok community by embracing this very creativity and authenticity that TikTok is known for. 

Now, we’re taking things to the next level by introducing TikTok For Business, which puts together solutions designed to give brands and marketers the ability to be creative storytellers and meaningfully engage with the TikTok community. 

From an expansive set of music, sound effects, voice-overs, to an inclusive and highly participatory community, and much more, TikTok for Business is delivering across every marketing touchpoint and allows for rich and immersive storytelling. This, combined with a fast growing suite of measurement solutions that we’ve been working hard to develop with leading industry third parties, gives marketers an unprecedented opportunity to create and measure impactful content at scale. 

As our growing team introduces TikTok’s capabilities to business leaders and marketers across the world, we’re particularly excited about what TikTok can do to help the region’s burgeoning community of entrepreneurs and small businesses reach audiences. With TikTok For Business, the call to action for brands is simple: don’t make ads, make TikToks!

Another community that we’re incredibly passionate about empowering is entrepreneurs. 

According to the UAE’s Ministry of Economy, the SMEs sector represents more than 94% of the total number of companies operating in the country and provide jobs for more than 86% of the private sector’s workforce. 

The importance of SMEs to the region’s economy is undeniable. Though, with limited resources, brand building and marketing at scale can be a challenge for many startup companies. 

Last week, TikTok launched a new self-serve advertising platform, which now gives businesses of all sizes the resources and flexibility to engage new audiences through features such as an extensive suite of creative tools, flexible budgets, intelligent targeting and dedicated business accounts.

To help SME’s that have faced adversity during COVID-19 recover and encourage them to experiment with creative storytelling on TikTok, we’ve also just launched a Back-to-Business program, extending $100 million in complimentary ad credits to small businesses worldwide to use on their journey to rebuilding.

As we look ahead to the rest of 2020, and beyond, the opportunity for brands – big and small, established and emerging – is clear. The potential behind connecting and collaborating with the rapidly growing and diverse community on TikTok is immense, and I can’t wait to see how the region’s marketers capitalizes on the opportunity in new and creatively memorable ways.