Who is cashing in on TikTok’s growing popularity in the Middle East?

Short Url
Updated 06 January 2023
Follow

Who is cashing in on TikTok’s growing popularity in the Middle East?

  • Arab News takes a look at whether the platform’s investment in content creators is paying off and who ultimately benefits the most from it
  • Several high-profile creators have criticized TikTok over its Creator Fund; one major complaint is that the pool of money remained the same as the number of creators increased

DUBAI: With more than 100,000 influencers active on TikTok globally in 2020, according to Statista, the short-form video app has increasingly positioned itself as a potentially lucrative social media platform for content creators.

Creators often describe the app’s editing capabilities and binge-worthy content style as especially appealing, luring them away from other popular platforms such as Instagram and Facebook.

Along with this shift in platforms, there has also been a move away from the use of the word “influencer,” to be replaced by “creator.” The former conjures up images of lavish holidays, luxury fashion and a type of aspirational lifestyle that can leave followers feeling inadequate about their own lives.

“The term ‘influencer’ has become outdated, with many social media stars preferring ‘creator,’” Harry Hugo, the co-founder of The Goat Agency told The Drum. “Why? Top creators aren’t just posting aesthetic content; they do so much more.”

In other words, for a creator to be successful it is imperative that they post authentic and helpful content and do not simply aim to “influence” an audience.

Xzit Thamer, a creator in Saudi Arabia, focuses on gaming and mostly posts content related to Grand Theft Auto. He quit his day job in 2020 to focus on creating content for TikTok.

“I never knew back then I would reach 7 million followers and be one of the top gaming content creators in the Middle East,” he told Arab News.

TikTok is certainly having its moment in the sun but this is more than just a passing fad, experts believe. The platform’s popularity appears to be sustainable, according to Natasha Hatherall-Shawe, founder and CEO of marketing agency TishTash.

“The simplicity of TikTok’s mission,” which is to capture the attention of audiences with short videos, has “superseded other platforms” such as Meta’s Facebook and Instagram, which are now trying to play catch-up by introducing features such as Reels, she told Arab News.

According to Thamer, who has been creating content for nine years: “TikTok is the best platform for content creators.”

With top creators capable of building such large audiences, TikTok understandably invests in them through programs such as the Creator Fund, which directly rewards selected creators. In the Middle East and North Africa region, the platform also launched its Creator Hub program in the UAE and Egypt in September 2022 to help identify talented creators and connect them with mentors and experts who can support their development and nurture their skills.

But several high-profile creators have criticized TikTok over its Creator Fund. One of the main complaints is that the pool of available money has remained much the same even while the number of creators continued to increase.

Popular creator Hank Green, who has more than 7 million followers on TikTok, called out the platform in a video uploaded to YouTube. In it, he acknowledged that TikTok is “tremendously powerful” and “extremely well designed” but accused it of “dramatically underpaying creators.”

TikTok isn’t the first or the only platform to offer direct financial rewards to certain creators. Several social media platforms, including YouTube and Instagram, offer special initiatives for creators but some experts say this is not always a good thing and question their value.

“YouTube is notoriously stingy with the revenue it shares with creators and TikTok is not much different,” said Hatherall-Shawe.

While “creator programs benefit the platform at a micro level,” she added, “it is definitely hard to feel justified in the revenue received as a creator directly from the platform.”

This is why it is important for creators to consider alternative monetization opportunities on the back of their TikTok fame, said Hatherall-Shawe.

One such opportunity is brand collaboration. The cost to a brand of recruiting a creator to collaborate on a campaign, or even a single post, on TikTok can vary widely. Although the social media and influencer industries are strictly licensed in Gulf countries, it is still something of a “wild west” situation in which the cost to a brand of a single post from a popular creator can be upwards of $4,000, said Hatherall-Shawe.

By way of an example, Mohammed Ghadour, who spends four hours every day creating TikTok videos, earns between $1,000 and $3,000 a month, according to a report by the BBC.

Aside from the possibility of brand collaborations, Hatherall-Shawe said, TikTok also provides tools designed to help creators make more money directly from their own content. Last year, for example, the platform introduced a “tip jar” feature through which fans can send cash tips to creators.

It also unveiled “video gifts,” a mechanism for viewers to send creators virtual gifts and coins. These can be redeemed for TikTok’s digital currency, “diamonds,” which in turn can be converted to cash. And, of course, popular creators can also use the fame they achieve on TikTok to sell their own merchandise or business-related offerings to followers.

“TikTok as a search engine for retail is hugely powerful,” said Hatherall-Shawe. “For many consumers, it is the first port of call for being influenced by fashion, beauty, sports, food and household items that are then purchased via direct channels publicized within the content.”

In May last year, the platform announced a new feature, TikTok Pulse, for sharing advertising revenue with leading creators. To qualify, a creator must have content in the top 4 percent of best-performing videos, have at least 100,000 followers, be over the age of 18, and have posted at least five videos in the past 30 days. Creators meeting all of these criteria receive 50 percent of the revenue from adverts appearing alongside their content.

Taking all of this into account, it is hard to see any downside for creators to prioritizing TikTok over other platforms, particularly for “short-form video content, especially in the fun, food, family and entertainment space — the type of content that is best received in the Arab world at the moment,” Hatherall-Shawe said.

She also pointed out that social media platforms, though extremely well-funded, are not always profitable, and that quantity usually takes priority over quality.

“These platforms are built on a model of user acquisition at all costs and keeping viewers’ eyeballs within their native apps as much as possible — it’s a volume game,” she added.

When leading creators gain enough of a following on TikTok to collaborate directly with brands, they can potentially earn thousands of dollars for a single post, none of which goes to the platform that helped them raise their profile. But that does not mean it is losing out on the deal.

“While a creator will outperform the platform financially as an individual, as a whole business, TikTok is certainly in the lead here,” said Hatherall-Shawe.


Saudi, UN bodies sign deal on media training

Updated 26 November 2024
Follow

Saudi, UN bodies sign deal on media training

  • Saudi Media Forum Chairman Mohammed Al-Harthi said that the partnership is the forum’s first strategic initiative and will positively impact Saudi media

RIYADH: The Saudi Media Forum has signed a cooperation agreement with the UN Institute for Training and Research to promote sustainable development and empower individuals as well as media organizations.

It aims to advance media and training efforts in alignment with Saudi Vision 2030 and global sustainable development trends, according to the Saudi Press Agency.

The agreement focuses on creating lasting impact through innovative training programs that combine academic knowledge with practical applications.

These programs will empower journalists and organizations, enhance professional awareness in both public and private sectors, and promote media literacy and innovative education.

The partnership will also support media organizations in achieving sustainable development goals through professional training, remote learning and educational resources.

Saudi Media Forum Chairman Mohammed Al-Harthi said that the partnership is the forum’s first strategic initiative and will positively impact Saudi media.

He added that Saudi Arabia, a nation of continuous renewal, must stay ahead of transformations to advance its development.

The forum continues to forge strategic partnerships with local and international entities to elevate Saudi media’s global standing while providing media professionals and organizations with the tools to create world-class content, the SPA reported.

 


Israeli soldiers desecrate church in southern Lebanon in latest religious site incident

Updated 26 November 2024
Follow

Israeli soldiers desecrate church in southern Lebanon in latest religious site incident

  • IDF soldiers are filmed performing a mock wedding inside an Orthodox church
  • Online users question continued support by Western Christians despite rise in attacks toward non-Jewish religious sites

LONDON: Israeli soldiers have come under fire after a video surfaced showing them desecrating a Christian church in southern Lebanon, marking the latest attack on a religious site amid rumors of an imminent truce in Lebanon.

The incident reportedly took place in Deir Mimas, near the border with Israel, and involved soldiers from the Israeli Defense Forces Golani Special Operations Unit.

The video, which began circulating widely online on Monday, depicts the soldiers performing a mock wedding ceremony inside the Orthodox church, sparking outrage across social media platforms.

The footage shows a male soldier, pretending to be a bride, wearing a hood and participating in a staged ritual led by another soldier using a disconnected microphone. The mock priest asked for the bride and groom’s names as the group laughed.

The scene escalates into chaos as another soldier interrupts, kneels before the “bride,” and simulates a dramatic objection, followed by soldiers piling on top of each other.

The timing of the video remains unclear, but its release has drawn condemnation online.

Karim Emile Bitar, professor of international relations at Saint Joseph University in Beirut, called it a blatant act of disrespect, posting on X: “Another video of Israeli soldiers desecrating a Church in South Lebanon and mocking the holy sacraments. Deafening silence of US and European politicians who spent the past 20 years masquerading as defenders of Eastern Christians, only to pander to Western Islamophobes.”

Other users voiced their anger, accusing Western Christians of ignoring Israeli acts of disrespect toward non-Jewish religious sites.

“It is incomprehensible that US Christians continue to blindly defend Israelis who desecrate the Church,” voiced another user.

This incident follows a string of troubling actions targeting cultural and religious landmarks by Israeli forces.

Earlier this month, the same IDF brigade allegedly vandalized two memorials in Hula, south Lebanon, using graffiti that read, “A good Shiite is a dead Shiite.”

In August, footage emerged showing IDF soldiers burning copies of the Qur’an in a Gaza mosque, drawing widespread condemnation and prompting an internal Israeli Military Police investigation.


UK police forces quietly withdraw from X platform amid content concerns

Updated 26 November 2024
Follow

UK police forces quietly withdraw from X platform amid content concerns

  • Several UK police forces cut X usage to a minimum after misinformation on the platform fueled UK’s summer riots
  • X has been a primary communication tool for the British government, public services, institutions and millions of people for over a decade

LONDON: Several British police forces have largely withdrawn from Elon Musk’s X social media platform as concerns over its role in promoting violence and extreme content persist, a Reuters survey of forces’ social media output showed.
X, formerly Twitter, was used to spread misinformation that sparked riots across Britain this summer, and has reinstated British-based accounts that had been banned for extremist content.
Musk’s comment in August that civil war in Britain was “inevitable” drew rebukes from Downing Street and police leaders.
Critics argue that Musk’s approach fosters hate speech, though Musk has said he is defending free speech and has described Britain as a “police state.”
Reuters reported in October that North Wales Police had ceased posting on X. Others are moving in that direction, according to Tuesday’s survey.
Reuters visually monitored posts on X from 44 territorial police and British Transport Police over the three months to Nov. 13 and focused on ones that had noticeably fewer posts, comparing their output to a year previously.
Reuters then contacted those eight forces.
West Midlands Police, one of Britain’s biggest police forces which serves the second city of Birmingham, reduced its X posts by around 95 percent in annual terms in that period.
Lancashire Police in the north of England, cut its usage of X by around three-quarters compared with a year ago.
“We understand that, as the digital landscape changes, so too does our audiences’ channels of choice,” the force said.
And Derbyshire Police, which serves around a million people in central England, made its last original post on Aug. 12 and has responded only to queries since. It said it was reviewing its social media presence.

X-COMMUNICATION
Other forces said X remained useful for updates on things like road closures, but platforms like Facebook and Instagram were better for reaching communities.
X did not respond to a request for comment.
X has been a primary communication tool for the British government, public services, institutions and millions of people for over a decade.
It had just over 10 million British app users in October, compared with 4.5 million for Threads and 433,000 for Blue Sky, according to data from digital intelligence platform Similarweb.
But usage is dropping, with X’s British app users down 19 percent on a year ago, Similarweb data showed.
The government still posts to X but does not use it for paid communications. It does, however, advertise on Meta’s Instagram and Facebook, a government source said last month.
Several well-known organizations, including the Guardian and non-profit Center for Countering Digital Hate, have quit X due to concerns over its content.
Cary Cooper, professor of organizational psychology and health at Alliance Manchester Business School, said many institutions were wary of Musk’s power over the platform, as well as his “very substantial views.”
Asked why more police forces had not quit, Cooper told Reuters: “Institutions, just like individuals, get addicted. They invested in it over a period of time.”
North Wales Police is the only force to officially quit X completely.
“As X was no longer an effective communication medium, this change hasn’t affected our abilities to reach our communities,” it said. (Reporting by Andy Bruce Editing by Christina Fincher)


Saudi Media Forum opens registration for annual media awards

Updated 26 November 2024
Follow

Saudi Media Forum opens registration for annual media awards

  • Process open to media professionals, organizations until Dec. 10

RIYADH: The Saudi Media Forum has launched the registration process for its prestigious annual media awards, an event which aims to inspire creativity and recognize excellence across the media sector.

The awards are held in conjunction with the forum’s activities and the Future of Media Exhibition, which is to be held in Riyadh from Feb. 19-21 next year.

Mohammed Fahad Al-Harthi, the president of the Saudi Media Forum, stressed the awards’ growing importance in highlighting the role of the media in shaping societal values and fostering innovation, and added the event sought to recognize exceptional efforts in the fields of media and communication.

Last year’s edition saw more than 3,000 submissions locally and regionally, and the SMF said it expected participation to double this year amid growing interest in the sector.

The awards span a wide range of categories, including journalism, television programs, podcasts, academic research, and public relations campaigns. Individual achievements will also be recognized through accolades such as Media Personality of the Year, Best Digital Content, and the Columnist Award.

Al-Harthi also highlighted the introduction of the Tolerance Award, an international track focused on coexistence and dialogue and developed in partnership with the King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue.

Registration is open to media professionals and organizations until Dec. 10, with submissions being accepted through the forum’s official platform.

Detailed criteria and submission guidelines can be accessed on the forum’s website at saudimf.sa/ar/awards.


Media watchdogs condemn ‘concerning’ Haaretz boycott by Israeli government

Updated 26 November 2024
Follow

Media watchdogs condemn ‘concerning’ Haaretz boycott by Israeli government

  • Committee to Protect Journalists says tactic is ‘disturbing evidence’ of efforts to prevent coverage of Gaza war
  • Haaretz publisher Amos Schocken critical of Israeli policies, prompting government call for restrictions on left-leaning paper

LONDON: Media watchdogs have strongly criticized the Israeli government’s decision to boycott Haaretz, one of the country’s oldest and most critical newspapers, calling it a troubling blow to media freedom and pluralism.

“We are extremely concerned over Israel’s authoritarian drift that undermines media pluralism and the public’s right to know,” said IFJ General Secretary Anthony Bellanger, who called on “the government to review its decision and stop damaging press freedom in the country by boycotting a newspaper.”

Jodie Ginsberg, CEO of the Committee to Protect Journalists, labeled the boycott “deplorable” and accused Israel of intensifying its restrictions on critical media. “Israel’s increasing deployment of restrictions on critical media is further disturbing evidence of its efforts to prevent coverage of its actions in Gaza,” she said.

The Israeli government unanimously approved a proposal on Nov. 24 by Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi to halt all government advertising in and communication with Haaretz.

The decision effectively boycotts the left-leaning outlet, citing comments by publisher Amos Schocken, who had earlier called for sanctions against Israel and referred to Palestinian resistance groups as “freedom fighters.”

Schocken, who has led the paper for over three decades, later clarified that he did not include groups like Hamas in his reference to freedom fighters, emphasizing his support for nonviolent resistance.

Despite this, Haaretz faced significant backlash, publishing an editorial distancing itself from his remarks.

Karhi defended the government’s move, saying Israel “cannot fund a newspaper whose publisher calls for sanctions against the state and supports its enemies during wartime.”

He has previously accused Haaretz of propagating “anti-Israel propaganda” and called for financial penalties against the paper.

The boycott comes amid wider concerns over media freedom in Israel.

Critics point to the introduction of laws like the so-called “Al Jazeera law,” which allows temporary bans on foreign media deemed a national security risk, and ongoing attempts to privatize the public broadcaster Kan.

“Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi, who follows the hardline stances of the Likud party, is leveraging the ongoing war — the longest in the country’s history — to silence voices that criticise the far-right coalition in power,” said Paris-based media watchdog Reporter Without Borders.

The Paris-based watchdog added that such measures will have “lasting, detrimental effects on Israel’s media landscape.”

In response, Haaretz described the government’s actions as an attempt to “silence a critical, independent newspaper,” vowing to continue its reporting despite the restrictions.