Tag: TikTok

Singapore – Around 79% of consumers in APAC are influenced by non-promotional content that shows a product’s value rather than discounts, a report from TikTok revealed.

The report showed that content factors such as product benefits, reviews, demonstrations, and visuals now hold greater value on a consumer’s decision journey. With this, almost 79% of APAC consumers are shifting their focus from price to value instead. Meanwhile, only 21% of consumers are influenced by promotions in their buying decision journey.

This number ranges for different countries in APAC, with Indonesia hitting as high as 41%, 27% in Japan, and 12% in South Korea and Thailand.

With changing consumer habits, APAC consumers are also now split into two distinct consumer categories: social-oriented and product-oriented.

Social-oriented consumers are those that rely on content recommendations from creators. They are less promotion-sensitive and have a higher degree of trust in their intuitions when buying something. Vietnam, Thailand, and Korea’s consumers tend to lean more towards this category.

On the other hand, consumers in Japan and Indonesia are found to be more likely to be product-oriented in nature. They prioritise product information and benefits in their content consumption, are more responsive to discounts, and tend to rely less on their intuition when making purchase decisions.

TikTok’s report also revealed that APAC consumers are increasingly looking for more content-driven video platforms that drive content-triggered shopping and facilitate intent-driven buying through search.

The report recorded that 1.9x more consumers regularly search for products on content-driven video platforms than on traditional search engines. Furthermore, a staggering 93% want to continue or increase their discovery, consideration, and purchase of products on these content-driven platforms in the next 1-2 years.

And while there are only 22% of consumers that are influenced by brands, 48% are actually influenced by ‘Content Communities’ or networks of brand and product content that drive interaction and co-creation among consumers and brands.

The concept of content co-creation has already become as integrated and concurrent as the consumption of content itself, with 73% of consumers now creating content in rather ‘fluid’ ways through trends, contributing in comment sections, and more.

Shant Oknayan, head of global business solutions for Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, Africa, and Central Asia at TikTok, said, “TikTok delivers content-led commerce to consumers. As technology continues to develop and economic factors influence consumer habits, brands must look to engage with their consumers in ways that provide them not only the best deal but also an entertaining, seamless experience that does not disrupt their task flow. The clear lines between shopping and other activities are beginning to blur, and so it’s even more crucial for brands to deliver content that helps consumers buy what they want, when they want to, and how they want to.”

Speaking on the report, Arthur Altounian, VP of client strategy and growth for APAC at GroupM (The Goat Agency), also said, “In this era of content and evolving consumer behaviours, it’s imperative for brands to facilitate intuitive decision-making and establish rapport with their audiences by striking the right balance between long-term relationship building and short-term promotions. Brands should remain consumer-first and mindful of creating a seamless experience, which includes engaging content and sales strategies that emphasise the product benefits and offer value.”

Sydney, Australia – HubSpot and TikTok have launched a partnership to improve community-based client acquisition for B2B brands. A newly connected tool allows B2B firms to easily gather leads from TikTok right within the HubSpot platform, utilising the benefits of both platforms to improve client engagement. 

Through this partnership, scaling firms can now take advantage of these connections to produce growth in Australia. 

While SMBs are looking into creative ways to generate leads in the face of customer acquisition issues, the partnership is taking place at a time when customers are increasingly turning to local communities for brand and product discovery. TikTok emerges as a tool for businesses to nurture and maintain an actively engaged audience, especially with 8.5 million Australian users, a demographic 1.5 times more likely to make quick purchases based on platform discoveries.

Speaking about the partnership, Kat Warboys, marketing director, APAC, HubSpot, said, “TikTok’s growing influence in the region is undeniable. As its audience base grows, it’s reshaping how consumers discover and interact with their favourite brands. For savvy businesses, TikTok provides a powerful channel to nurture and engage audiences — if done right. That’s why our partnership is so important. The new integration makes it easier for brands to capture, nurture and acquire leads because they can truly understand their customers.” 

She added, “Today’s consumers expect personalisation and by having a complete picture, brands can better engage with their audiences. And, with better engagement comes more loyal customers, which is vital in the current market.”

Meanwhile, Ng Chew Wee, head of business marketing APAC, TikTok, stated, “Asia Pacific is home to a thriving ecosystem of TikTok users, with 90% of the region’s TikTok users consuming content on a daily basis. This presents an opportunity for Asia Pacific’s brands to reach and turn a highly engaged audience into leads, and accelerate business growth.” 

Indonesia – The latest YouGov Profiles has noted that Tokopedia holds a 39% share among Indonesian consumers, securing its position as the second most popular e-commerce platform, trailing only Shopee, where a staggering 73% of customers have recently made purchases.

For context, Bytedance’s TikTok plans to return to the Indonesian e-commerce market by purchasing a majority share in GoTo’s Tokopedia for around $840 million. Following the Indonesian government’s prohibition of online purchasing on social media platforms, the firm was forced to close its social commerce service, TikTok Shop, in October. 

Analysing the broader market, Lazada captures the attention with a substantial 22% share among all consumers, ranking third in popularity. Other players, such as Bukalapak (6%), Blibli (5%), and Zalora (2%), follow suit.

For regular online buyers, Shopee emerges as the leading e-commerce platform with 77% popularity. In this category, Tokopedia (43%) and Lazada (24%) secure the second and third positions, while Bukalapak (7%), Blibli (6%), and Zalora (3%) also make notable appearances.

Zooming in on TikTok Shop users, the data indicates that 32% of them engage in shopping on Tokopedia. Although surpassing Lazada (23%), this percentage is notably lower than the overwhelming preference for Shopee, where a substantial 71% of TikTok Shop users make their purchases. As the e-commerce narrative unfolds, the data showcases a dynamic interplay of market forces and consumer behaviours, paving the way for potential shifts in Indonesia’s e-commerce landscape.

Two months later, the Indonesian ministry of trade announced that TikTok and Tokopedia will be launching a pilot program for e-commerce together. The project will take effect in the next months after extensive engagement with regulatory authorities. 

Jakarta, Indonesia – After multiple reports suggesting business talks between TikTok and GoTo in Indonesia, TikTok has announced that is investing a total of US$1.5b investment into GoTo. In it, Tokopedia and TikTok Shop Indonesia’s businesses will be combined under the existing PT Tokopedia entity.

In an official statement, both entities have said that this arrangement will allow both TikTok and GoTo to each serve Indonesian consumers and MSMEs more comprehensively.

Moreover, GoTo will benefit from the growth of the enlarged entity and will remain an ecosystem partner to Tokopedia, through its digital financial services via GoTo Financial and on-demand services via Gojek.

Going forward, TikTok, Tokopedia and GoTo will transform Indonesia’s e-commerce sector, creating millions of new job opportunities over the next five years. 

Some of those planned joint ventures include promotion of Indonesian products on Tokopedia and TikTok’s platforms, building the capacity of Indonesia’s MSMEs through a holistic program focusing on skills development, supporting merchants to sell products online, helping local brands to promote their products in international markets, amongst others.

The transaction, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2024, is in line with the GoTo Group’s strategy to strengthen its financial and strategic position by growing its total addressable market.

Moreover, a committee under the enlarged entity will be established to facilitate transition and integration, chaired by GoTo Group CEO Patrick Walujo, with support from members of both businesses.

These talks come after TikTok Shop announced the shutdown of its local operations in Indonesia in October 2023 following local orders. The company was forced to close down after the country’s government passed a regulation prohibiting the use of social media for e-commerce transactions.

Indonesia – ByteDance’s TikTok is reportedly in talks to partner with Indonesian technology company GoTo Group to restart its online retail operations in the country, Bloomberg reports.

According to an insider familiar with the matter, the deal may take the form of a joint venture instead of a direct investment. The two companies’ discussion also involved jointly creating a brand-new e-commerce platform.

While looking for several more options, TikTok is reportedly working to invest in GoTo’s e-commerce arm, Tokopedia, to bring its online shop back to the Indonesian market.

These talks come after TikTok Shop announced the shutdown of its local operations in Indonesia in October 2023 in accordance with local orders. The company was forced to close down after the country’s government passed a regulation prohibiting the use of social media for e-commerce transactions.

It is worth mentioning that the new regulations were placed with the aim of protecting the interests of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME’s). However, the shutdown also meant a loss of livelihood for about 6 million social sellers and 7 million affiliates on TikTok Shop alone.

In an previous exclusive interview with MARKETECH APAC, industry leaders in Indonesia also shared their insights on the future of social commerce in the country after the regulations were set in place.

Rolly Pane, managing director for Indonesia at Clozette, shared that “Social commerce can still be done, promoting products in social and driving people to e-commerce. The only difference is that it will not happen in one ecosystem or app. It just has to cross over apps.”

Pane noted that while the regulation would cause a significant drop in e-commerce transactions originating from social media posts and engagements, brands can still implement alternative strategies to make their social commerce strategies stand out.

Meanwhile, Anish Daryani, founder and president director at M&C Saatchi Indonesia, also believed that social commerce will continue to move forward in Indonesia, adding that there is more growth for the Indonesian social commerce scene compared to more mature markets like China’s.

“Though this regulation would bring social commerce to a stop, there is no stopping commerce from becoming more social,” Daryani told MARKETECH APAC.

Singapore – TikTok’s premium-only music streaming service TikTok officially makes it public launch in Singapore. The service was previously only made available closed group of beta testers in the market.

To coincide with the launch in Singapore, TikTok Music has added some new music discovery features, including Party It, for personalised collaborative listening, FYP Tuning, where users can swipe right for a choice of music scenes and moods, and Tonik, a music discovery personal assistant powered by ChatGPT, which provides answers to questions TikTok Music users have about music. 

Users can ask Tonik to search for an artist, track or playlist, ask about concerts and music news, learn about the stories behind the music, and much more.

According to the platform, TikTok Music harnesses the power of music discovery on TikTok, helping users to enjoy their favourite viral tracks and artists on TikTok Music, giving them the ability to listen, download and share full tracks to their community, and to transition between TikTok and TikTok Music seamlessly.

Ole Obermann, global head of music business development at TikTok, said, “We are pleased to publicly launch TikTok Music, a new kind of service that combines the power of music discovery on TikTok with a best-in-class streaming service. TikTok Music will make it easy for people to save, download and share their favourite viral tracks from TikTok.”

He added, “We are excited about the opportunities TikTok Music presents for both music fans and artists, and the great potential it has for driving significant value to the music industry.”

The new service offers music from thousands of labels and artists, uninterrupted ad-free listening and a download function for listening offline, as well as aiming to offer a listening experience while increasing opportunities and revenue for artists and rightsholders.

Singapore – Beginning on October 16 in honour of The Walt Disney Company’s 100th anniversary, social media platform TikTok would be collaborating with Disney for a  first-of-its-kind destination within TikTok that invites Disney fans to a unique interactive experience where stories, magic and memories come together.

Through TikTok, fans will be able to watch videos from across Disney’s brands, create their own videos with Disney music and effects, play Disney trivia, and collect and trade “Character Cards” of characters to win unique profile frames to show off their fandom.

With more than 48 Disney handles participating, the four-week activation will be live in 24 regions around the globe, highlighting the breadth of content from The Walt Disney Company. Fans of Disney, Pixar, Star Wars, Marvel, ESPN, National Geographic, Disney Parks and beyond can expect daily reminders of why they connected with their favourite characters, franchises, movies, and Disney memories.

In addition, TikTok is curating a special Disney100 Playlist for our community featuring some of the most popular hits from the Disney catalogue, including songs from classic movies like ‘Cinderella’ and ‘The Lion King’, as well as the upcoming ‘Wish’, alongside hits from the likes of ‘Toy Story’ and ‘High School Musical’.

Nicole Iacopetti, global head of content at TikTok, said, “The Walt Disney Company has an incredible legacy of bringing joy and excitement to a global community through its iconic films and TV series, heartwarming characters, thrilling parks and memorable brands.”

“We’re thrilled to partner with Disney to celebrate the company’s undeniable impact on entertainment and on families around the world, starting by giving TikTok’s passionate community of Disney fans unique access to content and experiences they can’t find anywhere else”, she added.

Jakarta, Indonesia – Following the recent regulation by the Indonesian government on the use of social media for e-commerce transactions, TikTok Shop has finally announced that it is shutting down its local operations in accordance with local orders.

“Our priority is to remain compliant with local laws and regulations. As such, we will no longer facilitate e-commerce transactions in TikTok Shop Indonesia by October 4, and will continue to cooperate with the relevant authorities on the path forward,” TikTok said in a press statement.

The ban follows a recent government regulation which prohibits the use of social media for e-commerce transactions, adding that it’s aimed at quashing e-commerce sellers that are purportedly abusing pricing tiers on social media to promote their products.

Following this, a question arises: is there still hope for social commerce in Indonesia?

Social commerce will still exist–even with regulations

For Rolly Pane, managing director for Indonesia at Clozette, despite the new regulations, social commerce will still be around, as the new regulations only prohibits having social media and e-commerce inside one app.

“Social commerce can still be done, promoting products in social and driving people to e-commerce. The only difference is that it will not happen in one ecosystem or app. It just has to cross over apps,” Pane told MARKETECH APAC.

However, he noted that with this regulation, there would be a significant drop in e-commerce transactions which originated from social media posts and engagements.

“The biggest downfall is that there will be a larger amount of drop-offs when it is cross-app compared to being in one ecosystem or app,” he said.

Despite all of thise, Pane says that brands can still implement alternative strategies to make their social commerce strategies still stand out.

“Promotion of products will still be done as it is being done now. The only difference is that when the promotions are clicked, it will no longer be in the same ecosystem. It will drive the consumers to a different ecosystem / app to conduct the transactions,” he concluded.

Who loses this game? Merchants or consumers?

Meanwhile, Anish Daryani, founder and president director at M&C Saatchi Indonesia explained that with 2024 being an election year in Indonesia, showing support for MSME’s by securing their interest is considered as an important move by the government.

It is worth noting that the government said that the new regulations aims to protect the interests of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME’s), given the lack of adoption of digital platforms on their part, and inability to compete with what has been labelled as ‘predatory pricing’ on social platforms.

“On the brighter side, the regulation removes ambiguity from e-commerce and provides clear guidelines towards the dos and don’ts of running e-commerce businesses, which [was] long overdue,” he said in an exclusive interview with MARKETECH APAC.

However, Daryani notes that other local merchants who have long utilised social commerce will ‘lose’ in this game, who have used it to connect with their patrons. He also added that with the new regulations, the livelihood of about 6 million social sellers and 7 million affiliates on TikTok Shop alone were hugely affected.

He also stated that end consumers are also affected as well, whose support to their social commerce merchants were the driving force behind their success.

“In my view, the biggest loser in this regulation, however, is the end consumer, who would now be deprived of exciting prices that were sometimes too good to be true, and discovering great quality products from skilled entrepreneurs, which in itself was a massive support for local businesses,” Daryani added.

Social commerce barely scratches the surface of the local industry

Despite all of these regulations, Daryani believes that social commerce will continue to move forward in Indonesia, adding that there is more growth for the Indonesian social commerce scene, compared to more mature markets like of China’s.

“Though this regulation would bring social commerce to a stop, there is no stopping commerce from becoming more social,” he quipped.

Looking at the issue from an agency perspective, Daryani believes that continued social media communication will still help amplify e-commerce, with social media and e-commerce now serving separate purposes in the customer purchase journey.

“From a communications perspective, digital content will still continue to fuel demand for products and services through the upper funnel (awareness and consideration), while the objectives of the lower funnel (purchase, retention and advocacy) would be met by e-commerce platforms,” he said.

He also added, “The use of influencers to review and recommend products will continue to expand. Overall, this would make discoverability of content more organic, so the quality of content would have to be better going forward.”

Jakarta, Indonesia – The Indonesian government has officially prohibited the use of social media for e-commerce transactions, a move that was previously hinted by President Joko Widodo several days ago.

For the government, the move is aimed at quashing e-commerce sellers that are purportedly abusing pricing tiers on social media to promote their products, a move that officials say ‘kills’ offline merchants.

“What the people are expecting is that the advancement of technology can create new economic potential, not kill existing economies,” President Widodo previously said.

In a recent announcement, Trade Minister Zulkifli Hasan has noted that social media can be only used to promote things, not use it as an avenue for online transactions.

“Social commerce is only allowed to facilitate the promotion of goods or services, not direct transactions. Direct payment is no longer allowed, it is only allowed for promotion,” he said.

Several Indonesian officials have said that TikTok is one of these platforms where social e-commerce is mostly practiced.

Previously, TikTok Indonesia clarified that its latest shop-centric initiative, ‘Project S’, will never be launched in the market, and that they do not intend to become a retailer or wholesaler that will compete with sellers in Indonesia.

Asia Pacific – Social media app TikTok and international advertising agency TBWA have announced the release of a new joint whitepaper titled “Storytelling in the Next Creative Renaissance”, which encourages businesses to embrace the role of creativity and innovation in contemporary marketing. 

This key initiative by TikTok and TBWA aims to elevate industry standards and deliver insights that enable businesses to thrive amidst rapid changes in the digital landscape. 

The whitepaper highlights the significance and potency of everyday creativity by leveraging the power of the cultural zeitgeist (spirit of the time) through storytelling while exploring its various applications on and off TikTok. It provides an in-depth look at the crucial role creativity and innovation play in contemporary marketing strategies. 

The whitepaper also shared how brands that have broken away from ‘best practises’ are being rewarded by having discovered the possibilities on newer platforms. These brands are disrupting category conventions, capturing attention, creating on-going value, and gaining recognition.

Another thing highlighted in the whitepaper is the enormous potential for brands to influence across subcultures, as many of these subcultures already have global reach. As the brand’s relevance expands, so will the brands already connected to it.

Therefore, while there may be temptation for brands to hitch themselves to whichever niche has the greatest potential for growth, they should instead engage with subcultures that share their worldview. By joining these conversations authentically, brands now have a shortcut to word-of-mouth promotion. 

Furthermore, brands should harness the tech-enabled tools available to supercharge creative minds and tell stories at scale so executions can be upgraded quickly, giving assets new value or streamlining the creation of bespoke content. 

In line with this, TikTok has also developed and deployed a ‘Recut, Remix, Reimagine’, framework to foster creativity amongst brands and marketers on its platform. Under this framework, TikTok aims to encourage them to go beyond conventional marketing paradigms that will increase their creative output with the help of technology and also fine-tune it to align with targeted audiences and distinct subcultures. 

As the whitepaper emphasises, marketers who study digital platforms not only acquire valuable cultural insights but also position themselves to effectively benefit from marketing innovation.

As outlined by TikTok and TBWA in the whitepaper, we’re entering the era of the new creative Renaissance, where fostering meaningful connections is paramount. Rather than diminishing creative ideation due to budget constraints, brands and marketers should consider optimising other operational processes to reap the most from their marketing strategies.

Tessa Conrad, head of innovation at TBWA Asia, said, “What your brand stands for, what it offers people, and what it makes people feel, results in a community to connect and create with rather than just an audience to speak to.”

Meanwhile, Ng Chew Wee, head of business marketing for Asia Pacific at TikTok, said, “81% of our users take actions such as purchasing a product or seeking more information after watching a TikTok video. This suggests that brands creating relevant, engaging content have a genuine chance to directly influence consumer behaviour.”