TikTok launches digital upskilling initiative with SkillsUP Campaign in SA

Ever since TikTok debuted in the social media scene in 2018, popularity in the video-sharing app grew exponentially in South Africa.

According to the  South African Social Media Landscape 2020 report, “The most popular South African creator, a magician who calls himself @WianMagic on TikTok, had no less than 4.1 million followers by February 2020. A young woman known by most of her followers simply as ‘Chane’, came in second with 1.8 million followers of @chanegrobler.”

The report also stated that TikTok is seen as the new kid on the block in South Africa, which marketers and communicators are scrambling to understand.

Oresti Patricious, CEO of Ornico, wrote in the report that when taking to researcher and analyst Arthur Goldstruck about the growth of TikTok, Goldstruck said that he has never seen such traction on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or Instagram.

The app is tremendously popular among all races in the country, and is the country’s second most downloaded social app on Android Play Store behind Facebook Lite, according to the report.

Leveraging on this, TikTok recently launched the SkillsUP campaign to upskill the community in South Africa with digital skills and training.

The programme will consist of a series of online sessions to offer digital skills training and advance career development.

According to KBC, the first webinar took place via a live broadcast on TikTok South Africa’s official account this past Saturday, covering the vocational and life digital skills that can be applied in both professional workspaces and everyday life.

Topics covered during the 90-minute session included influencer marketing do’s and don’ts; building your personal brand as a creator; data and analytics; and internet safety.

Boniswa Sidwaba, TikTok Content Operations Manager, Africa, said that as a technology company designed around digital innovation and possibilities, TikTok is committed to educating and upskilling its community when it comes to all things digital and also dedicated to encouraging creativity on the platform using the variety of technology tools available.

“The information received during these talks will not only help individuals unlock their content creation abilities on the platform, but will also equip them with the right skills to connect and engage with the global TikTok community in a more creative digitally-savvy way.

“We believe it’s important for all to have the opportunity to access knowledge and information that can help them advance their current digital skillset for both professional and personal gain, especially as it’s likely many local businesses will require at least some basic level of digital skill from future employees.”

“Through this project, TikTok wants to empower local users, giving them access to experts and educational information in a fun and entertaining learning environment. In doing this, we believe that we can also help grow the local digital workforce.”

Saturday’s guest speakers included digital experts Xolani Waxx Sedibe from Digify Africa; Oresti Patricios from OrnicoGroup; and Kudzi Chikumbu, Director of Creator Community at TikTok.

Those who tuned in received insights into using TikTok to grow your personal brand as well as general best-practice tips. They also have the opportunity to speak to the experts during live Q&A sessions during these webinars.