TIKTOK Shop, the leading e-commerce platform in Malaysia, is launching #JOMLokal, a campaign by Malaysians, for Malaysians, to encourage greater appreciation of homegrown brands and products.
Kicking off this month and set to roll out throughout the rest of 2024, this initiative will involve various partnerships, competitions, and seller showcases to further strengthen and empower local brands in the burgeoning e-commerce landscape.
#JOMLokal aims to bring increased awareness to the diverse Malaysian brands already available on TikTok Shop and enable digital adoption among Malaysian entrepreneurs in rural areas to provide them with the opportunity to reach a wider audience.
Spotlighting local brands
TikTok Shop has been an important stepping stone for many well-known local entrepreneurs. Hafiz Oon, more widely known as Mr Bentong
While he started by selling health supplement drinks, he has since diversified his offerings to include a wider range of products such as locally sourced gold, cashew nuts from reputable local brands and the local 3-in-1 drink, Sawanah Koko - all to support other small local businesses.
Khairul Aming
To help buyers discover and purchase similar local products, TikTok Shop will be highlighting various local brands every week through #JOMLokal's 'Rising Star' segment.
This segment includes a showcase of local products and a round-up of consumer trends on TikTok Shop, so users can view the most sought-after items for that period. Each week will focus on a different category, such as beauty and personal care, sports and outdoors as well as Muslim fashion.
To help SMEs (small medium enterprises) grow, TikTok Shop will be introducing several additional sales campaigns that local brands can join to increase their reach.
This includes monthly Mega Campaigns to highlight their offerings via a Product Zone and campaign vouchers, Crazy Friday where sellers will also be provided with extra vouchers to boost their items, and a Weekend Sale featuring items from rural entrepreneurs.
#TikTokShopLokalHeroes
To further enhance the exposure of local brands on the platform, TikTok Shop will be running a #TikTokShopLokalHeroes campaign online from Dec 15 to Jan 31 2024.
Through this campaign, users can nominate their favorite locally-made products and TikTok Shop will promote these brands with the added bonus of platform vouchers to encourage more people to shop locally.
These showcased sellers will also be in the running to win the #TikTokShopLokalHeroes trophy, where users can vote for these stores via the designated microsite.
The top 10 sellers for the month, who will be selected based on the highest number of votes received and highest shop rating, will be presented with a trophy, alongside incentive vouchers for them to use in their stores.
Empowering rural entrepreneurs
TikTok Shop has also launched various CSR (corporate social responsibility) initiatives that tap into non-major city areas to give budding entrepreneurs a solid start as they begin their e-commerce journeys:
> TikTok Shop, in partnership with Yayasan Wilayah Persekutuan (YWP), will be channeling the proceeds from the 11.11 Mega LIVE Showdown to 30 micro-entrepreneurs managed by YWP. These funds will go into supporting the start of their e-commerce journeys, particularly on TikTok Shop.
> TikTok Shop is partnering with the Malaysian Communication and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to promote digital literacy among rural entrepreneurs via rural internet centers (PEDI). It aims to impact over 1,000 sellers across 12 states in Malaysia via workshops and LIVE stream training and support.
> Aside from this, TikTok Shop will be working with the Malaysian Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) to organize a LIVE stream competition with 50 rural entrepreneurs to increase the visibility of locally produced products and improve their LIVE streaming capabilities.
>TikTok Shop has an ongoing partnership with Majlis Amanah Rakyat (MARA) to deliver TikTok Marketing, TikTok Shop, and shop ads training to 1000 rural sellers from 14 states in Malaysia through bootcamps and seller incentives.
> Perbadanan Usahawan Nasional Berhad (PUNB) is working alongside TikTok Shop to empower local SMEs through sponsored incentives to increase their LIVE selling revenue. With this support, the first cohort of 50 sellers was able to grow their LIVE sales by 200% in just 90 days.
TikTok Shop Malaysia acquisition lead Nur Azre Abdul Aziz shares: "TikTok Shop is committed to nurturing local entrepreneurial growth. We want Malaysians from all walks of life, in urban and rural areas, to have the opportunity to develop their skill sets and transform their lives through entrepreneurship.
“By working together with both government and non-governmental agencies and with the support of our fellow Malaysians, we hope that #JOMLokal will be the start of an increased effort towards buying, selling, and sharing all things local so that we can continue to uplift each other as a community."
