A baker and a researcher in the Philippines were featured as among the creators in Southeast Asia whose lives changed through business in TikTok.
The stories of Jessica Rose (@nanayjecka) and Clark Anthony (@anthonytrovela97) were were cited in a comprehensive report “The TikTok Effect: Accelerating Southeast Asia’s Businesses, Education and Community.” It was released on June 15, Thursday.
The report discussed the impact of TikTok on its content creators in Southeast Asian countries—the Philippines, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Laos, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
Citing internal data, there are now more than 325 million active TikTok users in the region.
TikTok partnered with Kadence International to conduct the regional survey about the impact of TikTok across SEA.
Over 3,400 users, 25 non-profit organizations and nine markets were included in the survey between August and September 2022.
The full report can be downloaded on this link; Welcome to TikTok SEA Impact Forum.
Nanay Jecka
Jessica Rose, who’s known as Nanay Jecka on TikTok, is known for her cooking and baking videos.
@nanayjecka Mga mars! Perfect pang pamilya or negosyo itong No Steam Leche Flan recipe na ‘to!Mas pinasarap ng #1 sweet-creamy Alaska Condensada at creamy-milky Alaska Evaporada! Super dali lang at siguradong bentastic ngayong Summer! #ALASKAkaibangSummer ♬ original sound – Jeckang Miho
When she was still a newbie content creator, however, she struggled with postpartum depression and feelings of underachievement.
She also found video editing and content creation difficult at that time.
In her write-up in the report, Nanay Jecka’s journey with TikTok started after she received an increase in brand requests for her content, which was mostly about baking.
“She found a community of creators who banded together, and who captured the attention of different brands through the hashtag #TikTokMomPH. They shared tips and tricks on navigating motherhood, parenting and making videos,” the report said.
“Within this community, she gained more brand deals and earned between USD2,000 and USD3,000 a month – enough to leave her full-time job and pursue her passion as a baker and full-time creator,” it added.
Nanay Jecka later renewed her passion for content creation, thus giving her new life and energy amid dealing with her mental health situation.
“She is empowered now to help and inspire other mums like herself. Her new sweet spot is giving back to the community and deepening her support for others,” her write-up reads.
Nanay Jecka currently has 9,284 likes, 10,200 followers and 32,100 likes on the app.
“In TikTok, I found my passion in life and direction for what I wanted to do,” she was quoted there as saying.
Researcher Anthony
Clark Anthony or Anthony aims to make research more approachable and accessible to students in the Philippines.
His journey with TikTok started after he stumbled upon #EduTok while browsing the app. This hashtag is one of the popular hashtags for educational content in the country.
“The 25-year-old researcher wanted to pay it forward and began producing TikTok videos to make research more approachable for high school and college students, especially those who were apprehensive about research,” the report said.
Anthony has now earned an average of 100,000 views per day.
@anthonytrovela97 Paano i-cite properly ang nakuhang idea from a Research Article #LearnItOnTikTok #EduWow #ResearchPH #LearnWithAnthony ♬ Pasilyo
His viewers, who are mostly students, were thankful for helping them pass and defend their research requirements for school.
“Many of his viewers share stories about passing research modules or defending them robustly using advice from his videos, which inspires him to continue to share his knowledge on TikTok. With #EduTok’s support, he says he hopes to build a broader community of Filipino creators across all subjects to help students across the region,” the report said.
“TikTok has really innovated the way people learn…it is able to introduce technical concepts which can be simplified,” Anthony was quoted in the write-up as saying.
Moving forward
In a statement, Shou Chew, the Chief Executive Officer of TikTok, expressed optimism over the potential positive impact of the platform on communities and businesses in Southeast Asia.
“The role we’ve played in expanding economic opportunities, education and community-building in this region and around the world is immense,” Chew said.
“We are excited to see the positive impact TikTok has had and are committed to continuing the work of helping individuals, communities, and businesses grow and thrive,” he added.