Sarah Guessoum said: “If you are focused on something for too long, you will miss opportunities. You are not opening yourself to break perceived boundaries.”To demonstrate this, Sarah Guessoum and Hyun Seo Yoo shared a personal passion project where they used TikTok to benefit society. Using the tech platform, the duo embarked on a project to give people from all walks of life in Dubai a voice.  They wanted to encourage people and small businesses to connect and communicate.

Hyun Seo Yoo said: “During the pandemic, TikTok was becoming a hub where small businesses became part of the community and grew. This platform allowed diverse groups to collaborate, share messages and connect. So TikTok is more than just a fun way to pass the time. TikTok has transformed how we work, learn and communicate together.

They allayed the misconception that TikTok is for young audiences and it’s all about dance challenges. Through their own personal passion project, they showed how TikTok can shine the spotlight on different aspects of a business, giving it a higher profile, a tone of voice and greater exposure.

Working with a content creator, they helped give a small business tips and tricks to get on the platform, take its business to the next level and learn how to create TikTok ads. While some mentees raised questions that TikTok ads don’t look native or organic, Hyun Seo Yoo and Sarah Guessoum dispelled their fears.

As creative people, mentees have the chance to help guide and conceptualize the ads on TikTok for their clients.

Finally, they summed up their talk with the link between Cultures and Creativity.  The three points included the perspective that diverse cultural viewpoints spur innovation and creativity; find inspiration and insights in unfamiliar places to you; and creativity and cultural diversity break down societal barriers and speak to positive change.Sarah Guessoum said: “You need to be aware of what others are doing, applaud their efforts, acknowledge their successes and encourage them in their pursuits.  When we help one another everybody wins.”

Barbara Levy, President of LIA, said: “TikTok is becoming more than just entertainment. There are lots more educational and business-related content.  It is a social media platform that allows you to show the personality of your brand and partner with a content creator. We can see why it’s very appealing for brands whose demographic match the TikTok audience.”