TikTok surge in the Netherlands as 'influencers' attract millions

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With its origins as a port and later a base for heavy industry, Amsterdam's Noord district has traditionally been missed off the tourist map. But in recent years, media and entertainment entrepreneurs have turned the area into their very own fashionable hub.

One of those companies is the influencer and online marketing agency, New Kith. They started with YouTube and Instagram creators, but in the last year they have been putting a lot of effort into TikTok.

Just like everywhere else in the world, the Chinese video-sharing social networking service became hugely popular in The Netherlands. Now, 3.5 million people (out of a population of 17.5 million) spend an hour a day on the app.

Most of the users are very young and are hooked on cheerful videos, lasting up to 15 seconds. People dance, move or act on the beats and watch videos made by their friends or by real stars.

In recent years, the Noord province of Amsterdam has been turned into a fashionable hub for the media and entertainment industry. /CGTN

One of these influencers is online fitness coach Antonie Lokhorst.

Two years ago, he started uploading videos of himself doing workouts. "It took off when I uploaded a video from myself doing workouts, which I was already doing on Instagram. I got about 250,000 likes with just one video, and I grew to a million followers within three months. That was just crazy," he said.

He now makes two or three videos a week, which not only gets him thousands of likes but also assures a steady stream of income. "It feels amazing. It is insane to have such an amazing reach on TikTok," The 22-year-old added.

Online fitness coach, Antonie Lokhorst has over a million followers on the app. /CGTN

Twan Elfers is Antonie's manager. With his partner Danny Roumimper he founded New Kith. They started in 2017 and are now managing over 20 social media stars.

Their loft office in the Noord region has a DJ turntable, a music studio and a pool table. The growth of TikTok has been the growth of their agency. "Companies want to advertise or to sponsor influencers via TikTok. And record labels use the platform to push their songs and their artists." Elfers said.

"At the moment, we're growing rapidly. That's good for us because if our talents are doing business, we are also doing business," he added.

Video editing: Riaz Jugon

[This article was updated on 24/8/2020 to change the description of Amsterdam Noord in the first paragraph.]