Weird, Unpolished Sports Content Is Thriving on TikTok
In the sports industry, no social media platform has more potential than TikTok, the most downloaded app in the world in the first quarter, according to market intelligence company Sensor Tower.
“In terms of why you’re seeing everybody flock to TikTok, whether that’s a creator, celebrity, sports property, athlete or brand, it’s because it is by far the best way to build massive audience,” said Derek Goode, senior vice president of influencer marketing at 160over90, a global cultural marketing agency.
New Morning Consult data illustrates the importance of sports entities’ having a presence on the social media platform as well as the room they still have to grow in the space: 46% of self-identified TikTok users said they “often” or “sometimes” use social media to stay up to date with game highlights, while 42% said they use it for player highlights. Meanwhile, 43% of TikTokers said they use social media at least sometimes for sports news, and about 3 in 10 (31%) users watch behind-the-scenes content via social media.
TikTok, which started as the app Musical.ly before the Chinese tech company ByteDance Ltd. bought it in 2017 and rebranded the platform, made its way to the sports ecosystem in 2019. Since then, digital strategists, social media specialists and marketers have only further emphasized TikTok’s importance when building a brand online. And they've found that, in general, the weirder, the better.
In interviews, various marketers touted the platform’s unique user experience, agreeing that TikTok content cannot be easily repurposed on or from other social media platforms. Providing content consistently is key, they said, as the TikTok algorithm rewards users who post frequently.
“My goal is ultimately to peek behind the curtain and bring users to that front row,” said Jenna McNaney, TikTok’s lead for sports partnerships. McNaney said she encourages publishers to capture content that provides a “more holistic bubble of the sports world that you’re not necessarily getting in other places.”
Weird, wacky and unpolished works on TikTok
Premier Lacrosse League Chief Executive Paul Rabil initially used TikTok in 2019 “like a Final Cut service,” the athlete-turned-executive said, taking plenty of time to edit clips like he would for Instagram or YouTube. World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. experimented with more archival footage, while MLS’ Inter Miami CF recently launched its account with well-produced, polished content.
All proved to be the wrong way to consistently leverage TikTok, marketers said. Executives interviewed generally agreed that the less flashy, sparingly produced content traditionally performs better on the platform. Almost all of Inter Miami’s TikTok content is captured through an iPhone with minimal editing.
“This platform optimizes with zero strategy, a good gut for creativity and maybe a little humor,” said Rabil, who described TikTok as a “low bandwidth, high-yield” platform. “TikTok encourages a range of personality, authenticity and creativity.”
Rabil posted a TikTok video in February in which he punched his gym locker code, 9999, into locker number 99 — his longtime uniform number. He paired the action with a trending audio clip (“Nobody’s gonna know”), generating nearly 500,000 views in an hour. It took Rabil 30 seconds to create the video.
“The first two seconds has to be something that is eye-catching, basically like saying ‘WTF?’” said Steve Braband, WWE’s vice president of digital media.
When the creative agency 160over90 advises content creators or brand clients like Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc., Anheuser-Busch InBev SA and Capital One Inc., it recommends an 80-20 rule for TikTok: produce 80% of rawer, less-produced content and 20% of polished, well-edited content.
“That 80 percent of the content is going to perform the highest nine out of 10 times,” Goode said.
Beyond the obscure and unconventional, sports teams and leagues have discovered that behind the scenes, access-driven videos also resonate with fans.
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