In the zone: How brands can tap into the world of sports on TikTok

Sports fandom has found a new home on TikTok, where fans from around the world unite to celebrate the thrill of their favorite sports, leagues, and athletes. But while the games are happening on TV, the off-the-field conversations are playing out on TikTok, with enthusiasts capturing behind-the-scenes clips, athlete celebrations, sports history, and fan reactions across the platform.

TikTok's short-form video format makes it ideal for quick, digestible content that captures the excitement of the game and allows fans to engage with their favorite teams and athletes in real time. As a result, TikTok has become an essential destination for sports fans looking for a more immersive, interactive, and engaging sports experience. And thanks to fresh storytelling formats like hyper-engaging fan edits and reaction videos, fans stay engaged long after the game has ended.

So what does this mean for your brand? This article will explore the power of sports fandom on TikTok, along with insights and tips for brands to reach and engage with TikTok's highly engaged sports community.

The rise of SportsTok on TikTok

SportsTok is powered by the community-driven nature of the platform. According to a recent global study, 62% of users watch major sports events to be part of cultural conversations, and 61% feel a strong sense of community with other sports fans on TikTok.¹ As a result, sports fandom has surged, with a US study finding 57% of users watch sports content on the platform weekly,² and over half of TikTok sports fans follow a pro sports league account.³

The TikTok community is interested in a wide range of sports, with year-over-year video views up across #football (+86%), #volleyball (+116%), #basketball (+92%), #rugby (+91%), and #cricket (+128%) just to name a few.⁴

We've also seen the rise of emerging sports like #parkour (39 billion views), #skateboarding (24 billion views), and #freerunning (4.8 billion views) on the platform.⁵ Through the power of short video, athletes in these sports have found a fresh new way to showcase their skills and connect with audiences, attracting new fans and participants.

SportsTok often features crossover content as well, with interests ranging from fashion (users showing what they would wear to football games) to gaming (athletes participating in games and even building PCs), increasing the community's scope and giving everyone a seat in the stands. In fact, 73% of users enjoy seeing a crossover between sports and other areas on TikTok.¹

🔎 For a closer look at sports trends on TikTok check out our What's Next: Sports Trend Report here.

How brands can win with the TikTok sports community

SportsTok is redefining the way people around the world consume sports and is shaping a new culture around 24/7/365 fandom. So, how can your brand tap into this opportunity? We recommend two approaches: an "Always Engaged" strategy that combines organic and paid media, and tapping into the buzz around major sporting events for maximum reach and engagement.

Stay Always Engaged and leverage fan-made sports trends

Sports fans are passionate about their favorite teams and athletes, and they're looking for engaging content from brands on TikTok. According to a recent survey, the top types of sports-related ads and content that users want to see from brands are:⁶

1. Videos featuring their favorite athlete or team

2. Comedic or light-hearted videos

3. Live streams

4. Behind-the-scenes videos

5. Reenactments of sports moments

We recommend an "Always Engaged" strategy that combines organic and paid solutions and utilizes creators to help you reach your business goals. Organic content builds trust by being part of the community, while paid helps you reach your target audiences at scale. Creators help bridge the gap and form new connections. This approach can lead to increased brand love, recall, and resonance.

For organic content, brands should create posts that align with the interests and values of their audience. In this case, that could be behind-the-scenes footage, interviews with athletes, or fun challenges that encourage participation. Additionally, brands can collaborate with creators who have a large following and create content that resonates with their audience's interests, and then boost those organic posts as Spark Ads.

For paid content, brands can use In-Feed Ads to reach targeted audiences and scale their reach. These ads appear in users' For You feeds as they scroll through the app, and can be optimized for specific objectives such as clicks, views, and conversions. By creating content that is relevant and engaging to the user, brands can increase the likelihood of users engaging with their ads and ultimately converting.

Brands can also work with creators through TikTok's Creator Marketplace to develop entertaining and authentic content for both organic and paid purposes. By working with creators, brands can leverage their creativity, expertise, and influence to create content that users view as authentic and enjoyable. This not only helps increase brand recognition and awareness but also fosters a strong connection with the community.

Running ads during tentpole events

Brands can also reach sports fans on TikTok by aligning themselves with major sporting events, which often become significant moments on the platform. During major events like championship games and international tournaments, the conversations on TikTok can be lively and widespread, which presents brands with a great opportunity to connect with a vast audience during cultural milestones. Consider using these ad solutions to drive impact during sports tentpoles:

1. TikTok Pulse: Be at the heart of what's trending

TikTok Pulse places a brand's ad adjacent to the top 4% of TikTok videos in a specific category of their choosing (e.g. Sports or Beauty). This is an effective solution for brands looking to reach audiences when interest in particular content categories spikes during critical moments. For example, a sports drink brand could leverage Sports Pulse to run ads next to trending sports content when interest in this category peaks during a national basketball tournament.

• Pulse Premiere: Available Summer 2023, Pulse Premiere allows brands to place ads directly after videos from our publisher partners in the lifestyle & education, entertainment, and sports categories including the NFL, MLB and Turner Media.

• Seasonal Lineups: TikTok's first-ever moment-specific offering where advertisers can run ads next to the hottest, trending Pulse-eligible videos around a particular marketing moment, cultural or popular sporting event, or season at a time when communities are most interested in a shared moment or event, which can drive strong awareness of a brand.

2. Focused View: Grab people's undivided attention

To help capture your audience's undivided attention, try using Focused View, an ad delivery objective that targets users who are most likely to actively engage with an ad by viewing it for at least 6 seconds (i.e. optimizing for views) or by interacting with the video within the first 6 seconds (i.e. optimizing for engagement). Focused View not only guarantees maximum visibility for your ad during major sports events but also increases the chances of your target audience engaging with your brand and products, increasing brand and product awareness.

3. Top Feed: Create a memorable and lasting impression with a premium ad placement

To increase brand visibility during major sporting events, you can also use Top Feed, a Feed Type option for Reach & Frequency campaigns that lets you control when your ad appears in someone's TikTok feed. When you enable Top Feed, your ad will occupy the first in-feed ad slot on someone's TikTok feed when they open the app.

4. Branded Mission: Crowdsource branded content from creators

Use Branded Mission during major sporting events to collaborate with creators and reach new communities. With Branded Mission, TikTok creators will produce videos based on the requirements you set. A Branded Mission is a great way to develop authentic creations to spark meaningful engagement with the sports community.

5. TopView: Generate a mass awareness moment

TopView allows your brand to achieve maximum reach during tentpole moments with a full-screen, immersive video ad that appears as soon as users open the app. This works great for branding advertisers looking to drive awareness during major sporting events.

Play ball! Kick off your next campaign on TikTok

SportsTok is a fast-growing and enthusiastic community that offers an excellent opportunity for brands to connect with sports enthusiasts. To increase their impact, brands should create content that resonates with the community by aligning with their interests and values.

Sports-related brands can consider adopting an Always Engaged media approach, while all brands can leverage major sports events to reach a broader audience and become part of more significant cultural conversations. With the right strategy and approach, brands can establish genuine relationships and foster stronger brand loyalty with the sports community on TikTok.

Sources

1. TikTok Marketing Science Global, Custom Olympics & Sports Survey via Suzy, January 2023, Q12: How much do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements about sports in general? n=1907 TikTok users 18+

2. TikTok Marketing Science US Sports Fandom & Events Survey via Suzy, April 2022, Q: How often do you watch content on TikTok related to sports, athletes, sporting leagues, or sports discussions? n=990 TikTok users 18+

3. TikTok Marketing Science US Sports Fandom & Events Insights Survey via Suzy, April 2022, Q: Which of the following types of sports accounts, if any, do you FOLLOW on TikTok? n=630 TikTok users 18+

4. TikTok internal data, global, Mar 2022 vs. Mar 2023

5. TikTok internal data, global, Mar 2023

6. TikTok Marketing Science Global, Custom Olympics & Sports Survey via Suzy, January 2023, Q9: What types of advertising and social content would you most like to see from brands related to sports in general? n=1907 TikTok users 18+