New to the TikTok platform in September 2019, the Eagles are currently No. 1 in the NFL on TikTok in views and No. 2 in the NFL on TikTok in followers and engagement. We gained over 620,000 followers on this new account in a single season. When creating our @PhiladelphiaEagles TikTok account, we knew this would be an opportunity to connect with a younger audience as well as audiences across the world. We created a TikTok strategy we felt would lead us to engaging with a new audience and creating new Eagles fans by giving an inside look at the brand, organization, players, and coaches.
From the very first post on the @PhiladelphiaEagles TikTok account, we specifically focused on content that would bring fans inside the organization, from community outreach, to locker room silliness, to staff-led challenges. Our most popular TikTok series was playing off an apple/fork challenge popular on the app, first with players, and then with the artist behind the song, Krypto9095. Those two TikToks combined for over 30 million views, with countless downloads and even a segment on the popular show “Strahan & Sara.” Working with a TikTok influencer was also a strategy that paid off for us. The three TikToks we created with Krypto9095 accumulated close to 14 million views and nearly 1 millions likes.
The app has also become an incredible storytelling platform for our brand. When we have extremely powerful stories to tell, such as the conclusion of the Pleasantville/Camden high school football game at Lincoln Financial Field, we've found that TikTok is the perfect place for that content to live. Viewers watch the entire video, allowing us as a brand to tell a story completely and help our audience connect with these moving, inspirational moments. We've tried to take a varied approach, making sure to share this type of content with users on the app.
We have also worked extensively with the Philadelphia Eagles Cheerleaders as part of our TikTok strategy. Dance challenges are extremely popular on the app, and who better to participate in these challenges than the professional dancers and gymnasts that make up our squad? By working together, we've been able to participate in many trending challenges, creating over 30 TikToks that have accumulated over 10 million views (not including the apple/fork challenge). The Philadelphia Eagles Cheerleaders have become a key part of our TikTok success and continue to help us build our TikTok following.
We've tested posting time extensively to try and maximize our views and engagement. We've found that late afternoon posts tend to perform better than any other time, and we believe that's directly correlated with the average user age. The timing lines up with school dismissal times so we've continued to post our content late afternoon and early evening.
Finally, one of the most important tactics we've used on TikTok is creating custom content for the app. Content created specifically for TikTok always performs better and ressonates more with our audience than repurposed content.
By employing a strategy of fun-first, while also leaving room for powerful storytelling, as well as spotlighting our fluency in the app and its culture, we’ve gained over 620,000 followers, over 72 million video views, and 8.2 million engagements in five months. The @PhiladelphiaEagles TikTok is the most viewed, second-most followed, and second most engaged-with TikTok amongst the 32 NFL clubs. The TikTok account has a follower breakdown of 60.3% women and 39.7% male while also reaching a younger demographic, allowing the Philadelphia Eagles brand to reach a different audience than on other social media platforms.
TikTok has truly become a way for our Philadelphia Eagles brand to connect with audiences all over the world. Our videos have been shown not only in the United States, but also in Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Mexico, Italy, Australia, China, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Japan. Reaching audiences across the world has proven our strategy is paying off and has resulted in views, engagement, and audience growth.
