If you would like to watch a nine-second video of Philadelphia Eagles offensive lineman Lane Johnson sitting at his locker and using a fork to catch an apple tossed his way, join the crowd. Since it was posted Sept. 18, more than 6.4 million people have viewed the “Apple-Fork Challenge” on the Eagles’ new team account on TikTok, the short-form video app that’s widely popular among Generation Z.
The Eagles have aggressively shared behind-the-scenes content on TikTok to connect in new ways with their massive fan base.
Two months after the NFL announced a partnership with TikTok on Sept. 3, the Eagles have become the most followed team account in the league, with more than 310,000 followers through last Thursday. From behind-the-scenes player antics to quick videos of the team’s cheerleaders showing off their dance moves during the week, the more than 45 brief posts have attracted more than 20 million total views for the Eagles. They have set a high bar as NFL teams wade into the waters of TikTok, which has 800 million monthly active global users, including more than 30 million in the United States, according to AdAge, citing a leaked ad pitch deck from June.
The Eagles’ goal is to grow its fan base among youth and among women, which is exactly what TikTok brings. Though they don’t have exact data of user ages, the Eagles believe the majority of their TikTok account audience is younger than 25, and at least 60% is female. The traction the Eagles’ account has seen in two months — with an average of 7,000 new followers per day — has exceeded even their expectations.
“There is an aspect of TikTok that is so incredibly unique,” said Jen Kavanagh, the Eagles’ senior vice president of marketing and media. “You tap into something that’s really special and it allows you to create a connection and create an audience that otherwise is very difficult to reach. The more we lean in to what TikTok is all about, the more engagement we see.”
The NFL’s TikTok account had more than 1.3 million followers as of last Thursday, and the Pittsburgh Steelers’ team account ranks second in followers with more than 285,000.
The Eagles try to create different types of content for TikTok than they would post on other social media platforms, posting videos emphasizing creative expression that they believe the platform’s younger audience enjoys. The team’s social media team of five staffers largely runs the account, working collaboratively at times with players to decide which of TikTok’s popular challenges would work best with which players.
They believe the team and the league are just scratching the surface with TikTok’s reach and potential. If audience growth continues, the Eagles believe potential revenue opportunities exist as well. They are engaged in conversations with existing brand partners as well as potential brand partners, discussing innovative ways to integrate partner brands or play out their objectives through TikTok content.
“TikTok is on their radar,” Kavanagh said. “It’s on the radar of brands that are thinking innovatively and progressively, so it’s really nice to be able to say to them, ‘We are there. We get it. We’re growing. We have a strategy. So if you want to partner with us on it, we’re ready to have that conversation.’”
