Gaining 1.9M TikTok Followers in 6 Months

Key Takeaways

‍

Focus Allocation — TikTok: In North America, TikTok has seen massive growth, with a +139% YoY increase in monthly active users (MAU) for the month of September. TikTok currently has 19M MAUs on the app, with 44% of those users being male and 105M monthly site visits, with 51% of website visitors being male – making this platform extremely attractive for men’s activewear. 

Currently, Gymshark and Nike are the only two activewear brands that have established a large following on the platform – indicating a massive white space opportunity on TikTok. 

Tactic — Post Consistently & Frequently: When building an initial audience on a new platform, it’s important to post consistently and frequently to encourage followers to expect content from your brand. On average, Gymshark publishes 40 videos per month which has been a driving factor in the brand building an audience of 2M followers.

Tactic — Incorporate Trending Content Buckets to Giveaways: Rather than simply asking followers to follow or comment to enter a giveaway, Gymshark created a 66 Day Fitness Challenge which encouraged followers to post a “before” and “after” video. Gymshark took advantage of the fact that transformation videos on TikTok are largely popular – incorporating trending content themes into their giveaway strategy.

Gymshark also worked with influencers who were able to produce content that was currently trending on TikTok, such as dance videos, twins/sibling duos, and workout dance routines.

‍

In North America, TikTok has recently seen massive growth, with a +139% YoY increase in MAU for the month of September.

‍

TikTok has an extremely large male audience on both the app (44%) and website (51%).

‍

TikTok users are turning to the app for fitness-related content, with the most popular hashtag (#fitness) generating over 44B views globally.

Although #activewear looks quite small on the graph, it still represents 118M views which is extremely high

‍

Top content categories for fitness-related TikTok videos include workout tips, workout dances, and no-equipment workouts due to the pandemic.

‍

There is currently a white space opportunity on TikTok as there are only two major men activewear brands that have established a following on the platform, with Gymshark being the clear leader with 2M followers.

Brands with No TikTok Account:

• Bonobos
• Club Monaco
• J.Crew
• COS
• Adidas
• Gap

‍

‍

Gymshark has amassed a huge following on TikTok (1.9M) and on average they gain 14K new followers per week.

‍

Gymshark’s TikTok strategy is to post consistently and frequently - publishing an average of 40 videos per month.

‍

Gymshark’s top performing video categories include...

Video that take a humour approach to gym and fitness-related topics - which resonate well with the fitness audience that experience similar frustrations or situations in their daily lives.

Challenges and interesting fitness ideas for viewers to try at home or in the gym, which typically include a unique take on an exercise or something to try with friends.

Videos that act as motivation for gym-goers and those that are focused on improving their fitness, such as athletes with incredible flexibility, power, or strength, which aims to give viewers something to aspire to.

‍

On Jan. 1, 2019 Gymshark announced the “66 Days Challenge” where followers were encouraged to document their fitness journey by sharing “before” and “after” videos.

Campaign Objective: Brand Awareness

How to Enter? Choose a fitness goal and upload a “before” and “after” video after 66 days

Prize: A year’s supply of Gymshark

Result:  #gymshark66 generated 193M views

‍

TikTok partnered up with macro influencers who had more than 1 million followers in categories spanning fitness, health, and dance to generate hype and raise brand awareness.

Campaign Objective: Brand Awareness

Influencer Strategy: Partnered with macro influencers (1M+ followers) on TikTok to take advantage of their wide reach and audience size

Content Strategy: Worked with influencers that produced content which was trending on TikTok (i.e: dance videos, twin duos, & workout dance routines) to raise awareness around the hashtag #gymshark66