TikTok Sports Photography Content Opportunity Breakdown™ Q4 2021 & Q1 2022

Key Takeaways

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Top content opportunities in the Photography & Videography space include:

Sport Photoshoot Hacks

• Tricks to Capture the Shot: These videos showcase tricks photographers use to help them capture the perfect picture, such as taping a volleyball to a player’s hand or a soccer ball to their back.,

Team Cheers & Cellys

• Pre-game Chants & Team Celebrations: These videos feature the exciting and fun moments of teams performing chants, dances or celebrations before, during and after the game.

Behind the Shot

• BTS vs the Final Product: Posts feature video footage taken at a game or behind-the-scenes at a photoshoot and then present the final photo.

Mic’d Up Moments

• Up Close & Personal: Videos featured funny clips from athletes wearing mics while practising or competing.

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The top 20* TikTok posts from Oct. ‘21 to Apr. ‘22 from the following photography/videography creators were analyzed in this case study: 

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TikTok Content Bucket Definitions

• Sport Photoshoot Hacks: Showing hacks on how photographers take epic sport photoshoots. 
• Team Cheers & Cellys: Videos of team cheers or celebrations. 
• Behind the Shot: Video footage of the photo subject vs the end result. 
• Mic’d Up Moments:  Humorous clips from players while being "mic'd up" during a game.
• Smartphone Tricks: Videos teach viewers how to take creative photos/videos using smartphones. 
• Motorsport Photographer Facts: Videos answering questions or sharing facts about being a motorsports photographer.
• POV Sports Photographer: Footage taken from the photographer's vantage point while they capture sports moments.
• Video vs Photos: Posts feature video clips and then share the photos taken from the event or game. 
• Sports Photos 101: Educational videos teaching viewers the basic skills and techniques for capturing sports. 
• Creative Photo BTS: Videos reveal the techniques used to capture creative photos with optical illusions or unique subjects.
• Featured Work: Photographer/videographer introduces themselves and then showcases their work. 
• Photo Dump: A compilation of photos synced with music. 
• Sports Photography Memes: Funny or relatable sports photography content.
• ‍Shorebreak Videos: Stunning footage of a wave breaking on the shore.

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Content buckets that had the highest average number of views & engagement in the photography space on TikTok include:

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Good performing content opportunities in the photography space on TikTok include:

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Substandard performing content opportunities for photography space on TikTok include:

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Low performing content opportunities for the photography space on TikTok include:

Content Opportunities:

1. Sport Photoshoot Hacks

Tricks to Capture the Shot: Videos showcase tricks photographers use to help them capture the perfect picture, such as taping a volleyball to a player’s hand or a soccer ball to their back. Top videos were shared by Rock Town Media.

Tactics to Implement:

• Video Covers: Rock Town Media uses TikTok's "Glitch" video cover on all of its videos to spotlight which sport is featured in the post.
• Duration: Videos that were under 9 seconds long generated the most engagement and views on average, followed by videos that were 50-59 seconds in length.

Top Format:

• Video Duration: 7 & 8 seconds
• # of Hashtags: 10 & 11

8M Views

7M Views

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‍2. Team Cheers & Cellys

Pre-game Chants & Team Celebrations: Videos feature the exciting, fun moments of teams performing chants, dances or celebrations before, during and after the game. Top videos were shared by sports photographer and videographer Ethan Wagner. 

Tactics to Implement:

• Memorable Moments: Share the fun and exciting moments from sports videos and showcase what makes that team or player unique.   
• Video Replies: Use comments on your popular videos to help inspire new content and make video replies to those comments.
• High-Quality Uploads: The majority of top-performing videos on TikTok have a min. resolution of 720p or higher*. When publishing high-res videos on TikTok, ensure you have selected the “allow high-quality uploads” option.

Top Format:

• Video Duration: 13 & 12 seconds
• # of Hashtags: 11 & 0

9M Views

885K Views

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‍3. Behind the Shot

BTS vs the Final Product: Posts feature video footage taken at a game or behind-the-scenes at a photoshoot and then present the final photo.

Tactics to Implement:

• Lo-Fi: Unlike other platforms which focus on heavily curated content, TikTok is a place where you can show the world your creative process. Take your audience behind the scenes of a shoot and delight them with the final product. 
• Post Regularly: Of the creators in the competitive set, rocktownmedia has the third-lowest amount of followers, yet they generated more views (76M) than all the other creators combined (60M). Rocktownmedia posted 412 times and had 18 videos generate >1M views from Oct. ‘21 to Apr. ‘21. TikTok rewards creators for posting content regularly. 

Top Format:

• Video Duration: 6 & 8 seconds
• # of Hashtags: 14 & 12

7M  Views

4M Views

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‍4. Mic’d Up Moments

Up Close & Personal: Originating from the NFL in 1967, “Mic’d Up Moments” give fans the first-person perspective of life on the field by recording players with microphones while they play. Top videos on TikTok featured funny clips from athletes wearing mics while practising or competing.

Tactics to Implement:

• Humour: A study found that most people use TikTok to find funny or entertaining content, whereas they use Instagram mainly to share content. The most popular “Mic'd Up Moments” posts featured short, funny clips to entertain viewers with humour.
• Hashtags: Of the videos analyzed, videos using 11 hashtags generated the most engagements and views, followed by those with 12.  

Top Format:

• Video Duration: 46 & 54 seconds
• # of Hashtags: 8 & 11

3M  Views

1M Views

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