Mascots Are Fantastic Social Media Influencers
TikTok was simply made for mascots. And mascots are perfect for TikTok. No longer just a curiosity, TikTok is hard to ignore with billions of app downloads, a young and growing global audience, and a platform that literally consumes hours and hours of time per day. For sports properties, sometimes early movers with new social media platforms or features, their mascot marketing strategy has been a fantastic way to jumpstart their TikTok account and activate young fans. And while some teams and individual athletes are finding success on TikTok, many sports mascots are their organization’s TikTok MVP and jumped out and scared people at a store. It’s time for sports organizations to have a TikTok mascot.
Through analyzing these TikTok mascot marketing strategies, social media and sports marketing teams can glean some great insights and ideas about tactics to try and what can cut through on this most democratic of all the platforms. If you’re just starting out on TikTok, you probably also want to read this Greenfly Guide to Sports Marketing on TikTok.
One of the central TikTok tenets (which works on TikTok and really on most of the social networks) is to find the intersection of pop culture and your team. Ultimately, TikTok is about entertainment, particularly around music, but other pop culture as well. The trick is finding fun (but not forced) and relevant ways to make that mix.
Check out a couple good examples below, first with Brutus the Buckeye (Ohio State’s mascot) repurposing some of the team’s content around Super Smash Bros [a popular game, and a “Choose Your Character” meme that was going around] and Viktor the Viking (Minnesota Vikings mascot), who does a great job exploiting pop culture and the various challenges and trends that permeate the platform.
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TikTok Mascot Marketing: Strategy #1
Pay attention to what’s popular, what songs are blowing up on Spotify and TikTok, and which challenges, memes, and trends could be creatively executed by your staff, talent, team, or, yes, mascot.
Another tried and true method for harnessing TikTok is teaming up with influencers for some good old-fashioned fun and letting them help guide the way, as well. These folks understand the platform better than anyone and the two brands can benefit from working with each other on something feels organic and that’s engaging.
Benny The Bull (Chicago Bulls mascot) has become the most-followed mascot on TikTok for many reasons [more on that later], but his work with influencers has given him a nice assist along the way and has resulted in some fun content, too. Your Mascot marketing strategy can entail partnering up with peers, too, as the NFL’s most popular mascot on TikTok—Blue of the Indianapolis Colts—has collaborated with Benny The Bull, as well as the aforementioned Viktor The Viking.
TikTok Mascot Marketing: Strategy #2
Who can your brand partner with to create some fun content on TikTok? One can start by crowdsourcing from customers or fans — even running a sweepstakes around a challenge relevant to your team or brand — or by searching hashtags that could relate to the brand or still by teaming up with a similar figure in your space much like mascots Blue, Viktor, and Benny in the examples above. TikTok loves a good duet and content with two parties interacting with each other can be magic.
Even if you’re a relative noob when it comes to TikTok, it quickly becomes clear that music is central to the platform and when content is synced to music—even better if it’s in both harmony and theme—that’s an ingredient for TikTok success. Major bonus points if your TikTok star can dance, and oh boy can some of these mascots dance.
Check out BYU mascot Cosmo the Cougar bust moves as one of college athletics’ most-followed mascots has grown to nearly 800,000 followers largely by repurposing dance routines in which he participates at BYU games. But the GOAT of the dancing and music aspects of TikTok among mascots is no doubt Benny The Bull. Check out his feed for a ton of great ideas and tactics, but also to marvel at his moves.
TikTok Mascot Marketing: Strategy #3
Are there dancers among your staff or talent? Are there songs or even dance routines in pop culture (past or present) that relate your brand or team? Many of the challenges are also dances. Also, recall the last point and do a split screen duet with another individual, brand or even yourself!
Another element that tends to do well on TikTok is surprising viewers, making them jump or their jaw drop. Back to the Colts mascot Blue (who, incidentally, teams up with Benny quite a bit) who jumped out and scared people at a store, and delighted viewers on TikTok. This TikTok mascot marketing ploy is also seen with Cosmo the Cougar, who gives fans watching that feeling of surprise as he casually walks up to the dance team already in action, and sends a fun shock to fan as he smoothly joins right in and doesn’t miss a beat.
TikTok Mascot Marketing: Strategy #4
Any brand can create a fun element of surprise. It could be hiding behind a corner and scaring coworkers or players, unboxing something surprising, doing some jaw-dropping activity or trick shot or move that can surprise and delight, or creating a feel-good surprise that can inspire emotion. TikTok is all about a series of quick upticks in dopamine for viewers – find a way to inspire that.
Finally, just like on any social platform, don’t be afraid to tell stories, miniature stories. These need not be masterpieces, but something like a scene or slice of life that can be funny or entertaining can go a long way. Many of the best mascot marketing strategies on TikTok use this tactic, whether repurposing content or creating something original.
Brutus the Buckeye is masterful at finding content that feels like a funny or climactic scene from a story that fits perfectly on TikTok, whether that is a Gatorade shower for the football coach after a win in The Game against rival Michigan or a hilarious halftime contest from men’s basketball. Benny The Bull also has fun with little vignettes, especially involving making a mess with popcorn, which can even play out across multiple posts.
TikTok Mascot Marketing: Strategy #5
Build mini-narratives that are simple, but fun. Any remotely casual sports fan can recall the long-running This Is SportsCenter commercials that ESPN has produced for years. Those kinds of mini-stories can find a good home on TikTok. It also means repurposing some of the best content from a brand’s story – winning a big game like the Buckeyes or a grand opening and celebration, a feel-good moment, or any slice of life that’ll inspire amusement or emotion can all be part of a balanced TikTok strategy.
TikTok is the flavor of the moment, and unlike many other passing fads that have come and gone in the last decade of social media, this one looks like it’s here to stay. There is plenty to learn just from scrolling through TikTok for a few minutes or a few hours, and, as seen in the examples above, the ability to be shameless, vulnerable, genuine, and to have unabashed fun is one reason why masked mascots have cultivated success on the platform. There is plenty to learn from these furry influencers, and any brand can adopt their tactics and try out TikTok for themselves.
How Digital Media Management Software Can Help You on TikTok
Greenfly’s digital content software can help you collaborate with creators and advocates to gather amazing TikTok content and co-create and edit it in so many different ways. Let’s take a look:
1. Find the Intersection of Pop Culture and Your Brand
You discovered that TikTok Challenge that is perfect for your brand. Or there’s a story out there you know is in that sweet spot junction of pop culture and your brand. If only there were a way to request talented individuals from your fan base, staff or customers.
There is! That’s one of the many great features of Greenfly— to request and receive content from others.
2. Team Up With Influencers
At Greenfly, customers that use the Greenfly platform to collect digital media photos and videos from their biggest influencers, whether that’s on-screen talent, players on the team, or even micro-influencers like the “ice crew” or spirit squad for an NHL team. It might be their mascot, every time. Every brand has its own influencers and advocates (and mascots!) and Greenfly can gather the best authentic, original, made-for-TikTok videos and unlock collaboration with them.
3. Make Content Synced to Music & Dancing (and TikTok Challenges
With the core of TikTok centered around participating in easily imitable moves, memes, and dances, it can be easy to collaborate with your community to create such fun content! If there’s a fun TikTok challenge going around, put out a request! Work for a sports team or program that has dances playing out every game and every night? Sync up with the game entertainment crew to traffic that content straight to your mobile device to post up on TikTok! It’s so easy with Greenfly and why we’re trusted by some of the biggest brands in the world.
4. Surprise Viewers
The beauty of this type of raw, not overly-produced shock and awe content is that it’s not too tough to create. You just need a mobile phone and can film right in the natural habitat of your mascot. Rather than using the resources of a video production team or even a social media manager’s time, mobilize the mascot, staff, intern or grassroots marketing team to create something fun and surprising to send back to the social team to touch up and post on TikTok. It doesn’t have to be hard.
5. Tell Miniature Stories
Your customers, staff and fans are living out relevant mini-stories every day. Often, they’re left on the camera roll or exposed only to an individual’s own social network when the masses that follow your brand or team would enjoy it even more. Turn your mascot into a full-time storyteller. Create an episode a week, or shoot for a day and create a month’s worth of clips to release continuously on TikTok. Mobilize, aggregate and make the most of that content across platforms, including TikTok! This plays out every day among Greenfly customers who collect authentic stories, videos, and experiences from their fans.
After digesting this article, you’ll want to read more about TikTok marketing in this in-depth guide. You can also contact us here at Greenfly – we’ll explain how you can increase brand value and build out a sound TikTok digital and social strategy leveraging ambassadors.
