NHL Social Media Audit
The NHL on its own has a very strong and active social media presence. They make consistent posts that allow for casual fans of the league to follow and engage in games all around the league. It’s a very digestible product that is cut correctly to show exactly what is needed to understand the play. They also have their promotions posted on their socials.
Where they are succeeding:
The NHL has done a great job of reviving their league and gathering new fans to the sport. In recent past the league was almost on its way out to most fans. It has found a resurgence. This is because of the hype surrounding their talent. They have done an amazing job at creating and sustaining buzz to their star youth. This started with Auston Matthews, continued with Conor McDavid, and is most recently being upheld with Connor Bedard. These extremely hyped prospects have made the NHL fun to watch. The sheer skill and ability these players possess in top notch. It makes any time they are on the ice a must watch. They market these players very well. All NHL players are known for their humbleness and humility.
Having a marketable product that people want to root for is a major leg up on others. Comparing it to the NFL, where they are much larger. However, their most marketed players are becoming annoying to a lot of other football fans. They are tired of seeing the same people and teams. They want some new blood. This is where the NHL is different. Their players are known as warriors and extremely tough. Nobody in the NHL is known as a diva or is criticized for how they conduct themselves. Hockey is an old-fashioned sport, and in a world of new generation, everyone is looking for a little bit of edge. The NHL has this intangible product that no one can replicate. They just need to reach more people and broaden their fan base.
They have every team in the league run their own separate account. This is very positive for their outreach and their image as a whole. It creates more job opportunity, promotes their players, and brings attention to local markets.
What they can do better:
The NHL needs to reach more people plain and simple. Word needs to spread, and deals need to happen. Their product needs to be shown more.
The content itself isn’t bad. It’s a lot of game highlights. Preferably we would see more long length behind the scenes videos on game day interactions and content. Their social pages are very run of the mill cookie cutter content. They need to find ways to set themselves apart. The more personal posts are made on the team pages, but those videos can be uploaded to the main league account as well. It would help market players and teams to other fans of the league.
Moving forward:
The league should work on having engaged fans and using popular culture and memes to their advantage. Especially on tiktok, those videos to extremely well. We’ve seen other teams use this method, and it works well for them. They should also work on showing more of their players personalities. These two suggestions could really broaden their fanbase, and recruit more young kids to the sport.
