KEY INSIGHTS
Overall, the Seattle Sockeyes have the digital channels that are needed to start the brand and engage with potential fans. However, we aren’t optimizing content for each channel and are mostly posting the same content on every channel, instead of giving each channel its own identity. Instagram is by far the most successful digital channel and has the most engaged audience, so should be focused on and utilized the most in our content strategy. They also already have a small engaged fan base, which we see in the unofficial Facebook account and on the Fan portal. These will be a great starting place to market the benefits of our application.
CURRENT MEDIA
The NHL is currently heavily focused on owned media (promotion through league-controlled channels) and earned e.g. mentions on social media and traditional media outlets, and word-of-mouth. The Seattle Sockeyes will venture more into paid advertising and paid media to augment the owned and earned impact and to drive growth, engagement, and business results.
SEATTLE SOCKEYES INTERACTIVE FAN PORTAL
As a new team, the Seattle Sockeye’s have started to set up our own channels in order to begin marketing and reaching potential fans. The hashtag #LiveHockey is used in all of our posts. A fan portal launched in the spring of 2019, which answers questions and polls fans what they prefer regarding such things as team name, arena music, uniform colors, arena food, and celebration sound.
SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS BEING USED: FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM
Although the Sockeyes are utilizing major social media channels, all of the same content is posted on each platform with the exception being Instagram, where additional content is posted. The majority of content is team announcements and posing questions to followers.
ADDITIONAL MEDIA CHANNELS – YOUTUBE AND OTHER SITES
YouTube is a popular channel for NHL teams to share both professional and fun videos of players and fans. Currently, the Seattle Sockeyes do not have many videos and the channel is not set up or organized and has only 352 followers. The most popular video was a fan forum.
The Seattle Sockeyes have a subsite on NHL.com that provides roster, schedule, highlights, etc. This is a simple site that is set up like all other team sites; however, it also has Seattle TV, which is a microsite to share videos. This includes team updates and announcement videos, as well as more professional player interviews than are posted on the other social accounts and on YouTube.