The NHL in the Social Media World: Jennifer Leggio

Today we’re going to have something a little different for everyone. Continuing our NHL and the Social Media series, we have Jennifer Leggio. Jennifer is the social business blogger for ZDNet, co-host of the Quick’n'Dirty podcast and a leader in new media. She’s a unique guest in that she’s a respected member in the Social Media world—but also a diehard hockey fan. In fact, she has dissected the intersection between hockey and social media multiple times.

Sit back and enjoy—if you have any interest in Social Media and the NHL, her answers will have you thinking for a while!

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How would you grade the NHL’s use of Social Media in relation to some other public organization? While some companies were quick to ride the Social Media wave, others begrudgingly participated because it became an expected part of business. Would you say that the NHL (and their teams) has been a leader or follower in the world of Social Media?

I think the NHL was smart about its entrance into social media. There are several companies that received initial “social media poster child” status because they jumped on the Twitter bandwagon, but the NHL took some time to sit back and evaluate its participation. Several of those poster child companies are now beating the Twitter drum, but haven’t done much else. The leadership team at the NHL was smart to observe and work to actually map out a social strategy that connects to what they are trying to do with the league, which from what I can tell is uplevel the general presence and further grow the sport so it’s not considered “secondary” in the U.S. any longer.

You recently wrote an article where you stated that you are looking for more from companies in the Social Media world. Where it used to be OK that the company had presence, now you’re looking for more—substance and depth. How would you say the NHL is doing in regards to your “substance” and “depth” requires?

When I think of the NHL and its social programs I view it in two ways: the organization as a whole and individual teams. I believe that the organization as a whole is getting closer to offering more substance to its users, the way that it is defining its online communities and by the way its trying to push social into real life by working with Dani Muccio, NHLTweetup founder, by bringing hockey fans out frombehind their televisions and into groups where they can have some real game camaraderie. I think there’s also a subtlety to the social programs that the NHL is doing, which bring a lot of substance. For example, this is my first year doing a Yahoo! Sports fantasy hockey league and they partner with the NHL. There’s a huge social element to that which is well managed by both companies and should not be overlooked. From a team perspective, I think many of them are lacking and missing a huge opportunity to engage with their fans in social programs. I don’t even follow my beloved San Jose Sharks on Twitter because the feed is nothing but a string of news. Disappointing for an organization that has so much personality otherwise.

The added exposure and interaction with passionate hockey fans all over the globe is an obvious positive to using outlets like Twitter and Facebook. But what are some potential dangers that the NHL should watch for in their use of Social Media?

Too much broadcasting of information. We have news feeds, blogs, and so on, for our player news and team news. We don’t need that shoved down our throats in an effort to be social. The conversation has to be two ways. Via Twitter, I think the NHL as a whole does an exceptional job of providing the right news and conversation and opinions to make them an interesting follow. However, many of the teams are still failing (like my forementioned Sharks) on that front.

The Los Angeles Kings have recently rolled out an official Twitter Plan on their website on Opening Day. Within the announcement, the Kings plan to integrate their television pregame (FS-West) and their radio broadcasts to their main Twitter account. Is this something that you can see other teams following or do you foresee problems with multiple users/personalities on a single account?

I think this is a good thing. I do find it kind of comical these days when a company announces its Twitter activies as if it is news, but I can get behind the team’s excitement. I see no problems with multiple users / personalities on a single account, as long as they are pretty open about who is tweeting what, which they are. This is made much easier by using sharing services like CoTweet or Hootsuite, which it looks like the Kings are using. Looking through the team’s feed there is a lot of interesting information, but there’s no conversation. I think with that many people running a Twitter feed there is no excuse not to converse with their fans. I honestly think that the teams could offer their fans something unique by hosting player chats on Twitter — or the league could push them to do that — and that would drive up the NHL community on Twitter a lot more. I haven’t heard of anyone doing that yet. Doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened, but it does mean it’s not happening enough. The other thing they could do is give the fans peeks into things they can’t see much of on their own — team gatherings, practices, etc. Not everything, but a picture here and there would go a long way.

Facebook has been the Social Media king for a couple of years now (which is an eternity in the Tech World); but if Facebook is king, Twitter is the Social Media darling. Most of an organizations online following seems to gravitate to either Facebook OR Twitter. Not both. If the NHL were to push one of their Social Media platforms, which do you think would be in their best interests?

That’s a tough one. There are different uses for both social networks and it depends on the objective the league is trying to meet. For instance, I believe Twitter with its broad reach and public conversations will do the league a lot more service in terms of growing fanship for the sport. Facebook, however, would be ideal for growing loyalties among its existing online community users. I would like to see the NHL integrate Facebook Connect into a community portal, as there is a sense of pride when community users spark conversations and can automatically share that with their Facebook networks. Plus, that might bring other hockey fans in that users Facebook network onto the message boards. Teams can do this, too.

On a personal level, you know as well as I do that hockey in California isn’t exactly a permanent element of the mainstream sports scene. Social Media is an important way for hockey fans living in non-traditional markets to get their hockey fix like they were living in Toronto or Vancouver. What are some things that the Sharks are doing well in Northern California?

San Jose is definitely not a hockey town, though I wish it was. I think the Sharks organization has done a phenomenal job of growing fanship in our area, and retaining fanship considering how transient Silicon Valley is (economic highs and lows, high job turnover, lots of moving in and out). They make the games fun. Not in a plastic Disney sort of way, but in a way that makes the fans truly feel like part of a community. I’m a post lockout fan so I wasn’t around when the team first got off the ground so I can’t speak to how it all started, but I’m pleased with what I’ve seen in my years of fanship. In terms of the social media aspect, they aren’t doing much right yet, as I said before. As a matter of fact, my friend Jane McMurry and I co-hosted a really nice NHL-sponsored tweet-up last year around a playoff road game; the event was intended to try and drive excitement around the playoffs. The Sharks organization refused to support it even by offering a simple tweet. I understand that if they helped one group they would have to help every group, but using social media defensively is not going to inspire a feeling of “Hockeytown” in San Jose.

What are some things that the Sharks (and NHL) should be doing better to have an increased Social Media presence for us fans in non-traditional markets?

I’ve ripped on the poor Sharks enough. I really am a fan, I swear. Beinga fan, however, means I take their actions much more personally, of course. I think the NHL is well on its way to helping fans in non-traditional markets with all of its online and offline community activities. The one thing that will make a big difference to the non-traditional market fans is helping them feel more connected to their teams. If the NHL can inspire more social media adoption at the team and even player level, well, then we all win.

Finally, a strictly hockey question: Can you please explain to me how the coaching staff decided on Rob Blake as the new captain of the Sharks?

I think Blake was a sensible choice to lead the Sharks. I have to note that while Patrick Marleau is still my favorite Shark, he never seemed comfortable being a leader, and always seemed reluctant with the added pressures of captaincy. McLellan was right to give Marleau another chance last season to lead our team to victory but once that didn’t happen, he had to find a seasoned leader and preferably one who could be the face of a new Sharks team. With Blake’s earlier captaincy with the Kings (twice) he had that experience, and he has a natural leadership with the Sharks that existed even before he got that C on his sweater.

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Here are all of the interviews from The NHL in the Social Media World series. If you have any interest whatsoever, you should check out what everyone had to say. Each guest comes from a different perspective, has a different area of expertise and brings something different to the table!

Interview with Greg Wyshynski of Yahoo’s Puck Daddy
Interview with Dani Muccio of NHLTweetUp
Interview with Jennifer Leggio of ZDnet
Interview with Buddy Oakes of PredsOnTheGlass
Interview with Eddie Garcia and Doug Stohland from Puck Podcast

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