Shelby Mull - Marketing & Communications Director for the International Ice Hockey Federation - explains how they achieved 163% year-on-year increase in Facebook engagements in the #SportOnSocial League Table 2023.
Shelby Mull - Marketing & Communications Director for the International Ice Hockey Federation - explains how they achieved 163% year-on-year increase in Facebook engagements in the #SportOnSocial League Table 2023.
Do you treat Facebook differently to other platforms when planning and creating your content and, if so, how?
For the IIHF, Facebook is a unique tool where we can connect with audiences outside English-speaking countries. We do this by creating unique pieces of content in localized languages, and geotargeting those posts via paid ads. This strategy has supported follower growth and engagement in countries like Czech Republic, Latvia and Sweden.
Does the International Ice Hockey Federation have any tactical changes lined up for its social media strategy moving forward to continue this growth?
In 2023, our strategy is to expand our investment in people to include work outside tournaments. Our social media content team is an integral part of our success at events, and we will aim to replicate and expand those opportunities.
In 2023, we will also implement additional marketing campaigns such as “Inspire The Next” (to support women in hockey) and “Officially Cool” (to support the recruitment of game officials).
What tactical executions from 2022 are you most proud of?
In 2022, the IIHF’s coverage of the 2022 Olympic Winter Games was our most unique approach to content compared to other tournaments. In the case of the Olympics, we need to cover two tournaments (men’s and women’s) without access to Olympic video footage.
Beijing2022 was an opportunity to be creative with photos, GIFs and archive footage and this helped re-shape our approach to content creation for future tournaments.
#SportOnSocial League Table 2023
