FORT FRANCES — Two and a half years have flown by since Cameron Penney began his work in one of the most fast-paced and exciting industries as manager of social media at True North Sports Entertainment, the company that owns the Winnipeg Jets.
Similar to the players on the ice, Penney and his team are competing against 31 other teams in the digital rink to see who can gain the most social media engagement. Each day always looks different, he says, whether he is travelling with the Jets to the next game and capturing behind-the-scenes content, tweeting about the game remotely, or creating post-game media.
Penney finds opportunities to create content that helps fans feel more connected to the Jets, making them feel like they know the players themselves.
In the past, the Jets had a trip where they invited a guest to join them on the road to see what their work life looked like. Many players invited their dad to tag along, giving Penney the opportunity to ask the question, “Who is your favourite player on the team that isn’t your son?”
“It was really fun to get a mix of answers,” Penney said. “Some dads say, ‘Oh, I can’t pick a favourite; I love all these players.’ Some dads are like, ‘Oh, I definitely have a favourite.’ And it was really cool to see how a lot of the personalities of the dads matched the personalities of the sons. And that was something that fans really appreciated.”
“We really think the fans gravitate to those videos. The fans get to know the players on a deeper level by seeing their personality come out. It's been really cool to see some of the players enjoy doing those videos as well. And our social teams have built up a rapport with the hockey team.”
Sports have connected people for centuries. Back then, fans could follow a hockey game through the radio, straining to listen to a commentator announce plays. Only recently, social media has given fans access to the player beyond the rink.
However, when Penney graduated from Fort Frances High School in 2015, the role of “Manager of Social Media” did not exist.
“I think it’s really interesting how things have changed so quickly,” he said.
Penney carved a space for himself in the social media industry by gaining skills in writing, photography, video editing, graphic design, and broadcasting through unexpected opportunities along the way.
X, formerly known as Twitter, was the first social media platform he gravitated toward as a young journalist.
At his high school, Penney learned how to use Photoshop for a class and taught himself how to edit videos when making them for clubs or community organizations. He gained writing experience as a co-op student and summer reporter for the Fort Frances Times and later completed his journalism degree at Carleton University before transferring to the University of Ottawa communications program.
During his undergraduate degree, Penney oversaw the social media accounts for the University of Ottawa varsity hockey team. One opportunity led to another until Penney had made a name for himself in social media.
He worked as a sports editor at The Charlatan in Ottawa, then as a junior communications advisor for the Competition Bureau Canada, in various roles such as hockey communications specialist at the University of Ottawa for almost three years and as manager of community relations and fan experience at Moncton Wildcats Hockey Club.
“Every opportunity I got, I never said ‘no’ to anything, I always said ‘yes’. I always took on every challenge, and it became this role I carved out for myself,” Penney said. “I think social media slowly evolved into something that's been a big part of my career.”
Between himself and another manager, the two split responsibilities on how they tackle social media strategy. Other departments contribute to graphic design, videos and marketing, making it one big team that supports content strategy. The goal is to get more “eyeballs” on their content so that the algorithm shows more of their posts to social media users.
“The strategy on social media is you need to do as many posts as possible that people like, that people want to share, that get people excited,” Penney said. “If you tweet and no one likes it, and no one shares it, if you're gonna get less eyeballs on it. Then the algorithm says, ‘Well, people didn't really like your post, so I'm not sure if I'm going to show your post to too many people next time.’”
This year, Penney reveals that the strategy is to tweet alongside people who like to watch the game on TV and look at Twitter at the same time. He reacts to goal highlights and posts fun pictures then analyses how well the post performs.
“It’s constantly changing, constantly moving, like this living, breathing animal, and that’s the challenge every day as I'm trying to figure out how to solve it and make the most exciting posts,” he said.
Since beginning his job, Penney has found it increasingly important to spend less time on screens outside of his 9 to 5. At concerts, he likes to take a video clip for memories and then keep his phone in his pocket for the remainder of the show.
“I want to live in the moment and experience. I don't want all these personal moments to be experienced through a phone screen,” he said. “Because I'm posting so much on Twitter and Instagram, I don't post as much on my personal platform in comparison.”
As an avid hockey fan himself who played the sport growing up, working in his current role continues to feel like a dream job.
“Everyone's got a story on how much hockey means to them or how it's impacted them in some way or how they met people through hockey. I think being a part of that world every single day is really special,” he said.
Penney says he would love to hear from people and invites residents from Fort Frances who are interested in attending a Jets game to reach him via email at cpenney@tnse.com for help getting connected with tickets.
Follow the Winnipeg Jets on social media at @NHLJets.
The Fort Frances Times / Local Journalism Initiative
