Content Creator Becomes the Content

By: Cass Ferguson

Working in social media, one knows that you are the one creating the content, but when the tables are turned and you are now the content – it’s a whole new ball game.

​Welcome ‘Sports As A Job’ fam to Hailey Davis’ story, where she talks to us about her journey, social media 101, and so much more. Let us take a couple steps back to where this all began (whether Hailey knew it or not). As a child Hailey loved sports; she loved playing hockey to be exact. Being around hockey always made her so happy. Now, let’s fast forward to where she is today as the Growth Hacker for the Ottawa 67’s in the Ontario Hockey League. As a born and raised Ottawa native, she found it a perfect fit to work for OSEG (Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group).

How did you end up doing what you are doing and where you are today?

Hailey said, “My story is different from others. My story took different routes, but each route I took has only helped me get to where I am today.” She knew she wanted to work under the business marketing realm of things so she headed off to Nipissing University in North Bay, Ontario to get her journey started. She discovered that this was not the best fit at the time so transferred back to Algonquin College in Ottawa, Ontario. Like Davis said, she “took different routes” so once she received her diploma she actually transferred back to Nipissing to get her degree. This is when her eyes were fully opened wide to sports. Hailey said, “It wasn’t until my 4th year that I realized that I wanted to do sports marketing.” She also noted, “This is where I brought together my two passions – marketing and sports.”

After finding her passion, Hailey’s real challenge she proposed to herself was, “I know I can make a career out of this, but how?” She took this question seriously, which is when she landed an internship with Adidas in Germany. She packed up and went overseas for a month. Like she said, “This was a huge and amazing experience for me where I got to learn about such an amazing industry that Adidas is in.” With such success there, she thought to herself, “Now that I’m back home, I need to get into the sports industry, but how am I doing to do this?”  Her journey to date had led her to do some freelance work, volunteering, networking, and she truly loved every step.

Hailey believes that social media has a large impact on the success of a company. As time went on, Hailey was still looking for that “dream job”. A vacancy opened up with OSEG for the Ottawa 67’s brand in a content role.

Hailey said, “This is MY DREAM JOB! I’m going to be working with an amazing organization, such as OSEG, and I’m going to work and be the voice behind the Ottawa 67’s brand.” Basically, she needed this job. Low and behold, after a few rounds
of the interviewing process and returning home from a vacation, her DREAM came true!

Dream job landed – Title of Growth Hacker was given, so let the work begin. Most people ask Hailey what a Growth Hacker is and she explains it as “someone who handles all the social media for the brand (Ottawa 67’s), design and edit aspects on
the website and blog, and email marketing campaigns.” Basically, she is the voice behind the brand when it comes to any communication. In the end, she wears a lot of different hats, but she wouldn’t have it any other way. Even with wearing so many hats, she provides a one-of-a-kind experience for fans through the use of the team’s (Ottawa 67’s) social media platforms.

Please What does a typical game day look like for you?

A game in itself can be very busy for all, but how you handle the situation is what makes or breaks the situation. Hailey said a game day for social media all starts when the lineups are released onto the platforms, then moves onto the physical story
telling of the game – posting warm-ups, fan shots, score recaps, game highlights, play-by-play of the game and so much more. Hailey shared that, “social media is so important because it allows for fans who aren’t at the game to feel like they are, or to make them want to come to a game and even come back for a second, or third game.” It basically comes down to the fact that you want to showcase the game to the best of your ability to a fan who may not have a TV or a radio. Social media truly does have a start to finish impact on a person’s thoughts, feelings and emotions.

Social media has a massive impact on today’s world. It is important to know how platforms differ. Hailey explains, “Knowing who’s using/ on each platform and what each platform is used for” can be a huge benefit to a brand to decide what platforms they want to use or focus more on. Hailey spoke to the platform of Twitter and the importance of it, not only the Ottawa 67’s, but sports and hockey in general – “ I believe that Twitter can offer much by exposing your brands’ values, goals and objectives to your fans, your owners, sports fans as a whole, other hockey teams, players, friends/ family. You don’t realize how much Twitter can offer until you try.”

Although Twitter was one of the more important platforms to Hailey, she brought up a great point of, “Don’t underestimate the value that another platform can bring to the table, but that being said, you need to understand the audience that is using/ on that platform. For example, Facebook might be more of your ‘Mom’ and ‘Dad’ kind of age range, while Instagram being more of the millennial.”

Knowing your story, knowing you want to work in social media, but just can’t seem to catch that break or you feel like you’re missing out on something, these few tips might help you out:

 Do not be afraid to put yourself out there.
 Take time to network with people.
 Ask them to go on a coffee chat.
 Have them look over your resume.
 Go to networking events.
 Network with people who may not be in sports, but work in social media
because they could provide you with a new outlook.
 Be passionate.
 Always want to be the better version of yourself.
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Here at Sports As A Job we want to thank Hailey Davis for telling her story. Someone out there in the world may be in the same shoes as you or has been, and what they have to say can only help in the long run. Remember, your story can and should be told.

Want to connect with Hailey?
Twitter: @haidavii
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/haileychdavis/