Social Media 101 with Brandi Awad

By: Cass Ferguson

When you think about it, social media is an aspect that is part of everyone’s lives in one way or another; whether it be for personal use, professional use or run social media as their job. Any way you look at it, it’s a part of our lives whether we realize it or not.

When you sit down and chat with someone who works with social media platforms every day, their experiences during a day are different, their journey to getting to where they are now are different, and honestly, the importance of social media to someone may be different too. For Brandi Awad, all of this is true.

As a young professional dreaming of one day working for TSN, Brandi took every chance she got to learn, shadow and network with people so that one day this dream could become a reality. She said, “Since day one, I always wanted to work for TSN. I always wanted to be a sports reporter on TV and that was the dream since I was a little kid. Sports were always a part of my family; not so much playing them, but when it came to watching them, that was huge in my house. For example, football on Sundays, was like church for my family.” 

She went on to explaining her journey up until this point in her young professional life. She mentioned that, “It was never really a struggle of where I wanted to go in my professional career. It was either going to be a journalist or a sports reporter on TV. That’s just always what it was going to be. I never saw myself in a social media/ communications position. I just basically wanted to tell athletes’ stories and live that lifestyle.”

At this point in Brandi’s sports journey she is the ‘Communications & Media Coordinator’ for Hockey Helps the Homeless. Hockey Helps the Homeless is a Canadian Non-Profit organization that hosts pro-am charity hockey tournaments across Canada. Hockey Helps the Homeless is a nonprofit that raises funds for homeless shelters, with 100% of the net proceeds in each city staying local to that city. At Hockey Helps the Homeless, Brandi is responsible for:

• Writing any marketing materials
  
• Proofreading any marketing materials 
  
• Communicate and coordinate with media across the country (Canada) 
  
• Managing and monitoring all Hockey Helps the Homeless social media platforms 
  
• Communicate and coordinate with photographers across the country (Canada)
  
• Annual report writing 
  

Each person’s journey to where they are today is different. What someone does within their job is different. What sports sector is different, and with that, we wanted to know from Brandi how social media and the non-profit sector work hand in hand. She said, “If you asked me last year when I was a fresh grad that I would be working as a Communications and Media Coordinator for a non-profit I would say you’re kidding because I never saw myself working for a non-profit. With Hockey Helps the Homeless, it’s a perfect fit because there is the sports aspect.” With this role she is able not only to tell stories of players, but she is able to tell the story that is their mandate, which is homelessness in Canada.

Social media and non-profits go hand in hand. In today's world, it’s very hard to deny the prevalence of social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and blogs. These platforms have proven to be so very powerful that many nonprofit organizations (like Hockey Helps the Homeless) have implemented it in their communications and marketing strategies. Chatting with Brandi and understanding the nonprofit sector, sports as a whole and social media, we wanted to share 5 reasons why nonprofits should use social media:

1. Engage and Connect – Social media networks are the perfect platform for asking questions and opening up discussions with your audience. Opening up dialogue with your followers make them feel as though their voices and opinions are being heard. 
   
2. Drive Traffic – Most people turn to non-profit’s websites in order to find out more about the cause and how to get involved. Most of your supporters will only check your website for updates, meaning they likely only think of you and your cause periodically. Having them like your Facebook or follow you on Twitter provides an opportunity to appear on their feeds and give them daily reminders of your mission. Social media is great way to drive traffic to your website, drive traffic to make a donation, to attract volunteers and to raise awareness for your cause. 
   
3. Shareable content means more exposure – The more shareable content you produce on social media, the more people will see what your organization is doing and be motivated to get behind it. Given just how easy it really is to share content online makes social media that much more of a great place to create momentum for your brand and any marketing material you may be running. 
   
4. Marketing Tools – Social media is a great affordable way to run a marketing campaign that has potential for wide reach. Along with social media there, are so many tools out there to help mange and monitor these campaigns, including Hootsuite, Sprout Social and Buffer.
   
5. Extend your PR reach – Social media has so many opportunities for a brand to grow, and having the right amount of digital influence can boost your presence in the public eye. For example, the use of a celebrity that has the same values or vision you and your company have can be beneficial. 
   

Overall, Brandi’s journey has led her to working for TSN as a ‘Web Producer’, with the Canadian Olympic Committee as a ‘Digital Content Contributor’, working for Carleton University as a ‘Social Media Reporter’, and so much more. 

Although you may have a dream or know where you want to work, sometimes something else will come up and open your eyes to so much more. See your journey as a tree; the stump is the field or industry you want to work in and then each branch are the paths and experiences you can take to fulfill your dreams. 

Connect with Brandi & Hockey Helps the Homeless down below: 
Brandi’s Twitter: @branditaaylor
Brandi’s Instagram: @branditayawad
Brandi’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandiawad/

Hockey Helps the Homeless Twitter: @HockeyHelps 
Hockey Helps the Homeless Instagram: @hockeyhelpsca
Hockey Helps the Homeless Website: https://www.hockeyhelpsthehomeless.com/