Social & Influencers

Meet Zack Peggins, social media manager with the Seattle Kraken

“If you had told me six years ago that I’d be doing social media for a hockey team, then I would not have believed you,” he told us.
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Zack Peggins

· 5 min read

The Seattle Kraken had a record-breaking season, making it to the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs in the team’s second year of existence.

It found success off the ice as well: Across Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter, the Seattle Kraken has more than 1 million followers. Not bad for a team that’s only played for two seasons.

Its social posts are created by a team that includes Zack Peggins, who’s a social media manager with the franchise. The team has seen many of its posts go viral, which Peggins said has contributed to its growing fanbase.

Marketing Brew caught up with Peggins to discuss the Seattle Kraken’s recent rise to social media fame, how its social team navigated the playoffs, and what his day-to-day job entails.

The following interview has been edited for content and clarity.

You’ve been with the Seattle Kraken since its first season. How did you approach the position considering it was a brand new franchise?

A lot of the credit here goes to our senior social media manager, Savannah Hollis, who has really laid the groundwork for our social strategy, tone, and voice across each platform before the team’s name and logo were even launched. From Day One, it’s always been about the fans. We take a lot of pride in engaging with our fans across each platform. Seattle is known across all sports for having loud and passionate fans, so we really wanted to lean into that, while at the same time educating fans on the game of hockey.

During our inaugural season, we had to deal with Covid restrictions just like everyone else, so that really limited a lot of things we could do with players, like  community events. Going into the second season, we focused on showcasing our players’ personalities both on and off the ice. Social media is a great way for fans to see our players through a different lens.

What do your day-to-day responsibilities look like as a social media manager?

My primary focus right now is handling day-to-day posting across every platform (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and TikTok). That also includes content creation and ideation as well. I also work very closely with our other accounts, including Climate Pledge Arena, Kraken Community Iceplex, Buoy (our mascot), and One Roof Foundation. During the season, Savannah and I split up the travel, so we always have one social person on roadtrips.

What have you learned from managing social media for such a fast-growing franchise in an unpredictable industry?

I feel like I’m learning something new every single day, but something that I always remind myself of is to be flexible and willing to change on the run. Nothing really ever goes as planned, and that’s okay. It’s part of the business.

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The NHL season generally runs from early October through early April. How do you and your team approach off-season social strategies differently than during the season?

Aside from the draft, free agency and development camp, we spend a lot of time going back and reflecting on the past season to see what we can improve or try differently moving forward. Looking through data from past campaigns and gathering reports from in-season content as well. You blink once, and the next season is already here.

We also recognize how crazy the season can be, so we really try to prioritize taking a break from social media. Social media is 24/7, and you’re really always plugged in. So last off-season, we took a week off from social. We went completely dark across all Kraken accounts for a week in August, and it was really well received. These kinds of breaks should be more common in our industry.

Knowing that this Stanley Cup playoff season was a historical one for the franchise, how have you and the team approached social media strategies in comparison to last season?

Although the inaugural season didn’t go as many had planned, it still was a success off the ice, with fans falling in love with the game of hockey and our team, so we wanted to build off that into season two. Even with the team having an incredible season, our strategy on social really remained the same, with a focus on showcasing the players, engaging fans, and keeping our content fun and lighthearted along the way.

Do you have advice for anyone who is just starting out in social media and might be looking to become a social media manager in the sports industry?

Aside from networking, I would say to not be afraid to try something new. If you had told me six years ago that I’d be doing social media for a hockey team, then I would not have believed you. Your goal might be to do social media for a sports team, but you might have to take a different job or route to get there. However, any social media experience you pick up along the way can be very valuable.

What’s the most fun thing about your job?

Aside from creating fun random social content, like memes, I really enjoy hearing people talk about and engage with our social content on a daily basis.

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