{"id":10356,"date":"2020-01-08T10:46:04","date_gmt":"2020-01-08T15:46:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.brainstation.io\/?p=10356"},"modified":"2021-01-28T16:06:14","modified_gmt":"2021-01-28T21:06:14","slug":"creating-content-for-women-how-the-gist-is-breaking-ground-in-sports-media","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brainstation.io\/blog\/creating-content-for-women-how-the-gist-is-breaking-ground-in-sports-media","title":{"rendered":"Creating Content for Women: How The GIST is Breaking Ground in Sports Media"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

From the start of her career, Carrie Oehm has lived and breathed sports and entertainment news. Having worked for Rogers TV, TSN, SportsNet, and BlogTO, it was only natural that she join The GIST as their Social Media Manager to master sports content that appealed to any gender. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After her panel at Social Media Week<\/a>, we spoke with Oehm on how she creates attention-grabbing content, the future of work for women<\/a>, and what it\u2019s like to be a Social Media<\/a> Manager at The GIST. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Carrie<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

What does your role entail as a Social Media Manager at The GIST? <\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I run The GIST\u2019s social media accounts! Other than our Twitter page (shout-out to our AMAZING social content contributor, Alexis), I am in charge of producing, editing, hosting, interviewing, and posting the content that you see on our channels. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With The GIST being a startup, it is important that I wear multiple hats in my role as well. Thankfully, I\u2019ve always been into fashion and hats have always been crucial to my wardrobe, haha! All jokes aside, Ellen (one of our three co-founders & Head of Content) and I work very closely on social media planning<\/a>, strategy, content distribution, paid acquisition, presentation decks, and brand identification. I\u2019ve also been able to dabble in helping with website design and analytics. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do you create content that grabs attention?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a lot of trial and error, constantly asking the audience what they want to see, and ultimately making content that people care about and that provokes emotion. At the end of the day, we interact with <\/span>so much<\/span><\/i> content, and the content that makes us feel some sort of way, whether that be a joy, sadness, or anger, is the content that we share and interact with. So, when I\u2019m posting content I ask myself how that piece is going to make our audience feel, if it\u2019s on-brand, and what our audience can take away from what I\u2019m posting. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m very fortunate to have the experience I do from working at television networks. For close to five years, I was in charge of packaging game highlights, news stories, and breaking news from the world of sports. Most nights I was watching an entire game and had to package a 30-45 second highlight pack of the game\u2019s most epic points while still telling the story. I\u2019ve now taken that ability and use it for social content. When I\u2019m watching a game, I can watch a play happen and instantly know that it\u2019s going to go viral, I can pick out which shot angle will be replayed the most, and I can tell what player reaction or fan reaction will be on SportsCentre tomorrow morning. I\u2019m very grateful for the experience I gained from working with the best sports television producers in the country, it taught me a lot.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why do you think The GIST has caught on so quickly?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was, and is, a gap in the sports media market. The female audience and the casual sports fan are underserved in the sports media landscape. I truly believe that our three co-founders, Ellen, Jacie, & Roslyn, have been trailblazers in trying to find a solution to connect and empower women through sport. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the end of the day, sports are a social currency. It\u2019s something that connects people at work, school, at dinner, etc., and we want everyone to be able to connect through sport, not just the hardcore sports fan. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I also think that women are underrepresented in sports and sports media. For instance, when I left one of my past sports network jobs, out of 83 people in division (excluding hosts and reporters), there were three women. At the end of the day, it\u2019s difficult for 80 men who are hardcore sports fans to create content for a female audience. We also cover women\u2019s sports — a lot of other outlets don\u2019t. For example, when the WNBA finals were being played on ESPN2, NBA preseason was being played on the main channel. Also, Canada\u2019s leading sports network aired the top 100 plays from 2019, and there was ONE play from women\u2019s sports. They\u2019re being underrepresented, period. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

We are trying to change that by giving them the coverage they deserve, we are trying to level the playing field, and I hope that it rubs off on others. Our success clearly shows there\u2019s a market for it. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do you see women-centric companies (The Wing, The GIST, etc.) shaping the business\/tech world?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think that companies that are women-empowering are helping shape culture in general. I worked with Bumble briefly before joining The GIST<\/a>, and it\u2019s honestly super refreshing to have now worked with two groups that are so strong, independent, smart, driven, and focused on empowering women. It\u2019s a game-changer. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve found that other companies have reached out to us because they don\u2019t exactly know how to reach female audiences \u2013 that is HUGE. For companies to realize they are underserving an audience and they want to fix it? It\u2019s 2020 and that should have been in the playbook long before now, but the fact that change is happening is <\/span>so<\/span><\/i> big. The fact that female athletes are advocating for equal pay on world stages (hats off to Megan Rapinoe) is huge. Yes, we still have an enormous amount to grow, but I\u2019m seeing a shift in companies wanting to change, but most importantly realizing that they need to change. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

How much do you take social media algorithms into account when posting content?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I definitely take algorithms into account while posting content. From the way I construct my captions to the way I produce my videos, I play by the algorithm\u2019s rules. The algorithm is also always changing, so I constantly keep up-to-date with the latest changes by watching YouTube videos, asking fellow creators, and listening to podcasts. I want to know what the best creators are doing to work with the algorithms so I can learn from their tips, tricks, and failures. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

How has your role at BlogTO contributed or prepared you for the kinds of content you select for your audience at The GIST?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

BlogTO opened my eyes to digital content. Before, I only made broadcast journalism content, which is entirely different. I was making five-minute-long features with sit-down interviews and news pieces that were voiced over by anchors. The content that BlogTO produces is fast-paced, engaging, and it gives you \u201cthe gist\u201d of a new restaurant or event in a one-to-two minute video. BlogTO has really helped me learn how to create content that caters to the Gen Z and Millennial audience and gave me a foundation for how to create content for our audience at The GIST.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n