While social media can be something that people don’t want to be on for all of the negativity, it can also lead to more opportunities for a person or brand. That was the case for former NHL veteran and WBD Sports analyst Paul Bissonette.
Bissonette was a guest on the latest episode of the Steam Room podcast with Ernie Johnson and Charles Barkley. Barkley asked him if he was surprised by how popular he has become from his work on TNT and on the Spittin Chiclets podcast.
“It’s been a wild ride just because I think Twitter and social media really propelled that,” Bissonette answered. “I don’t know how many people listening know my career. I was a 4th line plug. I fought. I had more healthy scratches in the NHL than I had games played. I was kind of more of a locker room jester/DJ/when they had a fighter in the lineup for another team, I would be inserted.
“Because it was a non-traditional market (Arizona), we had a guy on our team who recommended jumping on Twitter. At the time, I thought the concept was letting people know what you are up to via this app…Then, when the teammate was persisting, he’s like you are such a clown, you got to get on there. I eventually did and I kind of realized there was more to it. You can tweet live sports, joke around, post videos.”
Due to being in Arizona, Bissonette was able to be more loose with what he was saying and was able to be himself, which led to more opportunities coming his way once his career was over such as getting the chance to work Coyotes game on the radio.
“I just kind of put that persona on Twitter and it popped off just because I don’t think any of the players had adapted to social media like that and/or weren’t willing to put themselves out there or being as opinionated as I was. The opportunities kept coming and I just never really said no.”
Due to being on social media, Bissonette was able to help the growth of Spittin Chiclets because none of the hosts (Ryan Whitney and Rear Admiral) had a social media following and it made people be more aware the podcast was out there.
“That’s where it really benefitted me to grow it and start the fanbase early on to where now I think they were averaging around 30-50,000 downloads a pod at that time. Now, I believe we are the 600-650,000 range. It really took off,” he said.
It was also announced that Barkley will be on Spittin Chiclets next week, so that should be a fun listen as WBD Sports will be the exclusive home of the Stanley Cup Finals this year.
