The VHLM and Recruitment

[JigglyGumballs 1,056]

So... The M and Recruitment as a whole has been down eh? The thread started by @Zetterberg has incited a lot of conversation, so much so that at this point this should be a theme for theme week. Nevertheless after reading through the numerous opinions and conversations that have since stemmed from this, why not put my two cents into the issue? As much as I love consuming drama, my craving for tea hasn't been satisfied and thus my dumb ass will throw myself into the fray.

 

Ironically enough, I stumbled upon Z's thread after it has been advertised on Instagram as a story. I honestly found that extremely funny since Z had his criticisms with the IG account only for his own thread to be advertised there. Either way, the general consensus I've seen/read is that the Recruitment team's issues have stemmed from a lack of direction and organization. It gives me the sense that there are people who put more focus on the IG/social media, there are also others who are currently working on recruitment drives. I guess what I'm saying is that everyone in recruitment seems to be doing their own thing in an attempt of getting new faces into the sim league. Of course as an outsider looking in, the vast majority of the basis of this is based on the observations I've made from the recent discussions. I could easily be wrong and anyone is open to prove me different. So where do we go from here? How can we provide possible solutions to these issues? Personally, I think this isn't just a simple "fix one thing and make gud" type of solution. It's more of a multi-layered process. I feel like there's a lot of specific parts and aspects that needs to be addressed in order to solve the recruitment issue. I'm not outright asking to completely reorganize the recruitment team, but I feel like these possible solutions could possibly provide feedback and insight from a person who's been in the league for a bit but has also spent a lot of time outside of it. Also, this doesn't mean I'm discrediting or undermining the tireless amounts of work the recruitment team does. It's a thankless job and when results doesn't show, it leads to criticism whether it's justified or not. However, when the backbone of what makes the league what it is now is struggling to help fill M teams, there needs to be some change. M GMs can't do their jobs if there's no newbies to retain. So without further adieu, here's a potential multi-step plan to help improve recruitment.

 

1) The odds are already stacked against us so how do we fight that?

The VHL is a simulation league where you create your own player and help them grow by participating in a forum based system where you make articles, graphics, podcasts, or videos in order to acquire a system of points that improve your stats that correlate with a sim engine that's not the EA NHL games or Franchise Hockey Manager and it's an engine most in a general audience likely don't know about. Quite the run on sentence right? Most people, fuck it, everyone here knows that the VHL is a very specific niche. None of the teams are related to the NHL and the only actual correlations to the NHL are the graphics and the idea that it's a be-a-pro or franchise mode sim league. The latter of which is true to a degree but the specifics behind it is what makes the VHL an incredibly niche league. This is the first layer of what makes recruitment hard. New people might be turned off by the idea of writing articles or learning a sim engine with a sketchy ass UI, thus the acceptance of 'clickers' (people like me who use Welfare and Practice) has been adjustment that unfortunately needed to be made to allow those who don't like the idea of writing paragraphs or making graphics. This issue will never have a clear solution as this is just how the league is. You'll have people who are interested in the forum/GM aspect and others who don't.

 

Another thing that puts the odds against recruitment and retention is the aforementioned lack of direction/organization. There NEEDS to be a Head of Recruitment. Someone who keeps track of the numerous recruitment initiatives, and acts as the representative to the blues and M GMs. If there is a head of recruitment and I don't know, then this part isn't exactly invalid. There needs to be someone who steps up and keeps things organized and makes the decisions of what gets prioritized based on the feedback from the admins, commishes, and the M GMs. Some people within recruitment might not necessarily be happy that their recruitment strategy isn't prioritized over others, but having that structure and having a person who can act on the best interests for the league is a big part of what I believe is a possible solution. You can have numerous recruitment methods whether it's YouTube ads or IG or even fucking Reddit if possible, but there needs to be someone who keeps track of the progress of the people who are working on those different methods and makes sure that problems, or any other points or ideas be addressed. Ideally this person shouldn't be any part of the actual recruitment process and acts as the supervisor and middle man between the team and the league. However, I'm not opposed to them being part of a specific part (YT, IG or fuck all else), but being neutral the different aspects of recruitment helps lessen any bias towards one method or another. This all leads onto a few points I'll go over further, one of which being...

 

2) Stick to what works.

YouTube and (previously) Reddit has been the biggest contributors to gaining new members. YT especially as the bans on advertising our league on subreddits have been gone for a while now. I am aware that there are YT drives being worked on, but there are a few issues with YT recruiting. One of the things addressed that came from Z's thread was the fact that YouTubers are hiking up their prices. The financials behind these types of recruitment is tough considering this a volunteer ran league. Another issue is the fact that the same YouTubers have ran multiple ads for the VHL at this point. While having that business relationship is important, as it will hurt the league more by not getting ads from these established connections. You can only make a pitch to the same fanbase a number of times before it's just tuned out. The solution to that is easy, simply reach out to more creators. The hard part is the negotiation process behind that which I can't help but think it's a nightmare sometimes. However, this method gives out a good chunk of new members in a large quantity over a short duration of time. Maybe only about 20% of the total recruitment drive actually stays. Maybe only half of that 20% actually becomes engaged forum participants and owners. That's still better than the lack of recruitment we've seen as of late. Capturing this quick bolt of lightning has worked in the past and will work again. This part of recruitment and the work the team does to make it happen is something I will always support. This should also be a large priority of the recruitment team over the other social media initiatives. It works if it gets through, so this should always be a big priority for the proposed Head of Recruitment and the league. It's been a while since I've watched hockey YT so I can't make any real suggestions now, but maybe anyone who sees this can list some YouTubers who you think could work to help bring a fresh new audience to the VHL. It might be a stretch (fuck it is a stretch) but the optimism in me always feels that there's a way.

 

3) The zoomer in me don't like how the VHL does social media.

I think this is one of my bigger gripes with recruitment right now. As a zoomer who's chronically online (lmao what a surprise), I find it really annoying that short form content isn't being taken advantage of right now. Yes the VHL Instagram mostly does reels. But is a PNG graphic of some established hockey player in a weird jersey and logo overlayed with random ass filters while blasting music really an instagram reel? This is nothing against the graphics part of recruitment or the people who run it as the graphics themselves are great. However from a recruitment perspective, and even as someone who's familiar with the league, this shit don't fly. Who the fuck sees this and thinks "oh hey what's this VHL thing? lemme just check this out" when they see Alex Wennberg in a Helsinki jersey or something. Most people would see this as "why is Wennberg in a random ah jersey lol?" The graphics and daily posts don't describe what the league is. Heck even personally I've just glanced over the posts and stories as they didn't seem to interest me at the time. I've liked a few but never gave it much thought. They don't show that this is referring to a sim league. The "join now" in the description being overshadowed by the graphics is not a good way to use this platform as a recruitment avenue.

 

Another issue I have is the audience the instagram is pandering to. The instagram account seems to prioritize towards the already established audience of current VHLers rather than trying to reach a new audience. Of course that's not always a problem. Knowing the VHL and the cycle of recreates dominating draft classes, I'm sure that giving some content towards that established audience will always be appreciated. However not showing anything that might entice a new audience is just a waste of effort.  The one positive thing I see from the Instagram is the abuse of hashtags. I would add a #foryou and a #reels along with the amount of shit put on there as it helps with the algorithm. You know what else helps the algorithm? Making real reels. Have someone that's comfortable speaking, or even a text-to-speech bot blabber out the standings or describe what the VHL is. Make actual short form content that catches the attention of users and put a "want to join? sign up for the VHL now" at the end of every video. Fuck it, put on some subway surfers or some shitty mobile game/minecraft parkour underneath. Let me make this clear, I'm all for showcasing the work and articles using the Instagram account, but in an age of Tiktok and YouTube shorts, short form content is KING. Have weekly standings or even go the sports media route and form narratives behind the teams. Something like "OH FUCK VASTERAS FLEECED OSLO AGAIN, ARE THEY GOING ALL IN? or will the be FISTED ANALLY BY A CIRCUS MONKEY" or something. This doesn't even have to be too frequent, just 2-3 times a week. Maybe even once a week if editing is a challenge. Improving the quality and taking advantage of an age where less than 1-2 minute videos are consumed constantly will help this avenue in getting not only more eyes to the VHL, but potentially more members.

 

 

In conclusion, recruitment is a multi-layered problem that needs a multi-layered solution. Retention is a whole nother can of worms I'm sure the M GMs are glad to discuss about. This is just something I want to propose based on the discussions held and my own personal views on this issue. I do hope that the VHL can have another solid recruitment drive soon as this is a community that is welcoming to those who join it despite the casual drama every now and then. Again, I don't want to bash the recruitment team for their hard work, but I feel like some of that work has been misused in the wrong places. I know I'm a lot more biased on the instagram part but showcasing the graphics/articles on the page is a positive. I just wish that there would be more effort in taking advantage of instagram as a recruitment platform. I really liked the discussion this brought on, and it's nice to weigh in on things again.

 

(2084 words)

Claiming for weeks ending 11/25-12/16

[Spartan 4,048]

So you're gonna come out of inactivity and become the zoomer king of VHL reels/shorts/tiktok right....?? (pls do I think the content would be hilarious)