WASHINGTON – Let’s get this out of the way — the ratings for the 2015 NHL Winter Classic were not what anyone wanted.

Despite scoring the lowest broadcast numbers in the seven years of the event, NBC Sports PR says the 2.3 overnight rating is still 77% above what a regular-season NHL game pulls in.

Despite lukewarm numbers for the New Year’s Day contest, the NHL’s appeal is at an all-time high and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman says that part of that success is due to the league’s embrace of digital and social media.

While the 10-year, $2 billion deal the NHL signed with NBC in 2011 was a huge step forward for hockey in the U.S., the league still faces problems reaching and engaging new fans. To bridge that gap, it has turned to digital and social media.

“Historically, we were a league that was under-served by traditional media,” Bettman told USA TODAY Sports. “So, the ability to use digital platforms and connect with our fans more than ever before … has been vitally important to us.”

Across social media, the NHL branded accounts have 3 million Twitter followers, 3.7 million fans on Facebook and another 753,000 followers on Instagram. And that’s not counting the thousands of others who follow individual team accounts.

That social footprint puts NHL content in the hands of millions of people on a near- constant basis. Tweets, Facebook posts, Instagrams and Snapchats serve as an instant link between fans and the teams they love.

“Our fans tend to be the best educated, most affluent, the most tech savvy and the most avid,” Bettman said.

To reach that base, the league launched a new NHL app this season as well as redoubled its social media efforts. The NHL has a social media staff that creates campaigns specifically designed to engage fans throughout the season.

“The ability for (fans) to connect with us and with each other through social media has, I believe, helped grow the game.”

The 2013-14 season set viewership records across the NHL’s American broadcast partners, NBC and NBC Sports Network. The combined average of 532,000 viewers per game was up 12% from the previous full season.

The 2013-14 season also saw more sellouts in top NHL markets than the NBA.

For growth like that, Bettman says the NHL’s use of digital and social media deserves much credit.

“We’re growing season by season with record engagement, record attendance, record revenue. We think the digital space is responsible for that,” he said.

While the NHL has embraced social media fully as a league, it advocates cautious use by players and staff. Twitter especially can prove to be troublesome for young athletes. Tyler Seguin, before and after his 2013 trade to the Dallas Stars, ran into social media trouble after inappropriate tweets were sent from his account. He quit Twitter for about a year after the debacle.

To avoid mishaps of that nature, which could cause serious harm to the league and a player’s reputation, Bettman says the league works with the NHL Players’ Association every year during the rookie orientation program to make sure players understand that social media can be a minefield.

“Our players are constantly counseled,” Bettman said. “We send out memos reminding them that we live in a world where there’s total transparency, everything you say is out there.”