The 2012 Summer Olympics in London were declared the first social media Olympics. It was the first time that athletes and fans alike used social media to tweet about the games and interact with one another, making the distance between the two seem virtually smaller. Social media generated new excitement, as fans were able to see the athletes as people, not just competitors. In 2014, the Winter Olympics in Sochi plan to take social media to another level. A lot of big brands have done a great job getting social for Sochi, and you can learn from them and use their examples to build your own savvy social media strategies.
1. Be on topic and on brand
Sports evoke a lot of emotion, and the Olympics are one of the best examples of that. Fans of each team are interchangeable in each country. They all share a love of sports and unwavering support for their team and their country. It is a goal for advertisers to reflect triumphant stories and capitalize on the emotion of sports. A great example is P&G’s “Thank You, Mom” campaign. A tissue-worthy example is shown below:
P&G is a top manufacturer of consumer goods. They present themselves as a very family-friendly company, and this campaign is consistent with that image. The “Thank You, Mom” campaign started with the 2012 London Summer Olympics and it has continued. What this campaign has done is not sell a specific product, but ties the emotions of the Games to the P&G brand. P&G maintains their brand identity while capturing triumphant and passionate moments from the games. They have a YouTube Channel, Facebook Page, Twitter account and the hashtags #ThankYouMom and #BecauseOfMom to do this.
2. Interact with fans
This is a given. It’s easy to say “Be interactive,” but how? McDonalds “Cheers to Sochi” campaign is a great example of a simple idea that presents fans with a chance to interact with their favorite athletes. They can send their best wishes using the hashtag #CheersToSochi. The tweets will be on display in the Olympic village for the athletes to see, and if the athlete finds the message particularly inspiring, they will be able to print it out and wear it as a wristband while competing in an event!
A lot of backlash has occurred since McDonalds has launched the campaign. Some activist groups have hijacked the Twitter feed to express anger at disappointment at McDonalds’ involvement in the games due to human rights protests directed at the host country. McDonalds has released a statement saying that they continue to support human rights, the athletes in the Olympics, and the games themselves. While this backlash has occurred, the “Cheers to Sochi” campaign can be noted as a great example of how a brand is using social media as a virtual vessel for bringing fans and their to the athletes in the games, no matter the geographic distance.
3. Choose the right platforms
Facebook and Twitter are not the only social media accounts that you’ll need to track throughout the Olympic Games. In Russia, they don’t take gold, silver, or even bronze! The dominant social network in Russia is Vk.com (formerly VKontakte). Facebook and Twitter are actually ranked fourth and fifth in usage in the host country, according to ComScore data. VK claims to have over 58 million average daily users. The Olympic Games page on VK.com has over 2 million followers before the games even start. A lot of promotions and stories from the games will come from Vk.com. Social data site Gnip has also added Vk.com data to its pipeline to help brands track conversations going on in Sochi. This social media platform will be a great way to bring the Russian-speaking experience and perspective to fans in the West, and vice-versa. After all, that is what social media is all about, connecting fans of a brand, team, event, etc. from all parts of the world to start a conversation!
4. Choose the right languages
Did you know that there are only three official languages of the Olympic Games? English and French are permanent official languages of the Olympic Games, plus another for the host country – in this case, Russian. As a result, the Olympics’ official website and marketing materials are offered in these three languages.
In December 2012, an international translation forum “Sochi 2014: Translating the Games” was conducted with over 400 participants to determine how to best handle language services in Sochi. This was the first ever forum conducted regarding translation for the Olympic Games and how to handle the plethora of languages that will be spoken. In short, the forum concluded that there will be about 1,000 professional interpreters on site and a 24-hour call center providing multilingual services for participants for directions, schedules, etc. Public service people, Olympic volunteers, law enforcement, and medical personnel have been trained to speak the three official languages of the games as well.
To connect with a worldwide network of fans on social media, the IOC is running social media in seven different languages – English, Chinese, Russian, French, German, Japanese and Korean. When deciding if you should employ a multilingual social media strategy, take a look at the official languages of an event as a guide for which ones to use yourself. In this case, the three official languages, plus the other four might be a great place to start.
Let the games begin!
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