One of the worldâs most beloved events, the Olympics, kicks off in London this Friday. For the momentous following few weeks, hundreds of millions of fans around the world will be glued to their television sets watching these electrifying games unfold. This year more than ever, fans will also be actively engaging via social media â reading, posting, and conversing â making the 2012 Olympic Games the most digital and participatory yet.
Here are some important social media lessons marketers and brands can take away from this yearâs Olympics.
1) Complement traditional marketing with social media Major brands are capitalizing on the Olympics by becoming official sponsors. Naturally, this means loads of commercial air time, athlete endorsements, print ads plastered throughout London, merchandising, and other traditional marketing tactics. More than ever, however, sponsors must also focus on social media marketing if they want to get the most bang for their buck. Cadbury ran a âpass the batonâ retweet Twitter contest. Coca-Cola launched a silly âOlympic Games Newspaper Makerâ Facebook app. The sponsoring brands should be incorporating social media into their TV spots, creating alluring mobile apps, tweeting with Olympics news and opinions, and otherwise cleverly taking advantage of Olympics fever.
Make social media an integral part of any marketing campaign, no matter how big or small. Donât merely throw an ad on TV; tie it into a spiffy, creative viral video, online game, contest, hashtag campaign, or other enticing concept. Donât just stick to the tried and true social media techniques, but try something new and innovative. Doing so will make the other aspects of the campaign more effective and also capture new, previously-unreached audiences.
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