With the winter Olympics over, digital marketing software Silverpop looks back at impact social media has had on this year’s winter games in Sochi, and the opportunity this presents for marketers.
During Sochi 2014, Silverpop thought it would be interesting to see which sports stars were the digital winners by monitoring the ‘ones to watch’ and their social standing on Facebook and Twitter.
Before the games, they analysed their popularity and then compared the impact that their sporting success had.
Here’s a rundown of the social media findings:
UK
• Lizzy Yarnold (won gold in the skeleton) – 1400 percent increase on Twitter / 900 percent increase on Facebook
• David Murdoch (curling captain) – 500 percent increase on Twitter / 600 percent increase on Facebook
• Jenny Jones (bronze snowboarder, first ever UK medal on snow) – added over 70,000 followers on Twitter
• Katie Summerhayes (freestyle skier) – 300 percent rise on Twitter
US
• Hilary Knight – nearly doubled Twitter and Facebook followers
• Nick Goepper – 500 percent increase in Twitter followers
• Bode Miller – received a 132 percent rise in Twitter followers after the games
• Shaun White – despite experiencing a disappointing competition, still added 110,000 Twitter followers and more than 77,500 new Facebook likes.
Rest of the World
• Winston Watts (Jamaican Bobsled) – 500 percent increase on Twitter – the “Cool Runnings” Effect
• Ariana Fontana (Italian Speed Skater) – 5790 percent increase on Facebook – almost 100,000 new fans
• Javier Fernandez (Spanish Figure Skater) – 8000 percent increase on Twitter
• Akex Ovechkin (Russian Ice Hockey Captain) – 35,000 new followers on Twitter
• Javier Fernandez – the Spanish figure skater saw his Twitter followers jump by 8185 percent, which was higher than any other athlete after he came third in the men’s short programme.
• Arianna Fontana – the Italian speed skater saw her Twitter followers rise by 810 percent and her Facebook likes stormed ahead with a 5791 percent increase, as she bagged two bronze medals and a silver at the games.
Commenting on the findings, Dave Walters, Product Evangelist at Silverpop, said: “The social media boosts present a valuable opportunity for marketers. Consumers interact with subjects or brands they have an interest in, meaning there is a deluge of data available for businesses to gather and use.
“Unlocking key insights such as who is the most influential sports star on Twitter, or which athlete is dominant overall, can allow marketers to personalise their strategies and campaigns, create meaningful interactions and reach out to the right audience at the right time with the appropriate services. This can be easily achieved through the use of a combined social and email marketing strategy. Today, businesses need to keep their hand on the digital pulse and stay relevant – tying marketing into current events such as the Winter Games is certainly a good place to start.”
www.silverpop.com