social media within International Olympic Federations

@andrs durn @brett hasell @thayssa plum Supervised by Mr Leon Sher July 2011

executive summary
If Facebook was a country it would have the third largest population in the world. This kind of statistic pushes organisations all over the globe to look for different and innovative ways to engage with consumers and understand how these platforms can help them reach their objectives. This potential is multiplied when associated by the natural fit that sports have in this landscape: liking a discipline on Facebook or following an athlete on Twitter is an important part of how the users build their online identity and engage with their peers. The goal of this research paper is to understand the social media phenomena through existing knowledge reviews and analyse the position of the IFs on the programme of the Olympic Games within the social media context. The research methodology includes interviews, questionnaires and online surveys. Finally, we aim to provide the International Sports Federations (IFs) with recommendations on how they can optimise and improve their current strategy on social media. We were able to gather valuable information from 28 out of the 35 IFs targeted and collect over 4400 data entries. In order to maintain the confidentiality of the IFs while providing helpful advice, the information is displayed on a chart that illustrates the representative sample of all IFs participating in the research. This method will enable them to compare themselves versus this sample and discover what proposals fit their current position: new entrants, starting or developing stage. Five recommendations were developed for each of the lifecycle stages in order to support the IFs in maximizing their presence on the three biggest platforms: Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. The recommendations were developed with the intention to have the greatest possible return combined with lowest investment. Some of these tips include trouble-free solutions such as usage of Analytics, allowing fans to tag photos and integration of Facebook Like and Twitter Tweet features. Through the means cited above, we are confident that this study will generate a meaningful impact on the IFs, starting by better understanding the benefits of this new way of reaching people. Social media isnt a fad. Its a revolution1.

Available on: http://www.hubspot.com/

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abstract
Social media has become a major part of the shift in the way people and organisations communicate, produce and exchange a wide range of information. International Sports Federations are not immune to these new realities and must step up to learn and engage in these new environments. This project aims to gather information from the International Sports Federations on the programme of the Summer and Winter Olympic Games, in order to better understand their usage and implementation of social media strategies. A clear and practical toolkit is offered to the organisations that participated in the research and, when requested, to the other sports organisations in the Olympic movement. This set of recommendations should help them formulate and implement their social media strategy in accordance with their size, budget and overall strategy. Supervisor: Leon Sher, Legal Counsel and Project Manager at AISTS.

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table of contents
1. List of figures 2. List of tables 3. Acknowledgements 4. Introduction 4.1. 4.2. 5.1. 5.2. 5.3. 6.1. 6.2. 6.3. 6.4. Project mission and objectives Project scope and stakeholders History Main platforms Potential within the sports industry Existing knowledge New knowledge Constraints Results representation V V VI 1 1 2 3 3 4 5 6 6 6 7 7 7 11 12 16 21 26 28 29 30 30 31 36

5. Social media background

6. Research Methodology

7. Data analysis 8. Recommendations 8.1. 8.2. 8.3. Starting the Journey Starting Developing Segment

9. Conclusions 10. References 11. List of abbreviations 12. Appendices 12.1. 12.2. 12.3. SWOT analysis Further research findings Questionnaire

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1. list of figures
Figures 1. Stakeholders analysis 2. Social media platforms development 3. SWOT analysis Page 2 4 27

2. list of tables
Tables 1. IFs representative sample 1. When did the IF start using social media? 2. Targeted stakeholders 3. What are your main goals regarding social media? 4. Do you use social media platforms to communicate with the athletes? 5. Social Media Lifecycle 6. Athletes image to communicate with the fans through social media? 7. How does the IF feel theyre using the potential of social media? 8. Which social media platforms do you currently use? 9. How often do you interact? 10. Do you reply to the fans comments? 11. Do you have problems with the broadcasters? 12. Does the IF search for words related to the IF or the sport? 13. Has the IF included social media in their strategic objectives? 14. Do you advertise your social media accounts? 15. Do you intend to monetise social media within the IF? 16. Major obstacles when implementing their strategy 17. Are the sponsors visible in the social media platform? 18. Does the IF use the like button in their stories? Page 8 9 9 10 11 11 28 28 29 29 29 30 30 31 31 31 32 32 32

3. acknowledgements
This team project wouldnt have achieved its mission without the friendliness and openness of the ones responsible for social media within International Olympic Federations. We sincerely thank them for taking the time to answer our online questionnaire and/or talk with us either in person or by phone. As a way of appreciating their effort and attention, we hope this research piece will help them in understanding where they are currently positioned within the social media landscape, while also supporting them with ideas on how to improve their strategy. We also acknowledge the advice and partnership of our supervisor during this team project, Leon Sher, Legal Counsel and Project Manager at AISTS.

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4. introduction
4.1 Project mission and objectives

Over the past seven years, social media has evolved to be one of the most important communication channels in todays society. The popularity of social media has been propelled by the likes of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. These three companies now play a crucial role in communicating to all parts of society. However, the benefits and potential of social media have not yet been widely observed or experienced by all organisations that attempt to utilise them, and the planning and effort required in delivering a successful social media strategy are often underestimated. In order to further understand social media usage in the IFs the International Academy of Sports Science and Technology (AISTS) proposed a team project for its Master of Advanced Studies (MSA). The research piece is comprised of two phases: (1) analysing how and to what extent International Sports Federations are currently utilising social media; and (2) providing support on how they could improve their strategy and explore the full potential of these platforms to engage different stakeholders and promote their respective sports. Although the benefits of utilising social media are widely observed, it is still a relatively new communication channel, and not all sports organisations have fully integrated these tools into their daily routine and their short and long-term objectives. As a result, the approaches currently observed often lack planning and/or resources, clearly showing that there is room for improvement. In addition to gathering data from the sports market place, this project sets out to produce recommendations based on industry trends. This clear and practical toolkit is available to the organisations that participated in the research, and hopefully will help them in formulating and implementing their social media strategy in accordance to their size, budget and overall strategy.

4.2

Project scope and stakeholders

The research is focused on all Summer (28) and Winter (7) IFs on the Olympic programme: Aquatics (FINA), Archery (FITA), Athletics (IAAF), Badminton (BWF), Basketball (FIBA), Biathlon (IBU), Boxing (AIBA), Bobsleigh (FIBT), Canoe (ICF), Cycling (UCI), Curling (WCF), Equestrian Sports (FEI), Fencing (FIE), Hockey (FIH), Football (FIFA), Golf (IGF), Gymnastics (FIG), Handball (IHF), Ice Hockey (IIHF), Judo (IJF), Luge (FIL), Modern Pentathlon (UIPM), Rowing (FISA), Rugby Union (IRB), Sailing (ISAF), Shooting Sport (ISSF), Skiing (FIS), Skating (ISU), Table Tennis (ITTF), Taekwondo (WTF), Tennis (ITF), Triathlon (ITU), Volleyball (FIVB), Weightlifting (IWF) and Wrestling (FILA). The scope of phase 1 consisted of approaching all 35 IFs and asking them to complete an online questionnaire to obtain quantitative data and then later scheduling interviews (preferably in person) to acquire qualitative data. The questionnaire and the interviews where designed in order to understand the communication and marketing strategy of the IF concerned, the role played by social media in the existing strategy, the way the federation is currently dealing with social media, their presence and degree of interaction in each platform and what issues they face when trying to leverage their social media strategy. The scope of phase 2 consisted of providing feedback to all IFs that accepted to participate in the research. This feedback was given in the form of a practical guide, divided in three groups ranked according to different levels of social media development. The analysis and findings of this research piece considered the following stakeholders: Public/Fans, Athletes, National Federations, National Olympic Committees, Journalists, Sponsors, Broadcast right holders, and the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Figure 1: Stakeholder analysis

5. social media background

5.1 History

background

Before going through the history of social media, its important to define the concept of social media and outline what it doesnt include. Traditional media, such as television, newspapers, radio, and magazines, are one-way, static broadcast technologies (Zarrella 2010, p.1). On the other hand, social media consists of using the internet to interact: new web technologies have made it easy for anyone to create and, most importantly, distribute their own content () for free (Zarrella 2010, p.2). In one sentence, social media can be defined as any highly scalable and accessible communications technology that enables any individual to influence groups of other individuals (Blossom 2009, p.29). Social media isnt a fad. Its a revolution2, experts say. In June 2011, Facebook had over 600 million active users, with people spending over 700 billion minutes per month on it3. The micro blog Twitter has over 200 million registered users that tweet 55 million times a day. In March 2011, the 10 billionth tweet was made4. Two months after that, YouTube exceeded 2 billion views a day5. No wonder its time to get social, but when did this time started? Its known that the exchange of messages between groups of peers dates back 15,000 years (Blossom 2009, p.14). However, this research piece focuses on the advent of the Internet and the popularisation of this phenomenon dates back only less than 20 years. The Internet enabled one communication to be published and received by any number of people in the world simultaneously and also allowed them all to respond simultaneously as they pleased (Blossom 2009, p.19). The introduction of the Web together with the emergence of affordable personal computers accelerated the development of social media (Blossom 2009, p.20), as it can be observed in the following graph (dates refer to when they became popular, not when was launched).

Available on: http://www.hubspot.com/ Official Facebook statistics. Available on: http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics 4 Available on: http://thenextweb.com/twitter/2011/03/14/twitter-users-now-sending-1-billion-tweets-per-week/ 5 Available on: http://www.website-monitoring.com/blog/2010/05/17/youtube-facts-and-figures-history-statistics/
2 3

Figure 2: Social media platforms development6 5.2. Main platforms: You-Twit-Face In this research, we are mainly focusing on the current three greatesst social media platforms: YouTube, Twitter and Facebook. This choice was made after observing the greater occurrence of these platforms among IFs if compared to the others, and their popularity within the Web. According to Alexa Rank7, among all websites, Facebook is the 2nd most popular page in the world, just behind Google. YouTube is the 3rd and Twitter, the 9th. A few IFs also have a presence on other platforms such as Flickr (photo-sharing site) and LinkedIn (networking tool to find connections, industry experts and business partners). Its also interesting to acknowledge the popularity of a few platforms in specific countries (e.g. Orkut in Brazil, V Kontakte and Odnoklassniki in Russia, and QZone in China). Although rare between IFs, this research piece addresses their importance in the recommendations. Location-based social network sites, such as Foursquare, were included in the online questionnaire sent to the IFs, as well as in one of the recommendations provided. 5.2.1. YouTube The biggest video sharing site was launched in 2005 by three PayPal employees, and is currently the third most visited site on the Internet. In 2006, YouTube was bought by Google for US$ 1,65 billion8. 5.2.2. Twitter The micro blog was created in 2006 and allows users to exchange messages called tweets. These messages can have a maximum of 140 characters. Although much smaller than Facebook, Twitter is
6 7

Available on: http://copybrighter.com/history-of-social-media Available on: http://www.alexa.com/topsites 8 Available on: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6034577.stm

considered to have a qualified audience: Twitter users are young, smart, affluent and tech-savvy9. 5.2.3. Facebook The platform created by Mark Zuckerberg and his colleagues from Harvard University is currently the dominant social network: 35% prefer Facebook to social sign-in, leaving behind Google (31%), Yahoo (13%) and Twitter (7%) (Zarrella 2010, p.31). Facebook allows businesses to create public profiles that have many of the same features as a users profile. Users can connect with a page and become fans (Zarrela 2010, p.67). 5.3. Potential within the sports industry The numbers related to social media are impressive. In spite of being a recent phenomenon, these platforms have changed the way we interact with friends, brands and celebrities. We are creating new strengthened relationships and allegiances. () We are doing our jobs differently. We are living our lives differently (Blossom 2009, p.2). Being aware of this revolution in our lives, its no surprise that the average budget spent by companies on blogs and social media has nearly doubled in two years: from 9% in 2009 to 17% in 201110. For sports organisations, the mission of engaging the consumers through social media tends to be much easier. People involved with todays publishing tools seem to enjoy being a part of something thats about who they are (Blossom 2009, p.3). Looking from that perspective we realise that being a runner or a Real Madrid fan is a very important part of how a person describes his or her profile in the Web. It shouldnt be hard to build relationships if there is already a desire for it.

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Available on: http://www.hubspot.com/ Available on: http://www.hubspot.com/

6. research methodology

This research project has two important approaches from which the research methodology is derived from: 6.1 Existing knowledge The first step of our research methodology was to gather a wide range of information on social media. By reviewing this existing knowledge we could acquire a detailed idea of the evolution and history of social media. In order to provide relevant and useful recommendations to the IFs we needed to understand what is being done around the world regarding these types of on-line strategies. In order to obtain the broadest scope possible and taking into account that technology changes at a fast pace, books, websites, online articles and magazines were all considered. With this theoretical knowledge we had the necessary foundation required to analyse the social media strategies and engagement with this new landscape. The focus was on past and current trends, leverage tools, strengths, weaknesses and strategies especially applied for social media. 6.2. New Knowledge The second part of the research methodology required gathering information from the IFs, with the purpose of producing a snap shot of their current situation regarding their usage of social media. We designed a questionnaire which enabled us to understand in depth the way that social media was being approached by the IFs. The questionnaire sought to provide a clear setting in five main topics, which are: 1) Social Media Overview, 2) Social Media Platforms, 3) Social Media Strategy, 4) Website analysis and 5) Measuring success. This questionnaire was produced in order to get one-on-one feedback from the IFs in the form of semi standardised interviews. This approach allowed us the flexibility necessary to obtain qualitative and quantitative data. In order to get a wider range of content and ensure that the highest percentage of the population in this research could participate, we provided a summarised version of the questionnaire which the IFs could fill in as an online survey. The sample population considered in this research is the 35 IFs that make up the Summer and Winter Olympic Programmes.

6.3. Constraints Face to face interviews were the ideal approach. However, this was not possible due to IFs located outside Switzerland or availability. We contacted all 35 federations by phone and email in order to request interviews. When this was not possible, we tried to maximize the sample by having phone interviews and an online survey. 6.4. Results representation For two key reasons, the results of the research are displayed in a consolidated format rather than by individual IFs. Firstly, this protects each federations confidential information and secondly, when the information is displayed collectively more conclusive trend and analysis results can be made.

7. Data Analysis
An ambitious goal was set regarding the number of IFs to be interviewed. Through email and phone calls, contact was established with all of them. Some IFs have certain policies in place regarding the disclosure of sensitive information and as result were not able to participate. Others were not available due to their current commitments to championship events. A total coverage of 77.7% was reached for the online surveys and 61.1% for the one on one interview questionnaire. With over 4400 data entries from 28 different IFs, a representative sample of the social media landscape was developed in order to have a clear snapshot of the environment. We chose the approach where the information of each IF remains private but a comparison between each of them is still possible. Table 1 allows each IF to compare themselves in relation to the representative sample and understand what their situation is facing other IFs. This comparative process is still possible without actually disclosing information gathered from the surveys or interviews. The only individualised information that was used and shown is the public data available on the different platforms, such as Facebook likes, YouTube views and Twitter followers. A classification system was derived from the information were three different groups arise. New entrants are the IFs that have not yet started engaging int eh social 7

media landscape. They are studying the concepts and taking a more reserved approach. The common denominator is that they realize the opportunity but are taking their time in elaborating their best strategy. Starting are the IFs that are already engaging in social media but is more of a isolated effort from the communications strategy. Starting IFs are very empirical and usually do not have enough time and resources to connect more. Developing IFs are the ones whos social media resources, showed by investment or human capital, are organized towards a strategy from the department they are allocated. Usually their is more acknowledgment from the Head of the federation.

International Federation Representative Sample Name Started Social media considered priority Stakeholders targeted Usage potential Department Allocated budget Employees Platforms used Posting driver Main goal 1 Main goal 2 Strategic objective Monetising intentions Biggest obstacle Main language Other language Target by country Average Facebook Likes Average YouTube Unique Views Average YouTube Total Views Average YouTube Subscribers Acronym Between 1 and 2 years ago Yes Public/Fans Developing Communications $ 0.00 (Dedicated) 1 or less YouTube, Facebook, Twitter News Communications Increase awareness No No Time English No No 23998 97920 563189 848

Average Twitter Followers 2293 Table 1: IFs representative sample within the social media landscape 8

This information is derived from an extensive data analysis of each completed questionnaire. A subjective selection was performed to illustrate the main trends amongst the IFs and an explanation of the result is given in the following graphs.

Table 2: Havent started, 10,7%; Six months ago, 25%; One year ago, 28,6%; Two years ago, 28,6%; three years or more, 7,1%. Table 2: Most of the IFs have already started their participation in the social media environment, with only 10% of them having not yet started. From the interviews we discovered that they are working in the set up of their social media strategy.

Table 3: One of the most debatable criteria in social media is the stakeholders targeted. In this chart it is clear that for the IFs fans are the No. 1 target, with athletes being No. 2. Stakeholders from a commercial nature are not considered as relevant in these strategies.

Table 4: It is not clear for everyone what the role of social media should be from the non-commercial organisations perspective. It is also difficult to invest resources in an area that does not give clear palpable results. The IFs agree that social media is a communications channel above anything else11.

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Note: Complete graph analysis can be found on the appendix.

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8. recommendations
The power and potential of social media should be considered as a long-term investment, and to ensure its success requires the attention, input and effort of all staff and stakeholders involved. The relationship with fans, athletes, sponsors, National Federations and clubs essentially becomes an ongoing conversation where by valuable contributions are critical in ensuring a sustained customer lifetime value. By not investing the time and effort into social media can be compared to walking away half way through a conversation. These conversations with your user groups is continuous and the expectation of the various users groups is increasing. If the IF fails in keeping the interaction open then the users are likely to either vent their thoughts online or simply discontinue following. As marketing theory has shown us, retaining customers is a much easier and cheaper process than attracting new ones (Kotler, 2002). The research results have presented gaps, trends and opportunities in the IFs social media strategies at different stages of development. The following recommendations are based on the quantitative and qualitative results of the research and have been listed with the required setup time (Low: 1-3mths Med: 3-6mths High: 6 + mths): , ongoing time (Low: 1-3hrs/week, Med: 3-5hrs/week, High 5 + hrs/week) and cost (Low: $0-$1000, Med: $1000-$5000, High: $5000 +) measures against them. This will assist the IF in assessing the viability of the recommendation before adopting it. Social media is not about trial and error but rather it is data driven and can be predictable if the right measures are being assessed. Its important to understand that there is no silver bullet in approaching social media; the time and effort must be invested to ensure success. Achieving critical mass is the first important stepping stone for most IFs and this will allow them to leverage the true potential. Social Media Lifecycle: With all new technologies, products and communications channels there is a natural rate of adoption and social media is no exception. Social media has been adopted at varying rates amongst the IFs and depending on what stage in this cycle they are situated, we have created a toolkit based upon their needs. This social media

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lifecycle is derived from results of the research and all IFs can be categorised into one of three stages.

Diagram 5: Life Cycle Diagram = Representative Sample Based on the research, Diagram 5 is a graphical representation of the path that IFs are taking with regards to their social media development cycle. The positioning of the representative sample indicates that the majority of the IFs still have room for improvement. 8.1 Starting the Journey Based on the findings of the research, 10.7% of IFs have not yet started a social media strategy. These IFs have been categorised in the new entrants segment. It is evident that the most immediate need is for these federations to begin building their virtual presence. Once they have built their Facebook Page, Twitter account and YouTube channel they can begin by following these recommendations to enhance their social media strategy.

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8.1.1

Athlete integration and new content All platforms Medium Low Low

Platform: Setup Time: Ongoing Time: Cost:

Why? Content, content, content. This is the key to driving followers, likes and views. The success of any platform is dependent upon new fresh content, and given resource constraints amongst the IFs its essential that all available sources are leveraged. Athletes are untapped resources that generally want to get involved if its an opportunity to raise their personal profile and create online ties. Online ties refers to the link between various platforms and creating associations with reputable groups. Ensuring the right content is communicated on each platform is also necessary. Facebook requires a higher level of involvement on the users behalf than Twitter, so be mindful of what is posted on each platform. Facebook posts should be looking to encourage comments and interaction, whereas Twitter posts are predominantly snippets of news and key links. Pictures and videos have a five to ten times greater click through rate (CTR) compared to just text posts. The question to ask before pressing the send button is, is this content valuable and interesting to my audience? Great content is honest, real, objective and adds much more value to the person reading it than the person who wrote/published it (Twistimage, 2011) How? Finding the sports associated athletes online is very simple and the credibility of the IF will assist in getting athletes onboard with little resistance. As an IF, utilising the athlete database within your sport is an essential step to building these relationships for social media. If an athlete database does not yet exist, this is a perfect opportunity to develop one with whilst integrating them into your social media platforms. The ability to post on the IFs platforms should be positioned as an exclusive right, so granting access to selected athletes is necessary. Asking select athletes to create (video, pictures or text) tips, tricks and game advice is simple and goes along way in developing rapport with the IFs fan base.

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8.1.2

Allow fans to tag photos Facebook Low Low Low

Platform: Setup Time: Ongoing Time: Cost:

Why? In all relationships, their success is built heavily on trust of all parties. As a two-way relationship Facebook carries the same properties. By allowing fans to post and tag photos, the international federation is instilling trust in its users. This is likely to develop a closer and longer lasting relationship with all associated members. How? To enable this feature, follow these steps: 1) Edit section of your Page, then click on Apps on the left hand side. 2) Scroll down to photos and click on go to app. 3) Youll then see the option to change your photo settings, which includes allowing fans both to upload photos and also tag photos. 8.1.3 Use the send update to fans feature Facebook Low Low Low

Platform: Setup Time: Ongoing Time: Cost:

Why? This feature is underutilised by many organisations and presents a marketing and relationship building opportunity with all stakeholders. Essentially this acts as one of the cheapest and most effective forms of direct marketing and communication. As apposed to posting on their wall, this features enable the IF to send a message directly to their users Facebook inbox, meaning that the message wont disappear like it does on their wall. When using this feature, be sure to choose content carefully as not to be perceived as spam. How? This feature can be enabled on Facebook by clicking on Edit Page, then Marketing, then Send an Update and will place a message in your fans inbox.

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8.1.4

Integration of Facebook Like and Twitter Tweet buttons Facebook and Twitter Medium Low Low

Platform: Setup Time: Ongoing Time: Cost:

Why? Consistency and integration across all platforms are necessary steps to capturing all users attention. The integration of Tweet and Like buttons into all news stories on the IFs website will assist in spreading the news and capturing the attention of like-minded individuals. How? If the IF has an IT or Web manager, then this function should be simple for them to install. Otherwise, the following links explain how to enable this feature. Twitter Tweet Button http://dev.twitter.com/pages/tweet_button Facebook Like Button https://developers.facebook.com/docs/reference/plugins/like/ 8.1.5 Seize your events All Medium Low to High Low

Platform: Setup time: On-going time: Cost:

Why? Isnt a fun party the best way to start a friendly relationship? If thats the case, the IF should consider that using a big event is a great opportunity to leverage your social media strategy. During major events such as World Championships, the Olympic Games and the Youth Olympic Games, the fans and the media have all their attention and interest focused on the sport. Events are the perfect way to advertise and promote the IFs social media platforms. The whole idea is to seize the opportunity to create a long lasting relationship that goes beyond the event. During major competitions, IFs should also have a content creation planning. This will allow the ones responsible for the content to seize the opportunity of having the athletes

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available in order to prepare campaigns that can be released later, when the audience naturally drops. How? Firstly, the IFs should not be creating a new specific Facebook page for each event. By doing so, they potentially lose all the fans theyve acquired when the event ends. If the event is organised by the IF itself (e.g. World Championship) its wise to advertise the social media platforms on the scoreboard, event programme, tickets and through announcements. Also offer special features for the audience present in the venue such as displaying the messages they post on their platforms or making reference to the event on the scoreboard. This can be made, for example, with Twitter. The IF can create an expression related to the event and ask the fans to post it with the hash tag (#). This will enable the IF to track the messages, paste them on the scoreboard and hopefully be on the trending topics. 8.2 Starting Segment

The starting segment is the second stage of social media development. This category accounts for 28.7% of IFs and it is evident that their efforts are making progress into utilising the benefits of social media. The following recommendations will allow IFs in this segment to progress to more complex social media activities which are seen in the developed segment. 8.2.1 Broader representation of other communities Facebook Medium Medium Low

Platform: Setup Time: Ongoing Time: Cost:

Why? The popularity of each sport globally is difficult to capture and the presence of other communities or sports fan pages will often appear with a large number of fans. To leverage the reach of each of these groups and consolidate them under the IF is a stepping-stone to ensuring the IFs message is communicated to fans all around the world. This should be a mutual relationship where both parties help raise the profile of each group whilst passing on fresh new content. Given the volume and reach of these independent groups, they cannot be ignored in helping reach new members.

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An example of this is how in 2008 two Coca-Cola fans developed the first Facebook page, which attracted 250,000 fans. Facebook noticed the size of the group and asked Coca-Cola corporate to take it over, but the soda companys marketing team didnt charge in and strong-arm the original creator out of the picture. Instead, it assigned a team of people to help him maintain the page12. Three years later, Dusty and Michael, Coca-Cola Facebooks page creators, have become online celebrities13 while the page is close to achieving 31 million likes. In sports, the process is similar. In many cases, the fans have created pages related to the sport globally before the IF and this presents an opportunity for expansion. How? This is as simple as building a relationship with key pages and inviting them to contribute content to the International Federations site. Once the relationship has grown, asking them to send out a message to all their members about joining the IFs Facebook site will allow the IF to grow the community rapidly. This relationship will give both user groups access to new content, new followers and wider benefits.

8.2.2

Make use of the many applications available Facebook / Twitter Medium Low Low

Platform: Setup Time: Ongoing Time: Cost:

Why: The use of applications is essential to organising and displaying the IFs information logically for its users. Without categorising the information, much of IFs information will only get lost in Wall Posts. Applications are a key step to expanding the capabilities of the page, attracting new users and encouraging interaction. Twitter applications are particularly useful in managing incoming and outgoing information, broadcasting and increasing followers. The Facebook applications purpose varies considerably, however at this stage of development, encouraging interaction and increasing likes is the main objective. The purpose of each application varies between each, however the most functional applications for IFs include the following.
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Zarrella, Dan. The Social Media Marketing Book. California, USA: OReilly Media, 2010. Page 67. More on http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=125969402013#

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Facebook Events Discussion Board Poll Live Stream Reviews

Twitter Twitvid Twitpic Tweetdeck

These applications will assist in organising information, saving time and presenting a better offering to the major users of the IFs social media sites. How? Installing these applications is as simple as following the provided hyperlink above and clicking the add application when on the applications page. The following link will otherwise give you step-by-step instruction on how to add them. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpK7gQGz87E 8.2.3 Feedback section Facebook Low Medium Low

Platform: Setup Time: Ongoing Time: Cost:

Why? All successful pages/sites are built on the basis of good feedback and this is generally only collected via focus groups or user feedback. Social media is all about encouraging two way interaction and people are happy to provide feedback if it isnt ignored. The Discussion application is a perfect platform to encourage users to provide feedback on how the page/site can be improved. By making this feature available, the IF will create confidence in the users and it will allow the IF to identify any gaps in their content offerings. Keep in mind that that implementing this functionality also requires contenting review and censorship policy. How? The first step is to enable discussion on your Facebook page by installing the discussion application. Please refer to recommendation 8.2.2 on how to install applications. Beyond making it available its important to encourage feedback amongst users, as this will publically display your support to valuing their opinion.

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8.2.4

Analytics All platforms Medium Medium Low/Medium (Depending upon choice).

Platform: Setup Time: Ongoing Time: Cost:

Why/How? Less than 30% could tell what their month-on-month increase was for FB, Twitter and YouTube. This outlines that there is an obvious need for analytics across all platforms, and if IFs wish to develop a good strategy to social media, analytics is essential. As social media is a key part of any communication plan, it necessary to have good analytical tools as this will be used in measuring the success of any initiative. Facebook analytics is a free untapped resource for many IFs, and using it to its full potential takes time and understanding. Each IF should be using this feature to self assess their efforts on their social media development progress. Good analytical software will allow the IF to make much more informed decisions on timing and content of posts which is the key to return followers and fans. Facebook Insights is sufficient for most IFs, however as their demands for information increases they may wish to invest in more comprehensive tools. Facebook Insights can be accessed by any administrator to the account from the Facebook page. With regards to Twitter, Twitalyzer is free and offers the necessary tools for most IFs. Good analytics allow the IF to understand key metrics about their social media usage around content, timing and interaction. For example, all IFs must understand when the best time is to post depending upon their audience. Analytical tools allow the IF to analyse the responses on their page and leverage these insights to post at the best possible time. Knowing the optimum frequency of these posts is also crucial because different audiences will respond differently to too many posts. Another valuable measure from analytics is monthly active users in relation to overall likes. This should be above 70% and should be the benchmark on how interactive the Federations are relative to fans and followers
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8.2.5

Think (social) outside-the-box Facebook, Twitter and YouTube Low to High Low to High Low to high

Platform: Setup time: Ongoing time: Cost:

Why? Fans like sports But they also want to have fun. To gain followers, likes and views, IFs should not communicate only institutionally. Think outside-the-box and provide different and fun content related to the sport. Although highlights, interviews and backstage videos or pictures are interesting content, a video of a cat playing table tennis might also become something viral and increase your likes while still promoting the practice of the sport. Thinking outside-the-box will also attract the interest of non-hardcore sport fans. These likes will make the users receive all the next updates on their News Feed, increasing your online audience and brand awareness. How? Be creative and look for funny and unique videos and pictures related to the sport. Archives are also welcome, especially on symbolic dates (e.g.40 years ago Mark Spitz won seven Olympic gold medals in Munich). Giving a photo or video camera to the athletes during an event so they can themselves take pictures or record the backstage has also proved to be a successful strategy.

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8.3

Developing Segment

The developed segment is the third and final stage of social media development lifecyle. The following recommendations will allow federations in this segment to progress to more complex social media activities. 8.3.1 Increase EdgeRank Facebook Medium/High Medium Low

Platform: Setup Time: Ongoing Time: Cost:

Why? EdgeRank is probably a new concept to most federations without a technical online manager, however its a very important concept when developing a Facebook strategy. EdgeRank is essentially an algorithm that is used by Facebook to determine if your posts will make it to your fans newsfeed. It is no surprise that Coca-Cola has over 13,000 photos, as this type of media increases their EdgeRank score14. How? The below formula is used by Facebook to determine if your posts make it to your users news feeds. Influencing the three variables is the key to succeeding in getting your message to your users. Affinity x Weight x Time Decay = EdgeRank Affinity is defined by the relationship between the IF and the followers in terms of how often you interact and how often you view their profile. Developing a following with fans can be done in many different ways, however the key to success lies in ensuring they comment on your postings. Weight is the second part of the equation and comments are weighted more heavily than likes, so continual engagement is critical. Video posts are also weighted heavily so the more quality content the better. Time is the third element and this is simply the older an interaction is, the less important it becomes. IFs should be aiming to achieve above ten comments per post, so interaction is often key to keeping the conversation going and ensuring your message reaches your audience.
14

More on http://socialmediatoday.com/ralphpaglia/302536/do-you-know-your-facebook-edgerank-score

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8.3.2

Crisis management plan Facebook and Twitter Medium Medium Low

Platform: Setup time: On-going time: Cost:

Why? From the qualitative interviews we conducted with the IFs, there is an obvious gap in the use of social media in their crisis management plans. In the internet era, crises either begin inside social media or became popular on it. Consequently, the best way to overcome them is using these same tools. It is therefore crucial to remember the huge potential these platforms have to alleviate a tense situation and communicate immediately. Instead of hiding yourself from the problem, industry trends show that the best choice is to be transparent and proactive. How? Its vital to monitor traditional and online media that refer to the sport. Google alerts and the Twitter search engine are the best and faster ways to do this, empowering you to anticipate a crisis and set up a strategy for it. Overcoming crises as easily as possible is also another reason to establish relationships with influencers of the sports. Having a streamlined approach and a team in place is also important to make sure youll react in a matter of hours. When the crisis breaks out, the first platform to react on is Twitter, because of its sense of immediacy and high population of journalists. After it, you can use more complex tools on Facebook and YouTube to go further on the discussion. Communicating only through press releases is not as effective as it used to be, so be prepared to engage all stakeholders into the conversation.

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8.3.3

Communicate with the BRIC14 countries Facebook and Twitter Medium Low High

Platform: Setup time: On-going time: Cost:

Why? Each day the BRIC countries are increasing their interest in diving into the world of sports. The Olympic Movement has understood the enormous potential of these markets. Brazil, Russia, India and China account for more than 40% of the worlds population15, and are some of the worlds fastest growing economic forces. It is no surprise Beijing hosted the Olympics in 2008, Brazil is hosting the FIFA World Cup in 2014 and the Summer Olympic Games in 2016, while Russia is scheduled to deliver the Winter Olympics in 2014 and the FIFA World Cup in 2018. In May 2011, Brazil was the country where Facebook grew the most: 11%, with almost 2 million new users15, These emerging economies have huge audience and potential of growth, so its an important stepping-stone for IFs to engage with them, in spite of language barriers and blocked platforms (i.e. Facebook, YouTube and Twitter in China). How? To surpass the challenges mentioned above, one way out is to have one native speaking employee responsible for social media in these specific countries. This person would be responsible to replicate the content produced in the headquarters in his/her language, and also highlight information that concern national athletes. More than overcoming the language barrier, its advisable to have pages in the popular platforms in countries such as Russia (V Kontakte and Odnoklassniki) and Brazil (Orkut). In the case of China, where YouTube, Twitter and Facebook are not allowed, equivalents (e.g. Renren, Qzone, Weibo and t.people.com.cn) would have to be set up. The usage of a third party (i.e. marketing agency) is a viable option, but is also the most expensive. Hiring a former athlete or establishing a partnership with the respective National Federation would be more feasible.

BRIC is an acronym that refers to the economies of Brazil, Russia, India, and China, which are seen as major developing economies in the world. Definition available on http://geography.about.com/od/geographyglossaryb/g/ggbric.htm
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15Available on http://www.socialbakers.com/blog/171-facebook-is-globally-closing-in-to-700-million-users/

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8.3.4

Go mobile with your sponsors Mobile apps High Medium High

Platform: Setup time: On-going time: Cost:

Why? The promotion of sports events through mobile apps18 is not yet widely observed amongst IFs. FIBAs (International Basketball Federation) Bball, however, proved the huge existent demand for mobile apps by sports fans. The app provided during the 2010 World Championship in Turkey was downloaded by 378,000 users in 171 territories16. During the event, the fans interacted 218,000 times through the app, that featured play-by-play news, videos, tables, statistics, and forums. The fans could also benefit from the geotagging tool17 and interact by saying from where in the world they were watching the game. How? Since its hard to dedicate resources for the development of a mobile app, a possible option is to negotiate the development of the application with the IFs sponsors. FIBA Bball was developed by Nokia, one of the 2010 World Championship sponsors18. The mobile app would then be a part of the commercial companys strategy to leverage the sponsorship, but at the same time would benefit the IF in addition to adding value to a young and connected audience. 8.3.5 SMM (Social Media Marketing) and Communication All Platforms Medium/High Medium Low

Platform: Setup Time: Ongoing Time: Cost:

Why? SMM is similar to internet marketing, however it seeks to achieve marketing, communication and branding goals through the use of social media platforms. Social media has been developed with many measurable metrics on usage, location, frequency, interactivity and tracking.
Numbers available on http://vimeo.com/19291198 Geotagging is the process of adding geographical identification metadata to various media such as photograps, video, websites, SMS messages or RSS feeds and is a form of geospatial metadata. Definition available on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geotagging 18Application software developed for mobile phones that can be downloaded by customers.
16 17

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The major benefit with SMM is the cost, accuracy and reach advantage over more traditional marketing methods. Once the IF has reached critical mass amongst the followers it gives them the ability to start marketing and communicating to key groups of followers. The ability to grow and develop the IFs brand is a clear advantage through SMM. How? Marketing and communication initiatives produce the best results when data driven, so the IF should utilise the metrics available to them through analytics to ensure a higher probability of success. Analytical tools have the power and potential to provide the IF with very valuable marketing and communication guidelines. SMM should be a complementary channel to traditional marketing and the best results are achieved through a combination of both19. By integrating SMM into your overall marketing plan, the IF will have a much strong integrated marketing communications plan.

19

More information available at: http://socialmediatoday.com/brettrelander/260475/future-traditional-marketing

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 Our main goal while producing this project was to provide a service to the IFs. Hopefully, the research findings presented in this report will help them understand where they are currently positioned in the social media landscape in comparison to the other IFs and the overall industry. Our aim was never to rank or index the organisations, but to help them clearly identify their strengths and weaknesses in order to improve. After going through the latest numbers and tools utilised by the industry, we are sure that the best way to increase brand awareness and reinforce the relationship with the fans is to build a social media strategy and embed it to the IF overall strategy and long-term objectives. That being done, its necessary to understand that there is no silver bullet for the tools that should be employed. Each IF is supposed to build its social media strategy according to their audience, objectives and resources. However, its important to notice that having substantial budget dedicated to social media is not mandatory to achieve success in this field. Small and creative actions can produce huge impact and maximise resources. To keep growing, IFs should comprehend the importance of evaluating what is being done through analytics tools. The numbers on demographics and engagement related to each action will provide them quantitative feedback. Combined with the qualitative feeling that arouses every day from the fans comments, the ones responsible for leveraging the social media strategy will be able to expand successful initiatives. In addition to the recommendations presented in the previous section, we also observed that there is a need for communication and learning between the IFs. Given they are all a very important part of the Olympic Movement and therefore interdependent, it would be extremely valuable for them to exchange knowledge and experience regarding social media. We have heard from a number of IFs that they would be willing to talk to people occupying the same position in other IFs, and therefore facing similar challenges. Exchanging experiences could help them overcome issues such as non-allocation of budget and lack of time, or even how to best convince senior management about the importance of social media. As a last advice of this research piece, we suggest that the IFs utilise the potential of social media also for facilitating conversations between themselves. One suggestion is to set up a Facebook group where the representatives could meet and 26

9. Conclusions

talk online. To consolidate this partnership, its also necessary to meet and talk in person. This could be achieved through an annual seminar that would gather all the social media representatives. Promoting the discussion amongst the IFs will encourage investment, understanding and further learning of social media. These are all key areas that must improve to see future success in this ever-changing landscape.

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10. references

Blossom, J. (2009) Content nation: surviving and thriving as social media changes our work, our lives, and our future, Indiana: Wiley Publishing. Cambi, S. and Ooi, Y. (2009) International Communications Strategy: Development in cross-cultural communications, PR and social media, UK: Kogan Page Limited. Kirkpatrick, D. (2010) Facebook Effect, New York: Simon & Schuster. Zarrella, D. (2010) The Social Media Marketing Book, California: OReilly Media. Kotler, P. (2002) Marketing Management 11th Edition: Prentice Hall Note: The online references were addressed in the footnotes. The main websites consulted are listed below. http://www.hubspot.com/ http://www.facebook.com/ http://thenextweb.com/ http://www.website-monitoring.com/ http://copybrighter.com/ http://socialmediatoday.com/ http://www.mashable.com http://www.twistimage.com

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11. list of abbreviations

AISTS International Academy of Sports Science and Technology IF International Federation IFs International Federations FIBA International Basketball Federation IOC International Olympic Committee NFs National Federations NOCs National Olympic Committee

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 12.1. SWOT Analysis

12. appendices

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12.2. Extra graphs and further analysis on research findings

Table 5: Yes, 55,6%; No, 44,4%. Table 6: Yes, 57,7%; No, 42,3% Tables 5 and 6: Athletes are perceived as good ways to interact with fans yet a little over a half are using them to leverage their social media accounts.

Table 7: Developing, 60,7%; Starting, 28,6%; None, 10,7% Table 7: At this moment, social media engagement within IFs is very informal. People using social media are not exclusive employees for that function. In some cases the communications manager is the person updating the content in any available spot.

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Table 8: The wider used social media platform among the IFs is YouTube, closely followed by Facebook and Twitter. It is important to mention that through SportAccords Sports Hub some IFs have been using YouTube, but they often need fresher content.

Table 9: Rarely, 4,2%; Irregularly (in a monthly basis) 8,3%; Constant updates (everyday) 37,5%, Regularly (at least once a week) 50%. Table 9: Among social media experts there is a debate regarding the frequency of posts. Tweet as you eat, refers to posting at least three times a day. Others agree that posts should depend on rich content. Most of the IFs post on a weekly basis and even more during events like world championships.

Table 10: It is a growing issue whether or not organisations should engage in discussions with outsiders in social media. IFs reply to requests and comments more often than not. That is a good strategy from a social perspective (fans feel identified) and from a communications perspective (higher engagement = higher exposure).

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Table 11: No, 52,4%; Yes, 47,6% Table 11: Getting appropriate content for social media is going to be an increasing problem for organisations. Almost half of the IFs have issues posting videos on their YouTube channel because of their current broadcasting contracts. For future contracts social media has to be taken into account during these negotiations.

Table 12: No, 46,2%; Yes, 53,8% Table 12: This graph shows the level of engagement of the social media responsible with the features available. These tools must be used proactively in order to get results and most of the IFs understand the importance of this.

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Table 13: No, 42,9%; Yes, 57,1%. Table 14: No, 45%; Yes, 55% Table 13 and 14 measure the level of involvement and planification of the executing body of the IF in social media. It is a difficult task to get high ranks of the organisation involved. In order to allocate resources in this department complete level of compromise is ideal.

Table 15: No, 85,2%; Yes, 14,8% Table 15: IFs perceive social media as a communications tool. It is very difficult to generate profit without a physical product. Various ways of monetising come from capitalising other efforts through this means such as ticketing, merchandising, sponsors, etc.

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Table 16 brings the concept that the major constraint IFs have is time to dedicate themselves to social media efforts. This way of perceiving the problem is interesting. The fact is that budget, human resources and time are all consequences of the lack of resources allocated.

Table 18: No, 64%; Yes, 36%. Table 19: No, 57,9%; Yes, 42,1 % Table 17 and 18: Sponsorship agreements are a fair way to leverage social media in order to gather resources to continue this strategy and expand the consumers of the sport. Using the available tools the social media platforms have to offer is an easy way of keeping track of your content quality and gives you the chance of higher rate of appearance on fans news feed.

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12.3

MSA11TP Social Media Usage within Ifs

International Federation *

Social Media Usage

In which extent is the IF currently engaged in social medias? How does the IF represent itself through social media? Acronym Sport Event(s) When did the IF start using social media? Haven't started 6 months ago 1 year ago 2 years ago 3 years or more Does the IF consider social media usage and promotion a priority? Yes No Which stakeholders are targeted when you plan your social media strategy? (more than one option is possible) Public/Fans Sponsors National Federations Broadcast right holders Journalists Athletes Others

More than one option is possible

When it comes to the athletes, do you use social media platforms to communicate with them? Yes No When it comes to the athletes, do you use their image to communicate with the fans through social media? Yes No How does the federation feel they are using the potential of social media? Fully Developing Starting None In which department is social media allocated? Communications Marketing Other Do you work with a third party/independant company to build your social media strategy? Yes No What would be the estimated budget dedicated to social media? How does the IF allocate resources to each social media platform (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc)? How many employees do you have working on social media?

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Three or more

Two

One

None

If the employees are not fully dedicated to social media, you can think in terms of percentage. Ex: 4 employees dedicate 25% of their time, what gives us 1 employee working fully in this specific issue.

Which social media platforms do you currently use? Facebook Twitter Four Square Others YouTube Flickr Mobile applications

More than one option is possible

Does the Federation has a policy against inappropriate content being published on their social media platforms? Yes No What response policy do you implement? How does the IF segment its various target markets through the use of social media (e.g. demographics, professionalism, country)? Who moderates the social media sites? Do you have a schedule for posts? Constant updates (everyday) Regularly (at least once a week( Irregularly (in a monthly basis) Rarely What determines the frequency of posts in your social media platforms? Fixed quota News Other
More than one option is possible

If that's the case, in which events do you promote special social media channels/platforms? Olympic Games Championships Youth Olympic Games Other(s) World

More than one option is possible

Social Media Platforms

FACEBOOK What do you publish in your Facebook page? News Videos Photos Links Others
More than one option is possible

How often do you interact?

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Constant updates (everyday)

Regularly (at Rarely

least once a week) Irregularly (in a monthly basis) Do you reply to the fan's comments?

Yes No Does the IF Facebook interact with other medias or social medias? Yes No How many likes does the IF FB page have? And how many likes does the most popular page related to the sport have (i.e. the non-official one)? Observations/particularities of the IF Facebook page

Social Media Platforms

YOU TUBE Does the IF have an official YouTube Channel? Yes No What does the IF show on their videos? Live stream News Other Highlights Interviews Backstage

More than one option is possible

Is there exclusive rights content? Yes No If yes, which kind? Live stream News Other Highlights Interviews Backstage

More than one option is possible

How many views through the official channel? How many total views of the videos? How many subscribers? Which was your most successful activation on YouTube? How is the interaction with the fans in the forum? Do you have problems with the broadcasters when trying to leverage your YouTube strategy? 38

Yes No Observations/particularities of the IF You Tube page

Social Media Platforms

TWITTER Do you have a Twitter account? Yes No Other Which ones? IF Event President
More than one option is possible

How often does the IF update/administer it? Constant updates (everyday) week) Irregularly Rarely
More than one option is possible

Regularly (at least once a

What information do you publish on it? News Links Events promotion Others Sports promotion Pictures

More than one option is possible

What's your strategy to increase the number of followers? Does the IF interact with the followers or answer their questions? Yes No Does the IF search for words related to the IF or the sport and take the initiative to talk to the fans? Yes No Observations/particularities of the IF Twitter page Number of followers

Social Media Platforms

FLICKR Do you have a Flickr account? Yes No How many photos do you have uploaded? What are the photos of?

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Which are the main stakeholders interested in this specific social media? Media Fans Others Observations/particularities of the IF Flickr page

Social Media Platforms

MOBILE APPS Does the IF offer mobile apps? Yes No Does the IF charge for it? Yes No What do you offer in your app? How many times has it been downloaded? Do any of them offer geo-location applications? Yes No Do you use any other social media platforms?

Social Media Platforms

OTHER Observations/particularities concerning mobile apps

Social Media Strategy

What are your main goals regarding social media? Communication Commercialization Promotion Other Advertising Relationship building Increase awareness/following

More than one option is possible

Has the IF included social media platforms in their strategic objectives? Yes No If the social media strategy is linked to a bigger strategy, which one?

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To the communications strategy (information and relationship building) To the marketing strategy (profits driven) Taking into account the segment and the audience of your sports, do you consider it important to have a social media strategy? Yes No What plans do you have to increase the number of followers or likes? Do you advertise your social media accounts? Yes No

If the employees are not fully dedicated to social media, you can think in terms of percentage. Ex: 4 employees dedicate 25% of their time, what gives us 1 employee working fully in this specific issue.

If yes, where? Event programme Announcement Newspaper ad Other TV ad

More than one option is possible

Do you intend to monetize social media within the Federation? Yes No If yes, how? If no, why? What are the biggest obstacles you have found or are still finding when implementing your social media strategy? Budget Human Resources Time Other Which social media(s) do you consider to be the most important one(s) at this moment? Facebook Twitter YouTube Other

More than one option is possible

Are the sponsors visible in the social media platforms? Yes No In which languages do you make your social media platforms available? English Spanish French Chinese German Japanese Italian Other Portuguese

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More than one option is possible

Is the IF activating a social media strategy in a specific country/target market (e.g. BRICS countries - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa)? Yes If yes, which one? No

Observations/particularities concerning the IF social media strategy

Website

In your official website, what kind of interactions does the IF offer? Plug-ins interactions Forum Chat Blogs Other social media

More than one option is possible

Where are the plug-ins located (e.g. top right , bottom left)? Do you control the number of clicks on those plug-ins? Yes No If yes, are you able to estimate the number? Does the IF use the "like" button in their stories? Yes No

Measuring the success of social media

How do you monitor social media? How do you measure the success of social media? Have any targets been set for social media? Would you say that until now your strategy has positive/negative results? Is it a quantitative or qualitative result?

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Have you considered social media tools in your crisis management plan?

Extra observations

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