2016 marked the year of the 31st Olympics for the world. Along with the fanfare of the games came a number of bad PR leaks, social media outrage, and worry; nevertheless the games prevailed.
The games got underway on Aug 5th with the opening ceremonies, and along with being introduced to all of the athletes, we were also introduced to numerous hashtags on twitter, such as #olympics2016, #openingceremony, and #rio2016. As the hashtags started trending, so did their tie-ins with the athletes and events. Olympic related post quickly took social media by storm; we have all seen the accidental censorship of the male swimmers and the feminist-movement inspired tweets by various medalists to make The Olympics less male-centric.
The Olympics definitely have the world talking, and the constant trend of content on social media geared towards The Olympics isn’t going anywhere for a while. Everyday something new from The Olympics pops into my newsfeed, whether it is about a civil issue, a world record being beaten, or even a GIF of hilarious squirmy parents watching their children do their thing.
What I am getting at is that the Olympics are a very important ritual our world celebrates, and social media has made carrying news, opinions, and all around awesome content very easy. It’s fun that fans from all over the world can connect so quickly to celebrate a world tradition like The Olympics, and it truly shows the power of social media.
We should note for you social media marketing users out there, The IOC has banned any brands not associated directly with The Olympics from using their name or likeness, including their trademarked hashtags, in a way to promote sales. Basically, don’t post a picture of your pizza with the pepperonis lined up to look like The Olympic Rings and hashtag it, #rio2106 to promote the sale of your Italian food.