8 valuable lessons from the slopes

An interesting skiing season on and off the snow has ended, but some great things won’t be forgotten.  Here are eight good stories that show us how things should be done on social and can be applied by everybody.

 

1. HUMAN TOUCH

Although skiing seems like a strictly individual sport, this is not completely true. Sentence ,,Skiing is a team sport except for the two minutes you are on the course” is a much better description.

Post written by Julien Lizeroux, a farewell to his team colleague Cyprien Richard, definitely confirms this.

For me, it was one of the most touching posts of the season. From the heart, sincere and in an informal tone, just exactly how the posts on socials networks should be.

 

2. WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU LEMONS…

Horrible injury that ends an excellent season is not the best thing that can happen to a champion like Aksel Lund Svindal. But the thing that makes a difference between the ”ordinary people” and champions is that champions always find a way to win. Aksel Lund Svindal didn’t win any crystal globes this year, but a simple video he shared on social made him a winner of a season in the discipline called social media. Statistics show that this was the hottest post of the season.and one of the hottest in alpine skiing history.

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This video may not be nuclear science, but it showed us the ”magic formula” for success: Keeping it short and simple + the right timing + be yourself.

3. JUST PACK IT RIGHT

Humor and sarcasm are always an excellent way to deal with unpleasant situations. They are especially useful if we really want to comment on something that could sound offensive. Norwegian Kjetil Jansrud did it in a perfect way when he ran into a gate the didn’t like. Jansrud definitely came out of it as a winner. He said what he wanted, nobody was offended by his words and he got a lot of sympathies for this.

This comment written by Lindsey Vonn is also a good example of how much you can say if you ”pack” it properly. It’s too bad that she didn’t stand on this comment instead of crushing ski. 

Social networks are perfect to exchange opinions. Don’t hesitate to comment on situations you don’t like, just ”spice up” your words with a dose of good humor and sarcasm. Those kind of comments make social networks so interesting.

 

4. MILKA MOMENTS

I already wrote an article about Milka ski stars and I’ll write a few more words because it’s an excellent example of how relationship between athletes ,sponsors and fans should be like. Project Messages of meltivation gave fans a chance to send a motivational message written on a piece of chocolate, A match made in heaven, shown to the whole world through social networks.

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I  also admire the fact that skiers that didn’t race this season were also a part of this.

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This is definitely the way things should always work: only full engagement by all sides boosted with emotions can make the story whole.

 

5. SNAPCHAT TIME

During this season, Snapchat came to the alpine skiing world. There are not a lot of skiers who use it, but it’s good to see that first steps have been made. In my opinion, Lindsey Vonn did the best job with sharing a lot of ”off the slopes” content on a regular basis.

World cup Kvitfjell was also a good example of using Snapchat because a lot of interesting stories were shared.

I sincelery hope that skiers will use their free time wisely and learn about Snapchat. Sharing their ”not so sportive” side on this network seems like something that would be interesting to see. Including   new and cool things in your marketing strategy is always a beginning of a new great story.

 

6. LIVE IS SO MUCH MORE FUN

Real-time reaction is one of the benefits that social networks offer. Marcel Hircher did the best job in this field with tweeting just after his race.

Another great thing about this is that Hircher’s tweets were included in Eurosport’s live coverage of the race.

I think that the other skiers should do the same because it makes everything much more interesting and brings the entire experience to a whole new level.

 

7. GOLDEN IDEA

What happens when you put together a great athlete, his first World championship gold medal, a noble cause and a dose of creativity that borders with madness? One of the best ideas ever!

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Aksel Lund Svindal and Telenor Nogre, united in their love and need for speed, came up with the idea of SIM cards that contain real World championship gold. Who doesn’t want to have something useful that belongs to one of the most popular athletes in the country and is made for a good cause. 

One of the simplest ways to be successful in marketing is to do something that nobody expects and leave everyone speechless. Your idea doesn’t have to include real gold, but if you come up with something positively shocking it can become golden.

 

8. DESIGN MATTERS

While Head skiers did an excellent job on the snow, Head did an excellent job on social. Success of their stars was celebrated with great graphics.

 

The way of presentation was excellent to me: colors they used were very eye catching and data was shown in a skiing way. I also loved how they named their team the World cup rebels and made a cool logo out of the crystal globe ans a pair of skies. 

This proves that great things can be even better when you ”spice” them up with excellent design.
 

CONCLUSION

I like the fact that more and more skiers are becoming aware that social networks are not just a place to inform their fans about the result.  Sharing their thoughts, feelings and off the slopes moments are something that makes them worth liking, sharing and following.

If could give a crystal globe to a social network winner of the year, I’d definitely give it to Aksel Lund Svindal.  He may not be the most active athlete on there, but he does it much better than the others. His innovative approach, great cooperation with sponsors and his way of communication make him a winner.

I hope that in future skiers will find new and creative ways to ”give” themselves to their fans and of course won’t forget about them during a summer break.

Photo: Flickr