U.S. Figure Skating Dir of Communications Renee Felton (@USFigureSkating) said with the U.S. Championships already underway and running through this weekend, it is the most exciting time of the year for the NGB. She said, “All of the athletes, coaches and officials mark it on the calendar as the event of the year. It has a little more meaning this year because how they finish sets them up for the Olympic season.” Incorporating social media is crucial to trying to reach a broader audience. Felton said some of the athletes will take over the NGB's Instagram and Snapchat accounts during international events. USFS has a greater concentration of content on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, but is expanding its presence on Snapchat, which will be visiting the championships in K.C. on Saturday.
SOCIAL SNAPSHOT Must-follow: I am a big Instagram user, and some of my favorite accounts are Nordstrom and a lot of fitness websites and magazines. Favorite App: Tiny Beans. My sister-in-law and some of her friends post pictures of their kids Average time per day on social media: 30 minutes personally, 30 minutes to an hour professionally.
Working with skaters on social media:
Figure skaters tend to be pretty active on social media. They have a lot of fun with it; a lot of them are snapping each other all day long. They interact great with U.S. Figure Skating, and if we ask them to push out a message, most of the time they are willing and able to do that for us. Our alumni are also really good on social media and interact with our accounts.
Who stands out:
The Shibutani siblings -- Maia and Alex -- are really good on social. They create videos for their YouTube page and are constantly interacting with their fans.
Approach to U.S. Championships:
We have to plan for sharing information that is competition related. We don’t want to inundate fans with a blow-by-blow of what’s happening on the ice, so we’ll typically tweet at the end of a group or an ice resurfacing. There are so many great photo opportunities surrounding an event. Our Instagram feed picks up around the event and so does Snapchat. They will be coming Jan. 21 and will be doing a Live Story from Sprint Center.
Snapchat's involvement:
The athletes and fans are excited to be included in a Live Story, so we are sure to make sure our athletes are aware that Snapchat is there. Maybe if they are not as active on other days of the championships, there will be an uptick in participation.
Working with corporate partners on social media:
Prudential and Smuckers will have an active role, as will NBC Olympics over the course of the championships. You can look for some exciting announcements in the next week or so in regard to those relationships.
Incorporating VR and 360-degree video:
There have been conversations about that, but I don’t think there are any immediate plans. It lends itself to the sport, but there is nothing that I know of right now.
