U.S. speedskating gained an edge using social media

Now, after the Olympics, promoters seek to keep its popularity gliding along

U.S. speedskating grabs the spotlight for a short time every four years.

With the help of social media, the U.S. Speedskating Association wants to keep the sport alive, even though the Winter Olympics in Vancouver have ended. The association worked with The Flint Group, a network of full-service communication agencies, to use social media plan to share stories, promote athletes and expand the fan base.

“We wanted to get our messages out to the public in a short period of time,” says Brad Goskowizc, U.S. Speedskating Association president.

He says the association created accounts on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to accomplish the following:

The first three seem self-explanatory, but what’s the story behind No. 4?

Well, the association ran into trouble late last year when its major sponsor, DSB Bank in The Netherlands, went bankrupt. The team needed a $300,000 sponsor. Riding to the rescue, Comedy Central’s Stephen Colbert and his fans, dubbed Colbert Nation, rallied for the team and donated money for sponsorship.

Communicators learn about speedskating