Building & Leveraging Online Communities: A Case Study

Building, Sustaining & Leveraging Online Communities

#SMIATL

Heather Whaling • @[email protected]

prTini.comfacebook.com/GebenCommunication

Columbus Marathon: a social media case study

Priorities

• Communicate with marathoners/supporters when & where they want

• Foster engagement with & between marathoners

• Take the “scare” factor out of marathoning• Sustain Columbus Marathon community

year round• Improve customer service

Nail the Basics

nail the basics

• facebook.com/columbusmarathon• Off season: Update 4-5 times per week• Training season: Update twice daily• Emphasis on facilitating conversation among

marathoners

• @cbusmarathon• Limit: 3-4 scheduled tweets per day• Focus on being conversational, providing moral support• Heavy use of lists & local search

www.columbusmarathon.com/blog

• “Maintenance mode” during off season• Blogging team provides real-life

perspective. • Bloggers include:

– Board member/sponsor– Local media personality– Mom walking to lose pregnancy weight– First-timer

• 2-3 posts per week• 30 Tips, 30 Days (see here)

after you nail the basics, add some sizzle

RunFest

• Kick-off training season with family-friendly, outdoor event– Entertainment, food, training clinics

• Added social in 2010– Facebook event– Facebook ads– Blogger outreach

Virtual Scavenger Hunt

• Drive traffic to the new website• Establish new connections with

potential marathon runners/walkers• Offer positive reinforcement for

participants, in the midst of grueling training

• http://bit.ly/CbusMarathonHunt

Ask the Race Director

• Live broadcast on Ustream• Solicited questions on

Facebook,Twitter, blog & enewsletter

• 45 minutes, over lunch hour

day-of interactions

QuickTime™ and aTIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor

are needed to see this picture.

Results

• 2010 race sold out faster than ever• 2011 registration pacing ahead of 2010• 37% of columbusmarathon.com traffic

in 2010 was referred by social media• Facebook referrals increased 95% from

2009 to 2010• Improved customer service by

responding to 25+ Facebook questions the week of the marathon

Heather Whaling • @[email protected]

@CbusMarathonfacebook.com/ColumbusMarathonwww.columbusmarathon.com

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Collaboration. Integration. Social Good.