The United States Olympic Committee is a non-profit organization that serves as both the National Olympic Committee and National Paralympic Committee for the United States. As such, the USOC is responsible for the training, entering and funding of U.S. teams for the Olympic, Paralympic, Youth Olympic, Pan American and ParaPan American Games. As an organization, our mission is to achieve sustained competitive excellence, while simultaneously demonstrating the values of the greater Olympic and Paralympic movements. As stewards of the Olympic and Paralympic movements, we aim to inspire all Americans to do the same. The United States Olympic Committee — or Team USA as it is better known — supports America's elite athletes and rallies Americans behind Team USA and its values. Our social platforms are a direct reflection of our organization's commitment to excellence.
Team USA's strategy on Twitter is to create a fan-centric feed that will appeal to a wide range of sports enthusiasts, as well as the more casual Team USA fan. In order to appeal to a broad audience, we rely heavily on high quality sports photography, captivating graphic design, clever copywriting and original stories from TeamUSA.org. Our motto – design light – helps guide all of Team USA's visual presentation. The goal of @USOlympic is to inform, inspire and engage our fans. Whether it's breaking news, congratulatory tweets or sharing our own content from TeamUSA.org, we are responsible for both creating and contributing to the worldwide Twitter conversation.
The Olympic and Paralympic Games only occur every two years, and just as our athletes train all year long, Team USA does some of its most important work in between the Games. The challenge is keeping Team USA fans active and keeping our brand top of mind in between Games years. Accomplishing this takes creativity, passion and dedication. Year-round, @USOlympic takes fans behind the scenes of the Olympic and Paralympic movements. With unparalleled access to athletes, we are able to bring fans closer to their favorite athletes on a daily basis.
The Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games bolstered a historic amount of growth, activity and engagement on Team USA's feed. Team USA's social media editors were posting live from competition venues and the hospitality headquarters of Team USA, USA House. During Sochi 2014, @USOlympic gained more than 100,000 new followers. This number nearly doubled the growth during the London 2012 Games, where @USOlympic grew by more than 50,000. The most popular tweet during Sochi 2014 was posted immediately after the U.S. men's ice hockey team defeated Russia in a shootout. This celebratory tweet generated more than 10,000 RTs and nearly 8,000 favorites.
However, the conversation never stops for Team USA. From off-beat holidays, to smaller sporting events, to the Olympics themselves, Team USA finds creative ways to create social chatter on Twitter. Our task is to make Team USA relevant 365 days a year. With our sporting schedule, it would be easy to go off the radar for months, even years at a time, but our job is to build excitement and Team USA loyalty on a daily basis.
Team USA's Twitter fans can agree on their love for USA, but our job is to encourage them to not only love Team USA, but celebrate all our athletes and all our Olympic and Paralympic sports on a consistent, year-long basis. When considering the sports, disciplines and athletes that Team USA's Twitter covers, we cast a large net into the social space.
Team USA's Twitter has a distinct voice – spirited, determined, united and inspired. As a brand we aim to create a timely, creative and engaging Twitter feed that is the voice of our athletes and the home for our fans. Our tweets are always clear, concise and celebratory. In addition to our copy, diverse media and original graphic design make our account both compelling and memorable. Our fans are at the center of our messaging strategy and we aim to engage them with questions, humor and inspiring images that speak to the core of our brand. Key content strategies and tactics of @USOlympic include:
Website Cards, Lead Generation Cards, Interactive Twitter Quizzes, Twtpolls, Vines, GIFs, Native Twitter Video Players, Twitter Audio Cards, Customized Twitter Graphics, Happy Birthday Shoutouts, Twitter Profile Headers, Audience Engagement, Cross Platform Promotion, Athlete Bio Cards, Donation Requests and Athlete Takeovers
