The Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games is the most recent big event to use social media to connect with millions of fans across the Web. The IOC set up an official Olympic Games Fan Page on Facebook for Fans to stay updated on Olympic events and to promote contests. The Fan Page has just under 1.5 million Fans, many of whom are active contributors to the page.

Let’s look at a few of the ways the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is using Facebook to promote the Olympic Games and engage with Fans:

• The IOC uses the Fan Page to post videos and photos of the events, promote events and games, and to provide Fans with links to Olympic athletes’ pages.
• The Fan Page promotes engagement by allowing Fans to post comments on any status update, or wall post the IOC puts up, and the IOC often responds to those comments.
• The official Fan Page includes a Photo Contest for Fans to submit their coolest photos from the Games and enter to win tickets to events.
• The Mini Games feature is a great promotional tool as well. This feature allows Fans to play short video games with each other, and it promotes the official Olympic Games video game.

The IOC uses Facebook in some original and creative ways. Do you think more events will use Facebook and other social media for promotion and engagement? In what ways? We’d love to hear your thoughts!

-@cristinalepore