The Potential Social Media Benefits from the Snowball Derby

Yes, the media attending 5 Flags Speedway in Pensacola, Florida to cover the 49th Annual Snowball Derby will have some rules they must agree too in order to cover the event, but try as anyone may, preventing the thousands of fans and team participants will not stop from making this event being noticed on social media.
 
No, there is nothing wrong with that.  Why? Just think of the buzz the next five days will create leading up the milestone 50th Annual event next December. Five days of free advertising from the masses of people is not a bad thing.
 
In just less than two hours into haulers parking on Wednesday, social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and Instagram are already filling up with different people’s take of what they are seeing with this great event, and you know what, that is a good thing.
 
My friends at Speed51.com will do an awesome job of providing coverage as the official media source for the event, but at the same time, those postings on social media could help them with the latest news and insights to their audience as well.  It is a win-win for everyone involved this weekend.
 
Of course, some are going to say that Speed51.com having the rights to be the number one is not fair to other media members covering the event, but hey they earned that right as they have helped this event grow in the last 15 years.  (Please read my previous blog on my additional thoughts on this.)
 
What will be fun over the next five days is watching not just the media’s perspective of this but teams and fans view of this event.  Take a look at the entry list and follow drivers on different social media platforms.  It is a guarantee you will find a nice variety of thoughts of the event.  Some will be hilarious and some may show the raw emotion that comes out of this event.
 
Those who are attending the event, social media could be your pit road reporter. 
 
While many will say this race needs to be televised live on television, many will have to just give up on that complaint this year and enjoy the pay-per-view broadcast from 51 and the social media updates from the many attending and participating in the 49th annual event. 
 
A few things to remember about social media, it’s about engagement to your already established audience.  Events like this could help drivers, teams, tracks and series gain more followers. Again, this is a good thing overall for short track racing, it helps create visibility and interest.
 
Re-tweeting on Twitter, sharing on Facebook, etc. also helps the overall landscape of short track racing as you are sharing your personal interest of not only this event, but the sport overall to your friends and family.
 
The 49th Annual Snowball Derby could be one of the most visible short track racing events on social media and it could be a big payoff overall for asphalt short track racing, especially with the number of participants coming from all over the United States and Canada.  Also factor in the international exposure from our military members who were based at one time in the great Pensacola area and became familiar with 5 Flags Speedway.
 
While short track racing may not see a payoff today, it is a great building tool for the future of our sport.  Social media is allowing the different character of the participants to show, it is allowing engagement with each other, and sharing things with our fellow followers will create new interest.
 
For those reasons, this could be a good week to show the power of social media in asphalt short track racing as a benefit and not a headache.