Dive Brief:

• Facebook commissioned Gfk to conduct research on its user base and found that 52% of Instagram users interact with mobile devices while watching sports.
• Two-thirds of those surveyed are "likely" to look for news and content about the upcoming Olympic games on Facebook and Instagram.
• Instagram found over half of its users plan to watch the games daily, while 80% plan to watch at least once per week. 

​Dive Insight:

Instagram wants to remind marketers that the Olympics offer them a real-time marketing opportunity.

In a blog post, Instagram offered marketers a blueprint for making use of the social media platform during the Olympics: “With 83% of Instagrammers enthusiastic about the 2016 events, take advantage by sharing creative that plays off the games. Share content that reflects the events while aligning to your brand, products or services. Include a popular hashtag or two, like: #bomdia, #riodejaniero, #familia, #brasil, #rio and #felicidad. And, if you’re running games-specific ad campaigns, reach viewers by selecting specific targeting interests like 2016 summer olympics or olympic games.”

Despite Instagram's advice, brands should be careful about using social to capitalize on the Olympics, given the U.S. Olympic Committee’s stringent social media rules. Last week, the U.S. Olympic Committee released a long list of keywords that are not allowable for any social media mentions by advertisers, as well as prohibited actions, such as featuring Olympic athletes in social media posts.

"Several of our clients are interested in considering other ways to leverage the buzz that the games are going to have over the next three weeks," Shawn McBride, evp and the head of the sports practice at Ketchum Sports & Entertainment, told Adweek. "We've counseled them to be very judicious in what they do and to err on the side of caution when it comes to any of those key terms. The official hashtags are avoided easily enough."

Instagram's numbers also highlight an interesting and growing trend: second-screening. While about 84% of this year's Summer Olympics viewers will watch the games on TV, according to research, over 50% of those surveyed said they browse the internet while watching sports, while 47% use email and about one-third do other second-screening activities, such as use social media.

Those findings bode well for brands looking to reach followers of the Olympics. Even if they can't buy TV time for an ad spot, marketers can leverage viewers' second-screen habits to reach them on other platforms, such as news sites and social networks. Marketers should just be careful not to run afoul of the USOC's social media rules.