We’ve had sporting events come and go in the social media age, but none have yet to take full advantage of social media. And while social media itself is a tool, it’s important to remember that what social media is really about, is people. All of these channels of connection mean nothing if there aren’t people communicating with each other through them. To extend the metaphor, a road serves no function unless people travel on it.

Brands can make good use of this by encouraging and catalysing conversations between consumers of their brand. Social media is about finding connections with people and if people can connect over their experiences with your brand, this is a powerful way to get your brand’s name in the mouths of people.

This is exactly what The Australian Open has done with this year’s marketing. Arguably one of the most switched-on sporting events when it comes to Social Media (The Australian Open was the first Grand Slam on Twitter), this year is being taken to another level.

With a Twitter feed that will be manned (or womanned) 24 hours a day as well as a fan leaderboard that rates tennis players based on buzz as well as ‘Fan-bassadors’, who will be sharing interesting information and seeding commentary on the tennis – this should prove to be a great strategy. It’s important to remember also that people consume multiple media streams at one time. To put it simply, people don’t watch TV, then Tweet about it. They Tweet while they are watching TV. This means that fans of the tennis can stay connected with information, other fans and the Australian Open on a level that has never before been achievable.

The hub of the entire campaign is the The Fan Centre - where interested people can get all the information and encouragement they would need to get involved. And what is so clever about this is: As more people are talking about the tennis on Social Media, more people will see the buzz around it in their respective news feeds. If this happens enough, people who may have never interacted with tennis could decide to switch on the TV and see what all the fuss is about.

So what will The Olympics be doing? We know already that O2 will be providing free wi-fi in certain parts of London, but what will be happening when it comes to Social Media? The Olympics is a much longer event, with much more viewership than the Australian Open. We will have to wait and see what they will be doing, but they would do well to look to Australia.