Welcome to the Lightspan Digital #MarketingHop on social sports, in which we asked 10 great writers and runners to share their thoughts about how social media changed running and is connecting people in the racing community.

At Lightspan Digital, running is a big part of our culture and a constant topic of conversation, with several of our Lightbugs participating in the 2012 Chicago Marathon and Chicago Half Marathon races. We asked founder Mana Ionescu and a couple of our staff members to talk about how social media helped them dive deep into the Chicago running community.

Check out their thoughts, then hop around to the other blogs to learn how social media is helping people connect, organize races, raise funds and awareness for charity, and report on the running community. Share your stories by commenting or posting on Facebook, and join us for a Twitter chat at 1 pm CST Tuesday, Jan. 8, using the hashtag #marketinghop to follow the conversation.

Running Changes Everything

Mana Ionescu, Lightspan Digital founder and president, winter warrior runner, @manamica

Dave Zimmer (@ffdavezimmer), owner of two Fleet Feet Sports Chicago locations, taught me that running changes everything.

Well, runners – social media runners in particular – totally changed what I thought was true about social media. They taught me that every social media community and every audience group is different, unlike what so many social media experts would have us believe. While most tell us that peak hours for tweeting and Facebooking are 9 am, 11 am, and 4 pm, runners taught us that peak hours differ by audience. Runners are early-birds, getting up before the sunrise to hit the pavement. By 7 am they’re ready to take on the day. We found that early tweets go well with runners and 9 am tweets get the “crickets.”

Runners are social. Not necessarily chatty social (although some, like me, are chatterbugs while running) but competitive-social and supportive-social. That’s why sites like DailyMile caught on. Not only because you can post your update, but you get and give support. Try a “dailymile” search on Twitter and you’ll find hundreds and hundreds of athletes, from beginner to pro, sharing their progress and achievements.

I had the chance to test how social runners can be with our clients at Fleet Feet Sports Chicago. We launched the Fleet Feet Cheer social media ambassador team, who also go by #runchi on Twitter. Their blog at ffcheer.posterous.com clocked over 36K visits since its launch and it continues to grow.

Last year we launched the Chicago Endurance Sports alumni group on Facebook. Want to know how to dress for that early run on a 22 degree morning? Ask the coaches in your Facebook group. Want to poke fun at one of your buddies who wore all pink on yesterday’s run? Post a picture on the Facebook group. Post-run beer? There, I Instagrammed it. Wearing Smartwool from head to toe? Yep, I instragrammed that too. And talking about Smartwool, check out their Facebook fanalog.

The biggest opportunity in social media marketing for sports is tapping into that fan excitement. If there’s one brand can get their fans to strip down to their undies, take a picture and put it on Facebook, it’s a sports brand. Check out the Strip to Your Smartwool campaign. So if you’re a sports brand and you’re not taking advantage of this enthusiasm that athletes are showing for their sport and brands, you’re missing out on the word-of-mouth power of an amazingly enthusiastic group of fans.

Finding My Running Community

Michelle Laing, Lightspan Digital community manager, dedicated runner , @m_laing

When I first started running seriously about eight months ago, I immediately turned to Twitter for tips. I wanted to learn more about the Chicago running scene. What were some of the best running trails? Where could I find a working water fountain for my long runs? Which running groups might be looking to take new runners under their wing?

To find people who were talking about running in Chicago, I used geo-coded Hootsuite search columns.  Some of the hashtags and keywords I watched included:

#RunChi
#runnerd
“chicago marathon”
“half marathon”

I started chatting with and following lots of these runners.

I also created a Twitter list of running and endurance companies that often tweeted articles with running tips, gear highlights, and nutritional information for athletes. Check out a couple of my public lists here:

Running:  General running tips and resources
Endurance/Triathlons: Resources for triathlon and endurance athletes

The search power of Twitter helped me get answers to questions about the city running scene that might have taken me years to find on my own.

Fundraising Through Social Media

Kate Hamilton, Lightspan Digital marketing manager, freshly minted running nerd, @katehamilto

In January 2012, I set out to accomplish two of 30 goals: complete the Chicago Marathon, and raise $3,000 for charity. Twitter and Facebook helped me attack my fundraising goal in two ways.

The first was to establish accountability for myself. Regularly posting my progress helped me hold myself accountable: friends and family could track my training, as well as give me support along the way.

The second way was to tell my fundraising story and reach a larger audience to encourage donations. Social media helped me raise $2,500 for Team to End AIDS, an endurance training program that benefits the AIDS Foundation of Chicago, helps those affected with HIV/AIDS, and raises awareness through endurance sports.

A good friend had pointed me to Team to End AIDS because it’s designed to train any level of runner and it’s designed as a fundraising program.

Although I’ve participated in charity runs before, none of those races were as ambitious as a marathon. I knew fundraising among family and friends would be relatively easy. What surprised me was the support that came in from distant acquaintances and complete strangers, including Tweeps I have never met in person but who connected with my story and my goal.

Through social media, I reached the finish line and my goal.

Read How Social Media Is Impacting Other Runners

We’re not the only ones awed by the impact of social media on the running world. Check out the posts by these other great writers and join us in a Twitter chat Tuesday, Jan. 8 at 1 pm to discuss the topic further. Check out the highlights from the #MarketingHop chat.

Tim Cigelske, The Beer Runner, (@thebeerrunner):  A Not So Silent Sport

Myles Dannhausen, Door County Half Marathon, (@mylespulse):  How Social Media Helps Us Improve the Door County Half Marathon

Tom Held, The Active Pursuit (@tomheld):  An Antenna, Not a Mic – Reporting With Social Media

Maggie Wolff (@not_margaret):  How Social Media Changed My Running

Ashley Kumlien, MS Run the U.S. (@MSRuntheUS):  Raising Funds, Awareness With Social Media

Lauren Matricardi, Fleet Feet Chicago:  (@fleetfeetchgo):  The Conversation:  Our Social Media Strategy 

Bob Richards, Chicago Run-Times:  Social Media and the Silent Sports

Lightspan Digital (@manamica):  How Social Media Changed Running

About Our Bloggers

Myles Dannhausen (@mylespulse): A freelance writer and journalist, Myles has written for Running Times, Chicago Athlete and Silent Sports. He also serves as the course director and community manager for the Door County Half Marathon and theRidges Ride for Nature. His last marathon was a disaster.

Tom Held (@tomheld): A longtime writer for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Tom now blogs at The Active Pursuit and OnMilwaukee and is the go-to source for silent sports news in Wisconsin. He runs fast and recently got hooked on Cyclocross.

Maggie Wolff (@not_margaret): Maggie is a runner, cat lover and online marketer whowrites the MagMileRunner blog.

Tim Cigelski (@thebeerrunner): Tim writes for Draft Magazine as The Beer Runner. He’s on a two-year streak of running and drinking beer, every day.

Ashley Kumlien (@MSRuntheUS): Ashley launched MS Run the U.S. to raise money to fight Multiple Sclerosis, the disease that her mother has battled since 1980. Grab a copy of the January issue of Chicago Athlete and you’ll find her photo on the cover.

Lauren Matricardi (@fleetfeetchgo): Lauren is a blogger and digital marketing manager for Fleet Feet Chicago, supplier of great running gear and training programs throughout the city.

Bob Richards:  Bob blogs at Chicago Run-Times. A long-time contributor and editor atChicago Athlete, he covered silent sports for the Chicago Sun Times, and contributes toSilent Sports magazine. Bob has completed numerous marathons, countless 5ks, ski races and other events. He organizes the Community Bank of Elmhurst 4 on the 4th race (CARA Runners Choice Circuit), and the Northern Illinois Nordic XC ski race. He splits his time between Villa Park, Illinois, and Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin.