As the world watches the Sochi Winter Olympics unfold, the audience is just as interested in the mayhem and mishaps behind the scenes as they are in the athletic feats of the events. In fact, by Friday morning, the Twitter handle @SochiProblems had more followers than the official Olympic Twitter account (@Sochi2014). The fact that so many issues can plague such as large scale event (with such a large budget) reassured us about the obstacles that crop up in the digital marketing world. In honor of the games, and to show that we understand their pain, we’ve identified some of the dilemmas we face and their “Sochi Problem Level.”

---

Facebook kills a feature that you’ve relied on for your promotions.

Sochi Problem Level:

An athlete has Wi-Fi in her room… but the modem and router are hanging from the ceiling.

---

Though you know you scheduled your LinkedIn posts in Hootsuite, and it’s telling you they went through, they are nowhere to be seen on LinkedIn itself.

Sochi Problem Level:

For some reason, there are chairs in the bathroom… facing the toilet.

---

Your Facebook page as a festive holiday cover photo… in February

Sochi Problem Level:

A sign in the hotel bathroom alerts athletes not to flush the toilet paper.

---

Your “Mobile Friendly Site” is simply a scaled down and difficult to maneuver version of your desktop site.

Sochi Problem Level:

The hotel finally provides a shower curtain… but there is no way to hang the curtain. Guests use ingenuity to MacGyver a solution.

---

Google makes an update that completely contradicts your SEO strategy.

Sochi Problem Level:

Viewers are unable to stream the live feed of the Olympic Events.

---

You upgrade your WordPress Install and now half of your plugins don’t work properly.

Sochi Problem Level:

Journalist offers to trade 3 light bulbs for a door handle.

---

All of your search rankings have dropped overnight, despite the fact that Google claims not to have made any recent changes.

Sochi Problem Level:

People get excited to learn that beer is on tap in their rooms, only to realize that that amber colored liquid is water.

---

An eblast is accidentally sent to the wrong list.

Sochi Problem Level:

USA bobsledder Johnny Quinn gets stuck in his bathroom and is forced to kick a hole in the door to get out.

---

When you launched your new website you never confirmed that Google Analytics was connected, causing you to lose 6 months of data.

Sochi Problem Level:

Only 4 of the 5 Olympic rings light up at the opening ceremony.

---

The DNS provider goes down right after you send an important eblast that directs customers to your site.

Sochi Problem Level:

A Russian official leaked to the media that surveillance cameras are hidden in hotel showers.

---

In the digital marketing world, just as the Olympic committee is learning in Sochi, preparation and the proper support make all the difference in the world. Having a team of professionals on your side helps prevent costly mishaps and allows you to focus on the big picture. If you’re ready to move out of the chaos and into calm, calculated digital marketing campaigns, give us a call to learn how we can help!