That’s it, folks. Germany took the Cup. Sorry to spoil it for anyone who didn’t follow the 2014 FIFA World Cup and somehow missed every news outlet on the Interwebs.

So now what? We all pack up and go home, right? That’s certainly what most of the estimated 3.7 million World Cup tourists who invaded Brazil for four weeks are doing, and they’re likely happy about it. Custo Brazil has led to, I’m sure, more than one tourist’s rainy day fund getting completely drained. With Cheeseburgers reportedly hitting the $17 and hotels charging $400 or more per night for rooms Motel 6 would be ashamed of, there’s likely more than one person impatiently waiting at the airport to get out of Brazil. And what’s the impression that person’s leaving with?

Behold! We burn trees.

“Great party, but for the same money in Vegas I could be treated like socialite royalty.” (Yes, that’s my shameless Las Vegas plug.)

Brazil had an opportunity to capitalize on what was possibly the largest stage in the world, but it failed. The image most people have of Brazil is that of a place to vacation on the beach, party during the Carnival of Brazil, and avoid the infamous favelas. Yet, this is a nation that has experienced unprecedented growth over the past decade, with GDP tripling and wages coming in at nearly 60 percent higher in that same time period. In addition, did you know that Brazil boasts one of the world’s leading agricultural research centers and aircraft manufacturers, and has transformed itself technologically? I’m sure you got all of that from this year’s World Cup logo — you know, the one that looks like a tree that’s going up in flames.

Shame on You, Brazil

So why does this matter? Because, the world’s biggest sporting event shattered any meaningful social media records. The sheer volume of online chatter surrounding the event was staggering, clocking in at more than 350 million Facebook posts, comments and likes throughout the World Cup. An estimated 1 billion (yes, with a “b”) people engaged in some sort of social media activity related to the tournament (granted, some of those engagements in the U.S. were of people lamenting that they can’t escape futbol mania). And in all of this, where was your business? Did your business take advantage of the soccer craze with its own social media or SEO efforts? Did your business coaching business post a blog comparing successful soccer team management to successful business management? Did your restaurant promote game-day specials via Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.? Did your graphic design studio create dazzling artwork for your site and social media pages to commemorate the tournament (and at the same time show off your mad skills)?

Capitalizing on Big Events

One of marketing’s biggest challenges is figuring out where your target market is and how to reach it. There’s always a battle between targeted and broad marketing; one gives you access to more eyeballs, while the other does a better job of reaching a segment of your target market. So when an attention-grabbing event like the World Cup comes around and more than a billion people are engaging with it, you have a unique opportunity to get access to not only your full target market but anyone else who might remotely be interested in your service. Yes, it’s a broad market you’re hitting, but it’s not at the cost of missing your target market. You simply can’t lose when you put in the extra effort to align yourself in some way with a big event like this. The lesson applies to any event big enough to encompass your target market and other groups (Super Bowl, Olympics, the next moon landing, etc.).

Devastated Brazilians upon seeing the 2014 World Cup logo.

Such events also serve as terrific times to experiment with new marketing ideas you’ve been putting off. If a big event can land you in front of more people, you have larger populations interacting with your marketing. As a result, these events serve as accelerators that help you discover marketing effectiveness at a much faster rate. Want to see how different landing pages convert visitors? Want to try out a different blogging voice or style? Choosing between two different SEO strategies? All of these experiments will benefit from more exposure, and the time needed to produce enough useful data from which you can extract the results is drastically cut down.

So don’t be lazy. When given an opportunity like this, your business should redouble its marketing efforts and spend some extra resources on spreading your message. The opportunity doesn’t typically last long, so you have to prepare for it in advance. Fortunately, some events are predictable. Christmas, after all, hasn’t surprised anyone. But, I suppose planning ahead isn’t everyone’s strong suit — isn’t that right, Brazil?