Baltimore, MD – As an Internet-only ski and snowboard news magazine, it comes as no surprised to us that your typical skier and rider is more wired than average.

According to survey results released this week by Maryland-based sports marketing agency IMRE Sports, and conducted on their behalf by Harris Interactive, slightly over one in five American adults (21 percent) revealed that they ever participate in any winter sport. Among those who ever participate in winter sports,  74 percent use social media sites. Interestingly enough, of that 74 percent, 84 percent utilize the platform to follow brands. Forty-seven percent of those who participate in winter sports make recommendations to their peers about their favorite winter sports products or brands.

Harris Interactive conducted this survey online among 2,292 adult Americans ages 18 and older between December 19 and 21, 2011. The research was spearheaded by the Maryland-based sports marketing agency, IMRE Sports.

Survey results also revealed that by a few percentage points, skiers and riders prefer more than the average American to receive coupon and giveaway information from brands via social media channels, e.g. Facebook and Twitter.  Among those who use social media sites and who ever participate in winter sports, coupons (49 percent) and giveaways (41 percent) are the most popular types of information users would prefer to receive from the brands they follow or connect with via social media sites.

Of the 21 percent of adult Americans who ever participate in winter sports, the research study revealed that 47 percent recommend any of their favorite winter sport products/brands to their peers. Specifically, 33 percent use one-on-one conversations, 11 percent use social networking sites, seven percent add their opinion to a review site, five percent blog their recommendations, five percent post a recommendation to an online forum, and five percent use video or photo sharing websites to broadcast their opinions.

 “The winter sports fan is extremely loyal to their apparel and equipment brands, and they are willing to share their insights with fellow consumers,” said IMRE Sports Vice President of Social Marketing, Crystalyn Stuart. “The way Americans utilize resources to recommend brands to their peers illustrates how brands can focus their spending, particularly as social media options continue to rise in popularity. This research illustrates that the winter sports fan is a very targeted, but potentially lucrative, demographic.”