The Future of Political Campaigns
I spent the last couple of days in Jeff City (Missouri’s capital) getting to know several different state representatives and sharing ideas for how new media tools like Facebook, Twitter, and blogs can be great tools for both governing and campaigning. It got me thinking about specific recommendations to give politicians about how to use new social media tools in their 2010 campaigns. I thought I’d go ahead and share a few quick ones here.
1. Use Twitter (or something similar if a competitor emerges): No other medium has the real-time ability that Twitter does. With journalists always looking for up-to-the-minute info to show that they’ve got the best and fastest news coverage, this can translate to increased media coverage (read: free advertising?). Twitter can also be a great way to bypass the old media machine and generate your own buzz. Plus, to post tweets, you just have to send a text message with that Blackberry or Iphone you’re already using. Twitter definitely has the lowest technical learning curve of any new media.
2. Use Facebook (extensively): Everyone knows Facebook is a great way to reach young people, but if you think that’s all it can do you are very much mistaken. Facebook is reportedly growing at an alarming 600,000 active users each day and most of those are adults who have realized that the Facebook is a great networking tool. You want these people networking with you! In the 2010 campaign, Facebook will be the number one tool, not just for improving your image and name recognition, but gathering and organizing volunteers, raising money, and everything else you do in a campaign.
3. Blog, blog, Blog!: Okay, maybe I shouldn’t use the word “blog”. I know a lot of people are confused about what constitutes a blog. Here’s the main idea: a blog is simply a way of publishing information yourself in an easy to find place instead of needing other media outlets (reporters, newspapers, etc.) to publish your info for you. When campaign season comes around again, every campaign website should have a blog with the latest information constantly being posted for people to find and follow. The RSS feeds contained in blogs makes it easy for other sites to automatically republish your posts (increasing your reach) and easier for supporters to follow you (with RSS readers). The bottom line is that people want information from you, and they want it updated often. A blog is designed to do just that, making your voice heard to a wider audience and delivering better content to those who listen.
Now comes the most important step!
4. Start doing these things Now!: Don’t wait until campaign time to try to adopt new tools. Start using them now! Practice! Your first several blog posts won’t accomplish what you want them to. When you text in your first Twitter tweet, hardly anyone will notice. These are tools that take time to learn how they’ll work best for You, so don’t expect to pick them up when you need them and be able to see a sudden change. You have to get comfortable with them (just like anything else that’s new) and you might as well get comfortable before everyone starts watching you to decide how to place their vote. You can start a blog simply posting the newsletter you’re already emailing to select constituents, and add other content as you find it useful. Tools like Twitter and Facebook are also dependent on networking and building connections, so you want to have those connections in place before it comes time to tap into them. If you wait until campaign time to adopt these tools, it will look like a stereotypical campaign, out for votes and money and nothing else. If you start now, you can show that you actually care about your constituents and their opinions and participation in the governing proces.
Are there other suggestions I’d make? Of course there are! But I really think these four are the most critical. The theme behind all of these suggestions though is simply communicating with people better. These tools and methods offer ways to improve communication and anyone who really wants to stay connected to their constituents should certainly take a look at them. Try them out. If you don’t find them useful, at least you tried.
Which of these are you already doing? Which are you going to try out first?
