We found a bunch of good articles about digital strategies and politics, issues and campaigns across the Internet this week. With that, we hope to share these and some quick thoughts about each article. So here you go. And by the way, the team at Cornerstone has been working and running online and digital campaigns since early 2006. We get it. So we want to share it...here you go!
Political Consultants Open to Inevitable Digital Future: by Kate Kaye over at Click-Z
A quick read about the changing dynamics and inevitable acceptance of digital as part of an overall campaign. Our favorite quote of the story:
"It's not a single tool. It's not just digital media. It's a combination of old school, new school, and what we don't know the next school will be."
We could not agree more.
Obama Camp On Pace to Spend $35 Million on Web Ads by Kate Kaye over at Click-Z
All we can say about this is: "gulp". When you have almost a billion to spend, you can do this. But in reality, all campaigns need to step up their efforts in online ads to educate, motivate and mobilize voters. It should be an integral part of your communications strategy.
Top Ten Signs a Social Media Expert Isn’t by Colin Delany over at e.politics.com
A little humor goes a long way in this world. This piece is funny, and true. Thanks Collin Delany for keeping it humorous, and real!
We’ve all heard about the fact that online will play a significant role in the upcoming elections. From websites, micro sites, social media and online applications, online is already playing out in a major way from the presidential level, down to the local level.
Republican candidates Mitt Romney and Ron Paul have strong online campaigns. This article tells the story how Gingrich has ramped up its spending online---since South Carolina. And of course, President Obama continues to build on its massive digital campaign---taking advantage of the moment to capitalize on the primary campaigns in key states.
Perhaps Karl Rove summed up the shift to online best in a WSJ piece last year:
“…in the year ahead, smart campaigns will devote a good deal less money to running 30-second TV ads and a good deal more to using the Internet to organize, persuade, motivate and raise funds.”
What online innovations are you seeing in campaigns across the country?
It’s already started: Who’s going to have the best website in the next presidential race? Who’s going to try to “outdo” President Obama’s online and social media communities in 2012?
The blogs and social media experts around the country are already predicting that all campaigns---from the presidential level to the local level---will pour tons of time, money and resources into engaging voters, supporters, funders and opinion leaders, in the coming elections.
Today, we received an email from the folks running presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty’s online campaign. They have developed a new tool for their candidate to use in the social media ecosystem, and to stimulate conversations across multiple channels.
We expect to see many new “tools” like this one in the next year. But as we always tell our clients, using a tool, like Facebook or Twitter, or Vimeo or YouTube, is just that---a tool.
Every campaign needs a strategy that integrates online conversations and efforts, with offline traditional methods. Moreover, campaigns must connect with voters in authentic, creative and engaging ways. Don’t expect supporters and voters to flock to you just because you tweet something funny, or post your event and fundraiser on Facebook.
You need to be real, and need to think like a voter in order to convert him or her to do something offline in the campaign (like volunteer, or most importantly, vote for you).
Some of the tools that we will see develop in the next few months, and up to Election Day in 2012, will be helpful and useful. Some tools will be carried over into the corporate and social media branding world (much like after the 2008 presidential campaign). But it’s the integration---traditional and new communications, along with a good message and solid grassroots effort---that will carry the day for successful campaigns.
What do you think? What new and emerging uses of social media do you expect in the coming months?
We wanted to say "thanks" to all the good people who signed up for the 'New' Digital Campaign webinar we hosted yesterday. We are sincerely humbled by the great response we received in terms of registration, participation, and follow up.
In case you were not able to attend, you are still in luck. We would gladly provide a copy of the presentation. If you want a copy, please click here, fill out the simple request form, and we'll get you a copy for your review.
Thanks again for all that attended, we hope you learned something, and look forward to a continued dialogue about online campaigns, with you and others.
If you have any questions about the topic or webinar, feel free to email me, or call! And if you want to register for future Cornerstone webinars, just sign up here.
I recently saw a series of newspaper ads with the tagline: “Own the Moment.” The content of the ads didn’t interest me, but the phrase got me thinking.
I started thinking about how social media---and the tools we all use to engage and interact online---is really all about “owning the moment.”
Social media revolves around conversations---and Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Blogs, are the highways we travel during our conversations. At any given moment, there are unlimited conversations happening across Internet.
However, during all of these online conversations, there is always someone, some group, issue, movement or brand that owns the moment.
Currently, actor Charlie Sheen owns the moment on Twitter, racking up over a million users in one day, after a single tweet. Like him or not, his unprecedented climb and popularity in this medium is incredible, and he quickly realized the power of social media to propel his message.
Last month, Egyptians owned the moment on Facebook as they took to the streets in protest of their government and to advocate for change. Facebook, and Twitter as well, provided the means for these brave citizens to raise awareness and compel an historic revolution.
Recently, on the Today Show, I saw a story about a baby boy whose contagious laughter ,over his father ripping up a job rejection letter, entranced millions of viewers on YouTube---propelling the young family to instant fame. It is safe to say this little baby, however silly it seemed at the time his dad filmed him, owned the moment on YouTube.
Almost four years ago, President Obama (then candidate Obama) owned the moment online with his presidential campaign. And there are countless examples of how the Internet allows common folks to achieve instant stardom, fame or make history.
These are exciting times to be alive, and to watch how all our lives change because of a moving Tweet, an unforgettable Facebook post or photo, or a funny YouTube video that captures our imagination and taps our collective humanity.
So this brings me to my ultimate question, in this post: How can you raise awareness or promote an issue using social media and the Internet? How can you promote your business, your cause or your campaign---and own the moment?
It’s pretty common knowledge that Facebook is the mack daddy of social media platforms for personal, business and organizational use. With over 500 million worldwide users, not many will deny the sheer power and force of Facebook to spread a message. Some are even predicting its future dominance in e-commerce.
Whether attempting to increase brand awareness, issues awareness or launch a political campaign, Facebook is—in our view---the most effective social media platform out there. Here’s why.
Where People Go Online
The stats on Facebook are staggering. Simply put, it’s the place to be online, and the proof is in the numbers.
- More than 500 million active users
- 50% of their active users log on to Facebook on any given day
- Average user has 130 friends
- People spend over 700 billion minutes per month on Facebook
The Perfect Online Communications Tool
Facebook is a great way to engage your customers, your advocates and supporters. Since people are already using Facebook so much in their daily lives, it makes sense to meet them in this space. While your supporters or customers are conversing with their friends, they can also share information about your brand, your issue, or your campaign---if running for office.
There are countless examples of how companies and organizations are using Facebook to promote their brand, new service or product. NBC recently launched a campaign to introduce a new show on their network, and teamed up with Chipotle restaurant on Facebook. We love their creative use of video and a coupon to engage thousands and raise awareness.
Applications and Customization
Facebook has gone out of its way to allow users to develop and execute unique, custom applications on a page. From coupons and contests, to action centers and polls, the interface is user-friendly enough that pretty much anyone with FBML (the Facebook equivalent of HTML) knowledge can use it and be creative.
For advocacy purposes, we think Facebook is a great platform to launch a mini-campaign or micro campaign around issues. And the beauty is you can really build an effective platform to educate potential supporters and allow them to take action.
For these reasons---and many others---our team here at Cornerstone Solutions thinks Facebook is a powerful, effective tool to engage others to promote issues, campaigns and brands.
So what do you think? What are some of the creative ways you might have seen others use Facebook to promote an issue, brand or campaign?
