NC Free Enterprise Foundation published a piece on their website about the growing use of social media in NC politics, campaigns and issues. You can read about it on their site. We love the fact that organizations like this are spreading the word about social media and politics---as we have seen a growing trend over the last few years.
Their analysis focused on social media use by politicians and political candidates. What’s missing from the piece, and we don’t think intentionally, is the growing use of social media from associations, advocacy groups, and grassroots organizations.
On the association front, the NC Association of REALTORS® (NCAR) has been active in social media for several years. When the organization ran the statewide “Stop the Home Tax” issues campaign, NCAR used online components to engage citizens---throughout North Carolina--- in a conversation about the home tax, and how it would be bad for homeowners.
NCAR used YouTube to spread its message, and drive citizens to a website to register for email updates, and contact legislators. Thousands of North Carolinians viewed dozens of videos about the issue on YouTube, and then went to www.ItsABadIdea.org to send a message to legislators. NC Legislators received over 60,000 emails as a result, preventing the statewide adoption of the home tax. All of this occurred in 2007---when YouTube was not even on the minds of most North Carolinians, much less candidates and issues organizations.
Americans for Prosperity North Carolina has done an impressive job taking its offline grassroots power structure and combining it with a strong online presence. The organization has capitalized on the power of email to keep its members engaged and mobilized to take action. Their online website’s content strategy allows activists and others to learn about issues, engage others and take action.
At Cornerstone, we’ve seen not only the increased use of social media in candidate campaigns, but also with organizations, corporations and issues groups. Social media no longer serves as the shiny new tool everyone wants and uses. It is an integral part of an issue or candidate campaign. Most importantly, social media delivers measurable results for campaigns, organizations, and associations.
What organizations have you seen that are using social media as part of their campaigns?
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’ve talked a lot about the use of video---as a primary tool for social media--- in past posts. And we all know, by now, the power of video to reach followers, supporters, friends, and influentials.
In political campaigns, much like branding and corporate marketing campaigns, video is now the "go to" choice for making an announcement, sharing a story, or posting something funny. That’s why our friends over at Mashable are talking about video use in the next presidential race. Everyone’s making an announcement on YouTube (some are exciting and some are boring, quite frankly), and posting quick videos about their campaigns.
Mashable’s conclusion about 2012, video, and social media?
"Though it’s very early in the race, it’s clear that there will be more back and forth via social media this time around than in 2008, when Obama’s campaign pioneered the use of Facebook and Twitter to reach voters while John McCain’s campaign followed a more conventional path. Romney has more than 33,000 followers on Twitter and 840,000 fans on Facebook compared with 7.3 million and 19 million, respectively, for Obama"
What do you think? What about other campaigns? Will we see state and local campaigns use video and social media even more in 2012 than in 2008, or even 2010?
The power of video is undeniable. There are countless examples of politicians, celebrities, and organizations are using video to educate, share information, entertain, and move others to take action. It’s fast and cheap. 
A year ago, most people viewed videos on their computers. And many still do. However, we are seeing a huge trend towards mobile. That is, the number of people watching videos on their mobile device is growing by leaps and bounds. And it makes perfect sense. We are a society on the move. We value and crave instantaneous information. Our smart phones allow us to get information on the fly.
Just the other day, I was waiting for a friend to arrive for a breakfast meeting. Someone sent me a video clip, and I downloaded it on my phone, watched it, shared on Facebook and Twitter, and showed it my friend when he arrived. It was easy, fast and clear as a bell.
The numbers tell the true story. Look at what the Nielsen recently reported about video and mobile devices:
“The number of U.S. mobile subscribers watching video on their mobile devices rose more than 40 percent year-over-year in both the third and fourth quarters of 2010, ending the year at nearly 25 million people. These mobile video users watched an average of four hours and 20 minutes of mobile video per month in both the third and fourth quarter of 2010---a 33 percent and 20 percent year-over-year increase in each quarter respectively.” (State of the Media Report)
No doubt, video is critical to your sharing your content---and building a base of brand activists, supporters, customers or voters. Reaching people where they are---on the move---is important.
What ways are you using video now---and what are your thoughts about how to integrate video for mobile and smart phone use?
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?
According to Hubspot, an inbound marketing company, there were 90 trillion emails sent in 2009. When you think about that number, it’s mind-boggling. Yet, in practical terms, we all live and die (pretty much) by email. Whether sending email for your company, your issue, or campaign, it is the de facto way to communicate.
So, we thought we would offer up some practical tips for maximizing your next email campaign---whether it’s for a grassroots or corporate communications initiative. While it’s not rocket science to craft and send out an email, there are several simple ways to increase the response rates and clickthroughs.
We recently participated in a webinar, hosted by Hubspot, entitled “The Science of Email Marketing.” According to this presentation there several simple strategies for getting the most out of your email campaign.
- Morning is the best time to send out emails. This is when most folks check their email, and the clickthrough rates are higher.
- Optimize for mobile. Over 80% of emails are read on a mobile device. Enough said. So make sure folks can read your email on their mobile phone, smart phone or Ipad.
- Links matter. The more links you have in your email, the better. The clickthrough rates are higher for emails with more links.
- You can never send enough email. We know; this seems counterintuitive—right? But think about it: If you send only a few emails, most people are inclined to unsubscribe. But if you send emails consistently---with good content and calls to action---your audience will respond favorably (and maybe even look forward to receiving your emails).
In short, email marketing is both art and science. You need to experiment, test and measure your emails for maximum impact. We spend a lot of time testing and retesting different tactics for increasing open and response rates. You should too.
We are always interested in hearing about new ways to improve email marketing. What are some to the tricks of the trade, so to speak, that have worked for you email marketing efforts?
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?
Ever given much thought to how you communicate with Millennials? This is the group of people commonly referred to as “Generation Y” (those between the ages of 15-30, with the average age of 28).
If you are like most people your answer is: Why should I even care about engaging this generation? As voters, Millennials traditionally participate in low numbers. And their participation in grassroots advocacy and the political decision-making process is even lower.
But this is changing. And how you communicate with this generation is important because one day they will be in charge, they will be active voters, and they will dominate the discussion about brands, products, politicians, and issues.
We recently ran across a fascinating study by Eldeman Public Relations and Strategy One, a research firm. In their groundbreaking research, “The 8095 Exchange: Millennials, Their Action, Surrounding Brands, and the Dynamics of Reverberation” Eldeman concluded:
“The fact is, as a group, Millennials are now in charge, spending more
than any other generation and spending it in ways that a generation
ago or even a few years ago was unimaginable. To understand
Millennials is to begin to understand how to connect and interact
with this extraordinary population. Marketers cannot afford to ignore
Millennials. More importantly, none of us will succeed without them.”
While the study targets businesses who want to understand this population segment, and how to market products and services to them, we here at Cornerstone Solutions would submit that organizations, opinion leaders and politicians must begin to engage Millennials---or at least begin to understand how they think and operate---especially in the political process.
After all, we saw what this generation did in the 2008 presidential elections. Will 2012 be any different? We highly recommend downloading the Eldeman study, and also getting and reading a copy of Millennial Makeover, by Winograd and Hais. After all, will any of us---whether in the brand world, or brand advocacy world---be able to, as Eldeman suggests, “succeed without them?”
So what’s your plan or ideas for reaching this omnipresent population?
The Republicans won and the Democrats lost. History repeats itself. Preparations for 2012 are underway and it will be one nasty, mud-slinging fight. The Republicans have the opportunity to regain the trust of the public. If the GOP can deliver on their campaign promises, they can hold power for some time.
The biggest takeaway of 2010 is the influence and power of social media. Twitter, Facebook and YouTube supplemented with a good website and online ads creates involvement and mobilization. Sharron Angle became an online fundraising legend with her online presence. Republicans learned the lessons of 2008 and capitalized on the new media trends. If you have not caught on yet, every sentence is fit for a Twitter update. 140 characters!
Republicans also took a page out of the Democrats’ playbook utilizing outside groups to influence campaigns. The Democrats will likely reorganize and ramp up their outside spending as well. Truth be told, the Democrats, Labor Unions, ended up outspending the GOP groups. If voters were tired after the 2010 Midterm, then I would disconnect your TV, phone and Internet because 2012 will be worse.
We, at Cornerstone Solutions, are excited about 2012 to see if we can help our clients win as we did in 2010. Experienced. Creative. Successful. Cornerstone Solutions.
