The 2008 elections in the U.S. were heralded as the first “social media election.” Voters took to budding social media channels such as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter to broadcast their electoral activities—from voicing their support for a particular candidate or ballot measure to posting their complaints regarding the electoral process.
Now four years later and with Election Day upon us, each presidential candidate has intensified efforts to win electoral votes through some tried and tested social media channels, as well as exploring new ones.
Some of these efforts have paid off by generating buzz for candidates and their respective parties, while others have backfired.
Despite the mixed results, social media remains an integral part of presidential campaigns, given that just over 60% of 18- to 34-year-old Americans get their election information via social networks, according to research from Harris Interactive and Digitas.
And it would be fair to say that businesses could learn a thing or two from the way in which the latest presidential campaigns harnessed the power of social media in order to garner public support and influence voters.
POLITICAL LESSONS
While it may still be a little early to analyze the effectiveness of each social media tactic that’s been employed by presidential candidates on the campaign trail, here are some pointers that we’ve identified:
â–¶ Experimenting with up-and-coming social media channels can have huge pay-offs. In late August, President Barack Obama posted on influential link-sharing website Reddit, “I am Barack Obama, President of the United States – AMA.” With that post, President Obama introduced his own Reddit thread and generated an explosion of social media chatter. Obama’s IamA section allows Reddit users to pose questions directly to prominent individuals, and has increasingly attracted some big names, including Ron Paul and Larry King.
â–¶ Be aware that there will always be a risk of losing control. Social media is a great way to build support for any initiative, but it can also be a way to quickly lose control of your message. The RNC, for example, purchased the hashtag #AreYouBetterOff as a way to highlight the failure of Obama’s economic policies. Unfortunately for Republican candidate Mitt Romney, it had the opposite effect as the unforgiving Twitterverse responded with a resounding “yes.” It is therefore important to recognize that sponsored hashtags will not always be used in the way that was envisioned.
â–¶ Real-time engagement is now the norm. Social media has provided the public with a near instant means of posting feedback about a company, event or prominent figure. Because of this, real-time engagement is now expected, and candidates and businesses are expected to be able to respond quickly. Monitoring feedback from social media can also provide candidates and businesses with a quick temperature read on public opinion and help them tailor their response as appropriate.
â–¶ Harnessing data enables you to be more strategic. As social media has matured since the 2008 election, presidential candidates have learned the importance of being strategic with their social media campaigns. In other words, social media is more than just connecting with more people across new channels. It means actually delivering a strategic integration that allows campaign organizers to collect data about voters to help refine campaign messages and convince them to choose their candidates. Along these same lines, businesses are recognizing the need to exploit the large amounts of data now provided by social media.
THERE IS SUCH A THING AS BAD PUBLICITY
The age old adage that there’s no such thing as bad publicity is often quoted when it comes to dealing with less than favorable stories in the media, and might have held true in the days when traditional media was the sole source of information.
However, in today’s hyper-connected digital environment, social media channels have left organizations and public figures open and accountable to an unprecedented level.
So what does this mean for the 2012 U.S. presidential candidates and businesses? Essentially, consumers are no longer passively taking in information, with a myriad of online channels available to them through which they can actively participate in open discussion.
With the public now able to readily share their experiences and opinions on a global stage, perhaps another age-old adage, “be careful what you wish for,” might now be more appropriate.
CONTACT:
Steph Johnson is head of North America at Aspectus PR. She can be reached at [email protected].