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Utilizing All Social Media Assets in Politics
"Social media" is a catch-all phrase today, composed of various parts. There are social media networking sites (think Facebook, Myspace, etc.), social media bookmarking sites (Delicious is an example), social news sites (Digg and Propeller), social photo sharing (Flickr), and social media video and media sharing (YouTube). If you want to add or edit existing articles, then there are various "wikis" to fill that interactive space. The confusing thing is that all of these are considered social media of some type or another, and the information and content contained on each make up what are known as “social media assets”, a term favored by NewMediaPlus.com founder Brett Pojunis.
Today’s political campaigns had better darn sure know how to not only set up the sites on these various social media, but also how to utilize the social media assets that make up the content on each. The one great advantage of using social media assets effectively is the potential for interactive, two-way communication.
Think of traditional media as the delivery of information, but one-way only. Great! Now, what? What if you as the reader or user have an opinion you wish to express concerning that particular piece of information? How do you do that in the confines of traditional media? Send a Letter to the Editor and hope it gets published? Call the phone number for the campaign headquarters and hope to talk to someone in charge? Go to some fundraiser and hope to talk to the candidate? Leave a message with the political party office?
None of these options seem very likely to get your viewpoint to the attention of the candidate, do they?
Effectively using your social media assets on the many social media sites means potential voters can vote in surveys, comment on still pictures, videos, listen to speeches and interviews, and in some instances, call in to Internet-streaming radio shows. Even if it is only to write on a acebook page or "wall", potential voters get to make their points and feel connected to you.
And don’t forget the holy grail of interactive social media assets: the “Donate” button!
Gathering this kind of input from potential voters interested enough to actually take the time to write something, complete a questionnaire or anonymous survey, or donate funds is invaluable during the course of a campaign. When comments are received in real time, they can alert a candidate to potential hot-button issues and be used to test the water on proposed plans of action or positions, much the same as if the candidate were at a real-life meet-and-greet or townhall meeting.
Consider this example from the recent Nevada Republican senatorial primary, what I call, “The Undoing of a Front Runner: How Social Media Assets Turned the Tide.”
Sue Lowden, the almost-pre-anointed front-runner to challenge Sen. Harry Reid for his seat, was enjoying a commanding lead in all the polls over the rest of the field of 12 Republicans. During one debate, Sue made one of those gaffes that was capitalized on by not one of her primary opponents, but her potential general election opponent: Reid. Practically overnight, his campaign created a game application on Facebook, “Sue Lowden's Chicken Clinic”, in reaction to her reply in an interview that people could barter with their doctors to get health care.
In all fairness, this quote was blown way out of proportion, and Lowden’s intent was to harken back to an earlier time when bartering was acceptable as a medium of exchange. But, her ill-conceived statement was picked up by every late-night comic and carried over almost every news outlet ... not exactly the kind of exposure she wanted.
As the campaign continued, the eventual winner, Sharron Angle, surged past Lowden, thanks in part to an endorsement from the Tea Party Express and a wave of Internet-based funding. Angle was the beneficiary of the utilization of the social media assets deployed against her opponent by the very opponent she will now face in November.
Predictably, almost before the ink was dry on the primary results, Reid began launching another round of attacks, this time aimed at Angle, but again using social media assets: sound-bites, YouTube excerpted clips, visuals illustrating earlier comments, and general distortions of her record on several issues. All of this is being done mostly on his own website and through traditional media like radio and TV. This should prove to be an interesting campaign, depending upon whose use of social media assets wins over the most voters, but there can be little doubt that social media will play a major role in the primary battle.
Not only can you put both supportive material but also material attacking your opponent out there for general consumption, your potential supporters can see it, hear it, read it, and most importantly, comment on it instantly. They no longer need to wait for the next day’s TV news show or newspaper, or next week’s or month's magazine. It is right there for you to capitalize on, “in the moment,” as it were. Nor is it necessary to wait for a full-blown TV commercial. When this is combined with the results from reading potential voters’ comments, it can be tremendously effective in crafting your continuing use of the material, or in the decision to drop it for negative feedback. Use what seems to be working, drop that which is not. What a concept, huh?