social media for political campaigns (institute of political leadership)

Social Media for CampaignsBuilding a successful social media strategy

Clay Schossow, New Media Campaigns@newmediaclay

New Media Campaigns

● 12 Person Agency in Carrboro

● Full-service digital agency with a focus on politics

● Clients include local, state, and federal campaigns.

● Worked on more than 100 online campaigns

● Featured in BBC, BusinessWeek, Inc, N&O, and more

Defining Social Media

● Networks of connected individuals who consume, share, and create content

● Vary between fully open and walled gardens

● Some are full ecosystems

● Each has its own set of norms and rules

● 90-9-1 Rule

The Benefit to Campaigns● Engage with constituents and voters

● Interact with media directly and get ahead of stories

● Network effect w/ more ppl talking about campaign

● Have content in a different search network to be discovered and indexed by Google

● Gauge sentiment on issues

Social Media Won't On Its Own...● Replace polling (yet)

● Make a boring campaign exciting

● Fundraise from big donors

● Persuade voters leaning against you

Where to Focus?

● Internet is a Medium of Media with a lot of options

● Campaign style and candidate

● Big Four (the minimum to have): Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr

● Other options: Tumblr, Foursquare, Instagram, Pinterest, and more

How to Leverage

● Each network has its own style

● Integrate into campaign site

● Customize with campaign brand

● Gather data where possible

● Give some kind of premium to connections

● Each new connection is annuity toward future

Building a Social Media Strategy

● Important to have a strategy

● Know who owns each account - preferably close to candidate

● Certain things play better online than offline

● Guidelines for messaging

● More natural than planned and be prepared to abandon scheduled posts

Using the Big 4

Faceboook

● Images are shared the most

Faceboook

● Custom Tabs to gather data

● Post less frequently than Twitter, unique from website

● Having voters send messages to friends - key innovation in Obama campaign

● Build audience with promoted posts. Ripple effect with other friends wanting to get involved

Twitter

vs.

Twitter

● Rapid way to get messages out and engage

● Great way to engage (RTs, Follow Back, etc)

● Not just a stream of donation asks and news releases. Stay on message, but talk about diverse things.

● Amplify message during debates and speeches w/ live tweeting. Hashtag for events.

● Promoted Tweets

YouTube and Flickr

● Big search networks

● Makes media accessible on website w/ integration

● Quality can take a backseat to authenticity

● Pre-Roll Ads with YouTube

One More...

Email - The Original Social Network

● Everyone is connected through Email

● Most effective for fundraising

● No longer a universal best time - all times are fair game and use your own data

● A/B Test Everything! (Amounts, Subjects, etc.)

● "Hey"

How to Use Influence

● Share Petitions for data gathering

● Amplify Message

● Interact with decision influencers

● Organize people for events

● Inject personality into campaign

A Purely Social Campaign - The Four

Conclusion

● Use the networks that fit you

● Have a strategy

● It's not all about you!

● Execute according to each network's rules

● Integrate across online properties

● Use your influence

Thanks!

Clay Schossowwww.newmediacampaigns.com

clay@newmediacampaigns.com@newmediaclay