How can you leverage the power of social media?

It has been shown that there are few things more powerful than word-of-mouth marketing. One of the best ways to harness that power is via social media. We have seen the powerful potential of social media in regards to politics recently in the 2008 election of President Obama. Like many web innovators, the Obama campaign didn’t invent anything totally new. Instead, they created an unforeseen force to fundraise, organize on a local level, fight smear campaigns, and get out the vote, all by utilizing social media applications and coordinating them together under the banner of a movement.

There are a few key ways to connect with your constituents via social media that can help make a big impact on your campaign.

Integrate and coordinate

One way to keep your campaign on the forefront of voter’s minds is consistency. Coordinate your efforts across the board to ensure that the voters see the same imagery in their mailbox, on the roadside, and on their favorite social media outlet all at the same time.

Localize and alert

In addition to coordinating your efforts to ensure consistency in imagery, coordinate to promote local events and appearances. Using the geo-targeted posts on platforms such as Facebook can dramatically change turn out at these events.

Listen, respond, and remind

Have team members monitor conversations and sentiments being discussed on your social media pages to know what is important to your constituents and respond accordingly. Be prepared to respond to unconventional questions if possible. Remember, one of the key components of social media is the ability to humanize the candidate.

Donations

Make it easy for your supporters to donate by adding a “Donate Now” to your social media pages. While they may not want, or be able to come out to rallies to support you, they can still support you with a few clicks of a mouse. The easier it is for them to give, the more likely they are to do so.