As we get closer to the presidential election, social media is playing a huge role in the process this year. I remember back when George W. Bush was running for president and there was a row of bloggers at the convention. I had no idea what a blogger was! Oh, how times have changed.
Blogs and social media have come light years ahead since
then. Obama crashed Reddit with his impromptu AMA (ask me anything) interview
with the world. He also made a big splash on Google+ with a hangout where
regular citizens had the opportunity to have online face time with our
commander in chief. (The video is still available for viewing.) Obama is all over social media proving
to his supporters that he is hip and computer savvy.
Mitt Romney is no slouch himself when it comes to social
media. He’s all over Twitter with many tweets daily about his campaign. Romney
also has 6.5 million Facebook followers, and that is no small feat. He, like
many other politicians, is trying to attract voters via social sites.
National candidates are not the only ones taking advantage
of this method of promotion. Everyone is jumping on the bandwagon. Local candidates all over the
country are making promises, badmouthing their opponents and promoting their
fundraising events on every social site they can find.
The power of this promotional tool called social media is
growing and changing daily. The best part of social media is allowing public figures to connect
with as many individuals as possible, give opportunities to followers that were
never available in past elections. Fans, supporters and opponents all feel a closer personal connection when they can respond to the candidate. Back in the day, it was a big deal when Bill
Clinton showed his human side and went on late night television playing his
saxophone. Now, it’s Google+ hangouts, Twitter Q&As, You Tube messages and
so much more.
Everyone who has a business should take a lesson from the
politicians. Check out what they are doing on social media. You should be doing
the same things to reach as many people as possible. Take your message to the
people and grow your business.
Hi Holli,
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for sharing this post with the BizSugar community. The political campaigns are indeed a great example of branding in social media and something every small business owner large and small should be watching. The channels available to get a message out are changing rapidly and with them, the structure of the messages themselves. Learning this new vocabulary is critical for modern marketers.
Thanks for the kind words! BizSugar has been a great discovery for me.
ReplyDeleteHey Holli,
ReplyDeleteI've been following the US elections myself and must write some blog posts about it too. I loved the simplicity of the article.
I would also like to add to your article that yes, every business should be on SM but also that they should have a consistent communication strategy for using them.
They are a fantastic way for engaging with fans but they do need to be managed. My particular interest is the communication and how clearly and consistent it is with the candidates and their peoples. It's conflicting.
A small business should know what they want to achieve and how they are going to communicate with their new audience.
Great to have you on board the bizsugar community.
Take care,
Denise
Thanks for the comment! I love bizsugar more and more.
ReplyDelete~ Holli