The last two elections have been the first to really use social media as a tool for currying votes and even though all candidates have undoubtedly had prime social media managers, there have been some missteps. There have also been, however, a lot of great maneuvering that proves just how powerful social media can be. It’s hard to deny that President Obama owes a lot of his success to his social media strategies. These past two elections have shown young voters coming out in much higher numbers than ever before, due in part to successful social media campaigns.
But what can businesses learn about how to use social media from the campaigns of politicians? Here’s what you need to know:
1. Use social media for real time updates and promotions.
Social media is not just a place where you can connect with your audience on a more personal level. It is also the ideal place to provide real time updates about your business and to remind your followers about promotions that are happening right now. In the political arena, we see candidates doing this all the time. For example, before the primaries, you could see candidates on both sides of the aisle constantly tweeting about where they were going to be next and hyping their followers for the event. For those who are tuned in to Twitter or Facebook almost 24/7 (as most people are these days), this is a great way to get them to actually come out for the event. The same goes for hyping your own events or promotions—social media is real time, so tweet in the real time about your deals, promotions, and brand news.
2. Focus on the individual.
Again, this is something that candidates on both sides have found especially effective, not just on the people that they actually engage with, but on the whole. If a candidate retweets one of their follower’s tweets, it proves that they are actually paying attention to what their followers are saying. Rather than a business, lording over your followers, you create a dialog. And while you never will be able to respond to every question and comment or retweet every tweet, responding to a few, especially the most important and coherent ones, helps to build a more personal relationship with your entire audience. Both Trump and Clinton are currently using this strategy to try to reach out on a more personal level to their followers on Twitter specifically.
3. Use social media to tell your story.
Think about what you use your personal social media accounts for, if you have them. Even if they are restricted to just your family and personal friends, you use those accounts to reach out to people and tell them about your life. This is exactly what you should be using your business’s social media profiles for. Everyone loves a good story. Social media is a great way to tell that story in short, contained snippets that will actually be read and digested by your audience. This is why many politicians publish videos on platforms like YouTube that are more of a story and less of an advertisement. They understand that these platforms are for building rapport with the people who watch and read what you post.
4. Use different channels for different messages.
Platforms like Facebook, Reddit, and Tumblr are better for directly talking to people, answering their questions, having a real dialog, and encouraging discussion. YouTube and Twitter are better for disseminating your messaging and providing updates about your business. Instagram is a good way to document “behind the scenes” of your business. Instead of posting the same things across all of your social media channels, understand what a channel is for and adjust your strategy based on that usage. Politicians have done this surprising well, hosting “ask me anything” sessions on Reddit, opening their Tumblr inboxes for questions, and then announcing rallies on Twitter. Before signing up and trying to use a social media, find out what it is for and make sure your strategy matches.
5. Aim for agility.
Want to know one of the factors that probably killed Romney’s campaign? He had more than twenty-two people who had to approve something before it could be posted on any of his social media outlets. That meant that if the campaign wanted to post something, it had to be set in front of and get approval from at least twenty-two people, in addition to the time it took to actually create the post. While it’s not a good idea to just post something without having it looked at and evaluated for clarity and message, it’s also not a good idea to make the process so extensive that you are days (or even hours) late.
6. Present a focused message.
While you do want to customize your content for each channel you’re posting on, you want the message to be unified. This is where some candidates succeed more than others. Clinton is somewhat cohesive across all of her platforms. Her failing is in a cohesive attitude. Trump, on the other hand, is very cohesive across his platforms, both in message and attitude. If your message seems splintered, your audience is not going to trust you, it’s as simple as that.
The last two elections have been the first to really use social media as a tool for currying votes and even though all candidates have undoubtedly had prime social media managers, there have been some missteps. There have also been, however, a lot of great maneuvering that proves just how powerful social media can be. It’s hard to deny that President Obama owes a lot of his success to his social media strategies. These past two elections have shown young voters coming out in much higher numbers than ever before, due in part to successful social media campaigns.
But what can businesses learn about how to use social media from the campaigns of politicians? Here’s what you need to know:
1. Use social media for real time updates and promotions.
Social media is not just a place where you can connect with your audience on a more personal level. It is also the ideal place to provide real time updates about your business and to remind your followers about promotions that are happening right now. In the political arena, we see candidates doing this all the time. For example, before the primaries, you could see candidates on both sides of the aisle constantly tweeting about where they were going to be next and hyping their followers for the event. For those who are tuned in to Twitter or Facebook almost 24/7 (as most people are these days), this is a great way to get them to actually come out for the event. The same goes for hyping your own events or promotions—social media is real time, so tweet in the real time about your deals, promotions, and brand news.
2. Focus on the individual.
Again, this is something that candidates on both sides have found especially effective, not just on the people that they actually engage with, but on the whole. If a candidate retweets one of their follower’s tweets, it proves that they are actually paying attention to what their followers are saying. Rather than a business, lording over your followers, you create a dialog. And while you never will be able to respond to every question and comment or retweet every tweet, responding to a few, especially the most important and coherent ones, helps to build a more personal relationship with your entire audience. Both Trump and Clinton are currently using this strategy to try to reach out on a more personal level to their followers on Twitter specifically.
3. Use social media to tell your story.
Think about what you use your personal social media accounts for, if you have them. Even if they are restricted to just your family and personal friends, you use those accounts to reach out to people and tell them about your life. This is exactly what you should be using your business’s social media profiles for. Everyone loves a good story. Social media is a great way to tell that story in short, contained snippets that will actually be read and digested by your audience. This is why many politicians publish videos on platforms like YouTube that are more of a story and less of an advertisement. They understand that these platforms are for building rapport with the people who watch and read what you post.
4. Use different channels for different messages.
Platforms like Facebook, Reddit, and Tumblr are better for directly talking to people, answering their questions, having a real dialog, and encouraging discussion. YouTube and Twitter are better for disseminating your messaging and providing updates about your business. Instagram is a good way to document “behind the scenes” of your business. Instead of posting the same things across all of your social media channels, understand what a channel is for and adjust your strategy based on that usage. Politicians have done this surprising well, hosting “ask me anything” sessions on Reddit, opening their Tumblr inboxes for questions, and then announcing rallies on Twitter. Before signing up and trying to use a social media, find out what it is for and make sure your strategy matches.
5. Aim for agility.
Want to know one of the factors that probably killed Romney’s campaign? He had more than twenty-two people who had to approve something before it could be posted on any of his social media outlets. That meant that if the campaign wanted to post something, it had to be set in front of and get approval from at least twenty-two people, in addition to the time it took to actually create the post. While it’s not a good idea to just post something without having it looked at and evaluated for clarity and message, it’s also not a good idea to make the process so extensive that you are days (or even hours) late.
6. Present a focused message.
While you do want to customize your content for each channel you’re posting on, you want the message to be unified. This is where some candidates succeed more than others. Clinton is somewhat cohesive across all of her platforms. Her failing is in a cohesive attitude. Trump, on the other hand, is very cohesive across his platforms, both in message and attitude. If your message seems splintered, your audience is not going to trust you, it’s as simple as that.
Published on July 21, 2016
About the Author: Ashley Bardonaro
