Four MORE Steps to your Political Campaign’s Social Media Strategy

by Steve Schultz on March 3, 2009

I’ve been contributing to a blog on www.operationredstate.com and had a post yesterday that is completely applicable to my website.  This post is in the context of political campaigns but it was actually derived from an article I read on using social media in customer relationship management.  So really, this is for business.  Every time you read political campaign just think business.

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I really feel like I’m beating a dead horse here but I couldn’t not blog about this article I just read that simplifies the social media process.  At CMS Wire there was an article covering four steps to managing a successful media campaign.  The political application, being obvious as it is, really hits on a couple more points I have yet to discuss.

Keep in mind these steps were created for customer relationship mangers, or CRMs

as they’re called.  These steps come down to the overarching premise that if you enable your customer base (constituents) the opportunity to share their opinions/experiences you will have a much more successful social media strategy.  Pay close attention to these four things:

  • Defining Purpose
  • Give up Some Control
  • Reward your Participants
  • Ensure Skilled Staff is at the Core

According to Gartner Research “60% of Fortune 1000 companies will be using social media in some fashion by 2010 as a way to manage customer relations. Gartner also predicts that by 2010 over half of companies using social media for CRM will do it incorrectly — thus, devaluing customer relationships.”

So 600 of the Fortune 1000 will be implementing social media in their CRM strategy but only 300 of them will do it right.  I would say, that means only 300 of the thousand are doing it right because that other 40%, by not using social media, are also doing it wrong.  Lets go over these four steps so you can do it better than 700 Fortune 1000 companies.

Defining Purpose

When I discuss having an objective it’s always about keeping your use of social media from veering off course.  Having an objective shows your constituents that you have a plan. Especially in politics, it’s blatantly obvious to everyone when you’ve drifted from the plan.  Just think of every debate you’ve ever watched and how difficult it is for politicians to articulate their ideas. It’s the same on Twitter, Technorati, Diigo, and every other network out there.  Stick to your objectives, be sure everything is helping you progress to accomplishing your ultimate goals. Stay on course!

Give Up Some Control

Twitter 6x6
Image by Steve Woolf via Flickr

Social media isn’t just about interaction, it’s about contribution.  Everyone wants to contribute whether it’s to something/one they love or hate.  If you do it right, they’ll be touting your name because they like what you have to offer.  Let them contribute posts to your blog.  President Obama let individuals in his campaign staff contribute with their own Twitter handles.  You can do the same, they don’t even have to be your staff just find “missionaries” that are adamant about what you have to say.  As a customer you would much rather hear from other customers, that’s why every website out there has “customer reviews.”  They know you want to know what other people have experience with their product.  If your a Mayor running for State Senator, let those that you worked with contribute to your blog, update a Twitter handle that represents you, create videos on your YouTube channel. Remember, interaction AND contribution are key.

Reward Your Participants

There are two facets that need to be considered when rewarding those that contribute.  CMS Wire mentions that first, there are different levels of reward that contributors will want.  Recognize and classify those.  Some will just want recognition, some will want to be able to share content, others may not want any recognition.  If YOU don’t recognize their different needs your contributed content will lack quality, personality, and it will not keep you on course towards your objectives.

Second, give viewers/visitors the opportunity to rate the content. You don’t need to decide which contributors are the best and frankly, you probably wouldn’t do a good job if you did.  Let them rate content on a 5-star scale, thumb-up/thumb-down, or however you want to do it but it will enable you to build a hierarchy of contributors separating the best from the good from the bad.

Ensure Skilled Staff is at the Core

DO NOT ASSUME YOU CAN GET IT RIGHT BY YOURSELF!!! There is nothing wrong with executing your strategy in-house but you need to either hire someone experienced  in social media web strategy to join your team or at the very least, bring in outside training/consulting. There is too much at stake to jump in without knowing what to do.  On the flip side, taking too much time to learn it on your own is just as dangerous. When it comes down to it, just like any project, you need the right people in the right place.

Keep in mind what Adam Sarner, research director at Gartner, said regarding social media.

“Social networking has changed the way a critical mass of individuals behaves, including how they act as customers and prospects. Customers, not just digital natives, can no longer be adequately described by demographic information — the usual target for corporate CRM efforts.”

For more directly from Gartner Research read here.  Otherwise, let us know what questions arise, we’re happy to help!

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Tagged as: Barack Obama presidential campaign 2008, Business, Customer relationship management, Fortune 1000, Gartner, On the Web, Online Communities, Social networking, Technorati, twitter, YouTube

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