Hynes Communications President Patrick Hynes said of the hire: “James is a top-notch communicator with solid experience in implementing the most groundbreaking and energetic new media campaigns. We’re delighted to have him on board.” Hynes added that Richardson’s hire “expands our already nationwide reach, giving Hynes a critical presence in the all-important Southeastern market. As both a communications professional and a well-known blogger in his own right, James is a fantastic addition to our team.”
Previously, Richardson served as Communications Director for the College Republican National Committee, leading the organization’s aggressive media relations effort. During 2008, he worked as the Republican National Committee’s Online Communications Manager, in which capacity he helped implement the Committee’s highly-regarded online communications strategy.
Richardson is a contributing editor at top-rated conservative site RedState.com. In addition, his work has been featured in/on The Daily Caller, CBS News, The Atlantic, and Politico. He is also a frequent commentator on new media and politics, appearing regularly on both MSNBC and CNN.
A native of Atlanta, Richardson is a proud product of the University of Georgia, where he studied political science and sociology.
About Hynes Communications
Hynes Communications is social networking and new media public relations firm specializing in assisting the business and advocacy community in developing winning online strategies. Hynes connects client’s existing communications infrastructure with the ever-changing world of blogs and social media networks. With unparalleled contacts at high-impact blogs and experience integrating social media tools into advocacy and outreach campaigns, Hynes Communications develops everything from a client’s first new media communications strategy to optimizing and enhancing the plans of an established new media player. For additional company information visit www.HynesCommunications.com.
]]>In recent election cycles, political campaigns’ successful leveraging and integration of technology into their political, communications and fundraising work has been increasingly evident. However, many political operations continue to treat online as simply a box that needs to be checked, or something done just to communicate with younger voters. The prevalence of both conclusions is a pet peeve of all online strategists, but data that emerged this week suggests that the latter should particularly be so, with it becoming increasingly clear that it’s not just the kids who hang out online— more and more, it’s Mom, Dad and grandparents, too.
In the wake of Sen.-elect Scott Brown’s victory, his new media operation has garnered much praise and many headlines—and rightfully so. As of the day after the election, he had about 130,000 Facebook fans, and about 16,000 followers on Twitter. The day after the election, his campaign confirmed that Brown raised $12 million online in January, alone. Moreover, ABC’s Rick Klein reported that according to a Google representative, Brown’s Google advertising garnered him 65.5 million impressions in Massachusetts, or about 10 impressions per resident. LEK Consulting, iStrategyLabs and Nielsen data should confirm for those in any doubt that a great many of them will have been those older, more reliable voters. Under different circumstances, involving a less aggressive online effort, they might have voted for Martha Coakley—or, perhaps, not at all.
According to a study released this week by LEK Consulting in which 2,000 respondents were surveyed, Web users aged 50-64 reported using the Internet an average of 8.3 hours per week, whereas those aged 24-39 reported spending just 6.8 hours a week online. But what’s arguably more interesting, and important for campaigns to understand, is what these older web users do when they are online: More than their kids or grandkids aged 18-24, they “get information.” In practical terms, that means searching, which has two important implications for political operatives.
First, don’t ignore online media and bloggers. With Google continuing to heavily dominate the search-engine market and Google loving blogs, even those not reading Daily Kos or RedState routinely will find information posted there—and it could influence their votes and opinions.
Second, don’t ignore online advertising, or treat it as a second-rate priority: Search ads feature prominently and grab attention—and as every political operative knows, for as much as every campaign wants to engage and activate younger voters, even under the best of circumstances, they continue to represent a fairly small slice of the overall voter pie.
In 2008, the Obama campaign famously made a priority of turning out young people to volunteer and vote, just as they did taking the campaign online—and, to be fair, Obama did succeed in garnering overwhelming support from voters aged 18-29 (66 percent according to exit polls). However, these voters only made up about 18 percent of the total pool in that election, whereas voters aged 50 to 64 made up 27 percent. The bottom line is, it still pays to turn out the oldies, even if bringing younger voters onside early and locking them down as Democrats or Republicans can pay off over the long term.
The good news, too, is that there’s more than one way of reaching them online—it’s not just up to “the Google.” While the LEK Consulting study demonstrates that younger respondents spend more time social networking than do their older peers, increasingly, Americans outside the 18-24 age demographic are using Facebook and Twitter (the two tools campaigns most commonly ask about leveraging). According to data released last year by iStrategyLabs, the total number of Facebook users aged 18-24 grew by about 5 percent between January and July 2009. By contrast, the number of Facebook users aged 35-54 grew by about 190 percent whereas the pool of users aged 55 and up grew by a jaw-dropping 514 percent.
This trend is not confined to Facebook, either. As early as last March, Nielsen data had demonstrated that Twitter was gaining significant traction with users aged 35-49, with almost 42 percent of the site’s audience in February 2009 falling into this category. Meanwhile, the proportion of unique visitors to Twitter 55 and older was only slightly smaller than the proportion of those aged 25-34 (about 17 percent to about 20 percent).
As ever, the data tells the story: There is no demographic that cannot be reached online. Whether targeting the young, or the young at heart, campaigns should make new media a priority.
]]>The nation’s politicians and political operatives are noodling what Sen.-elect Scott Brown’s victory on Tuesday means for the political climate in their states. My guess is that the reality is there are too many variables for most states to draw a clean comparison analogy. But the Bay State’s neighbor to the north, New Hampshire, may present the most compelling analogy. And that’s bad news for the Democrats.
Voters in New Hampshire and Massachusetts have traditionally been polar opposites. “Taxachusetts” has earned the contempt of Live Free or Die skinflints. But over the past two election cycles (and signs of this can be traced further back), New Hampshire Democrats have been in the ascent and the political climates of these two New England states have, at times, become very similar.
The entire southern boundary of New Hampshire borders Massachusetts and many of the towns on either side are indistinguishable. Tens of thousands of families whose income earners work in Massachusetts nevertheless set up house on the New Hampshire side of the border to take advantage of tax benefits. These areas represent some of the fastest growing communities in New Hampshire. A majority of the state’s population lives in two counties that border Massachusetts, which are occasionally derided as “Massachusetts North.”
Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen was highly competitive in these towns during her 2008 campaign against then-incumbent Sen. John Sununu, winning many and losing some by only a couple hundred votes. By contrast, Scott Brown won every town on the New Hampshire border, some with as much as 70% of the vote. Brown outperformed Mitt Romney’s 2002 numbers in most of these towns. This cannot be a comforting thought to New Hampshire Democratic federal candidates.
In New Hampshire independents are referred to as “Undeclared” voters. In Massachusetts they are called “Unenrolled.” These voters factor huge in New Hampshire, as they represent more than a third of the electorate. And in Massachusetts, they factored huge in Brown’s victory. According to Rasmussen Reports, Brown earned over 70% of the independent vote. This hard swing among New England independents could put the breaks on the Democrats’ rise in New Hampshire.
No doubt a deeper concern for many New Hampshire Democrats is the fact that none of them begins 2010 with footing as firm as Martha Coakley enjoyed at the beginning of the Massachusetts special election.
Coakley started her race with a 30-plus point advantage over Scott Brown. But Democratic incumbent Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (N.H.-01) is under 50% in both her favorability rating and her reelect numbers according to recent polling by the University of New Hampshire and CrossTarget, respectively.
Shea-Porter earn earned minor celebrity status during those tense days in August when one of her Congressional town hall meetings devolved into a circus and she dismissed political opponents as “teabaggers,” something she has refused to apologize for.
And New Hampshire Democratic Senate hopeful Paul Hodes (N.H.-02) meanwhile consistently trails former-Attorney General Kelly Ayotte, the Republican frontrunner, and a recent American Research Group poll shows he trails at least one other candidate, Ovide Lamontagne, as well.
Worse, if one accepts the analysis that Brown’s victory is attributable in part to voter rejection of President Barack Obama’s health care plan then Hodes may be in serious trouble. Hodes has doubled down on health care reform. He’s created headlines for attacking Ayotte for not supporting ObamaCare. Hodes appears to have one-upped Shea-Porter in the name-calling department. He referred to opponents of ObamaCare as “the Flat Earth Society.” He has acknowledged that he doesn’t read the bills he votes on because it would slow Congress down.
Most New Hampshire Republicans view Brown’s victory as a clear indication that the winds are finally at their backs after the very cruel 2000s. But state GOP Chairman and former-Gov. John Sununu cautioned Republicans against complacency. “We have had this enthusiasm in the state for a while now,” Sununu told reporters during a Wednesday conference call. “If anything [Brown’s victory] may have a slightly negative effect in New Hampshire by sending a message to the Democrats who have been operating in denial.”
But Sununu is probably trying to keep his base fired up. If a fellow like Scott Brown can get elected in Massachusetts, Democrats in New Hampshire need to be very afraid.
Originally published in the Daily Caller
What was your first job?
The Weirs Beach Water Slide in Laconia, NH, baby.
What is your proudest moment professionally?
Helping Sen. John McCain win the 2008 Republican presidential nomination.
If you could be in any other line of work, what would it be?
Well, I would be a stay-at-home dad with my three kids.
Of what political campaign (past, present or future) would you most like to be a part?
I would love to have run online strategy and communications for Ronald Reagan’s 1980 presidential campaign (if such a thing had existed.)
What individual who does your kind of work for the other party do you respect the most, and why?
Peter Daou, who was Sec. Hillary Clinton’s Internet Director. Daou is a straight shooter and an extremely bright guy.
Negative campaigning—good or bad?
A good thing.
What is your favorite restaurant to meet clients?
Rasika on 6th Street in Penn Quarter
What is the first section of the newspaper you read?
Wall Street Journal editorial page.
A question from the previous participant: If you could be any vegetable in the White House garden, what would it be and who would you like to pick you?
A red pepper picked by President Obama himself, I suppose.
Please pose a question for the next interviewee.
Who would win a fantasy presidential match-up between Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama?
Originally published by the “National Journal’s Hotline” (subscription may be required)
Previously, James served as Communications Director for the College Republican National Committee, leading the organization’s aggressive media relations effort. During 2008, he worked as the Republican National Committee’s Online Communications Manager, in which capacity he helped implement the Committee’s highly-regarded online communications strategy.
James is a contributing editor at RedState.com, whose work has also been featured at outlets including The Daily Caller, CBS News, The Atlantic, and Politico. He regularly guest-commentates for both MSNBC and CNN, and is a product of the University of Georgia.
]]>The forum will bring together technology specialists and politicos to network and discuss new ways of campaigning, sparking political debate, and governing through the Web. The internet opens a vast opportunity for people all over the world to voice their opinions on politics and make governance more participatory and efficient. The event will serve as a teaching and learning tool to help attendees enter the new technological era emerging today.
Some topics to be addressed at the forum include New Possibilities for Collaborative Government; State of the Art Politech: How to Use Mobile, Video, and Social Networking to Advance Your Cause; and New Media versus Traditional Media: How to Navigate the New Environment.
Mair will present a discussion titled Adapting and Thriving in the New Media Environment. She will be joined by four other speakers: Antonio Sofi from Italy; Vincent Ducrey from France; Clo Willaerts from Belgium; and Astrid Haug from Denmark who will serve as the moderator.
The sessions will be simultaneously translated to Spanish and Catalan-English/Catalan-Spanish translations will also be available. For more information on the Personal Democracy Forum – Europe, visit http://personaldemocracy.com/personal-democracy-forum-europe.
About Hynes Communications
Hynes Communications is social networking and new media public relations firm specializing in assisting the business and advocacy community in developing winning online strategies. Hynes Communications connects client’s existing communications infrastructure with the ever-changing world of blogs and social media networks. With unparalleled contacts at high-impact blogs and experience integrating social media tools into advocacy and outreach campaigns, Hynes Communications develops everything from a client’s first new media communications strategy to optimizing and enhancing the plans of an established new media player. For additional company information, visit http://www.HynesCommunications.com.
2:15 PM Liz Mair: My job at Hynes Communications is Account Services Director. In essence, that means that I serve in a senior client services position, in which I work closely with Hynes clients and other senior Hynes personnel, serve as a main point of contact for several clients, and set and implement strategy for client campaigns. However, I also handle a fair amount of business and client development work and one further specific responsibility: Helping to expand the company’s presence in Washington, DC.
2:18 PM Anna Curran: Can you tell us about your prior work experience at the RNC as director of online communications? What were the most exciting parts of that job? What were the least exciting parts of that job?
2:21 PM Liz Mair: I served as the RNC’s Online Communications Director throughout 2008, which was the first time that I had the opportunity to work and collaborate with Patrick Hynes as a colleague.
First, getting to work to elect John McCain, a candidate who I felt devoted real interest and attention to the blogosphere and online media and who enjoyed engaging with members of it from across the political spectrum just as much as I do.
Second, having the opportunity to work with some of the best minds in both the tech and political worlds: Pat, of course, but also notably Cyrus Krohn (former RNC eCampaign Director and one of the people I’ve learned most from in my career) and DannyDiaz (former RNC Communications Director and one of the toughest and most aggressive communicators in politics), and former RNC Chairman Mike Duncan who hired them and me. There are so many others that I could list, too, but in the interest of keeping this interview to less than two hours, I’ll draw the line there for now.
Third, having the opportunity to develop and lead what seems to be regarded in many quarters as a truly groundbreaking and aggressive effort to engage online media that included things like me attending the BlogHer 2008 conference in San Francisco where I debated Rep. Allyson Schwartz in a room full of high-profile women bloggers as a surrogate for John McCain.
Fourth, having the opportunity to attend both the Democratic and Republican conventions. I should add, of course, that the latter involved me getting very little sleep for a solid two weeks, which is I suppose was the downside of serving in the role I did last year.
2:33 PM Anna Curran: You have worked as political consultant for various political campaigns. What has it been like watching new media impact the political process? Do you have any stories about how technology has changed how you and your team campaign for candidates?
2:42 PM Liz Mair: Well, first, it’s been exciting and interesting. Second, as to how technology has changed the way political campaigns operate, while it would be impossible to spell out all the differences here (they are too extensive), I will say that with the explosion of blogs, media cycles, specifically have changed. Mainstream reporters now have an additional source of information, story ideas and similar, and many of them do rely on blogs, generally, and particular blogs, especially, for information and indications of what might be a hot story to pursue and delve further into.
Brian Rogers, former spokesman for the McCain campaign and another of those I enjoyed working with last year, recently said in a quote given to Politico for a piece citing both of us that “HuffPo and [Talking Points Memo] really are the assignment editors for many in the Washington press corps” and that’s true. Where something big, or that looks like it could be big, breaks on either of those sites, especially, you can expect that it will be everywhere, online and off, within a matter of hours. That’s true to a greater extent every day with other blogs and online media sources, too (on both the left and the right), which means that campaigns, and companies and associations with public affairs issues, can’t ignore online media or treat it as relatively unimportant.
2:43 PM Anna Curran: What motivates you stay politically active? Do you have anyone in particular who inspires you to keep going?
2:52 PM Liz Mair: While I don’t think of myself as being tremendously ideological, there are key issues that I care about deeply, and that’s a big motivator. Also, though, every campaign one works on, whether it’s fighting a particularly problematic economic policy proposal or fighting to elect a candidate, presents its own unique challenges—and much like athletes who are always looking to be better, stronger and faster, those involved in the political and public affairs world are often looking to be more aggressive, persuasive and effective. That’s a motivator for me, too. As to who inspires me, there are so many people I’ve drawn inspiration from that it’s hard to name just one, quite honestly. I have always admired Margaret Thatcher, her toughness and her tenacity, though—I will say that.
3:02 PM Liz Mair: As to the “others who inspire you” portion of that question, what I will say is that I think the guys at betaworks do some very cool stuff, I value and respect anyone who is trying to increase the use of mobile in political campaigns within the US, and my former boss, Cy Krohn, and the RNC’s current New Media Director, Todd Herman, always provide me with much food for thought.
The issues that most get me going are probably spending, trade, and transparency. I’m pretty big on health care and energy/environment as issues, too.
3:00 PM Anna Curran: Lastly, What book do you think should be on everyone’s bookshelf?
3:05 PM Liz Mair: As a political type and someone who spent four years studying International Relations, I have to say Machiavelli’s “The Prince.” I think it’s one of those things that one simply must read at some stage if one is involved in politics in any way, shape or form.
———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Liz Mair is an online communications expert, new media adviser, political consultant and blogger—and Account Services Director with Hynes Communications.
During 2008, Liz served as Online Communications Director at the Republican National Committee, where she led an aggressive and groundbreaking online media outreach effort aimed at electing John McCain, Sarah Palin and Republicans across the country. In her work for Hynes Communications, she utilizes that experience, her extensive knowledge of the blogosphere, new media, and politics generally and diverse array of media contacts to further client objectives.
Liz is also a sought after guest speaker, having presented on a diversity of new media topics at conferences including CPAC 2008, BlogHer 2008, and the 2009 Personal Democracy Forum. She has also guest-commentated on CNN, CNN.com, C-SPAN, NPR, the Lars Larson show and countless other radio shows across the country.
Born and raised in Seattle, Liz lived in the United Kingdom for ten years. There, she earned an MA in International Relations from the University of St. Andrews and attended law school, ultimately practicing corporate law in the City of London for three years. Liz also holds a certificate in Political and Social Sciences from the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris. She lives in Arlington, Virginia, with her husband, Mark.
]]>Patrick Hynes said of the hire, “I am thrilled to have Liz on board as the latest member of our fast-growing team here at Hynes. She is a smart and hard-nosed communicator who is known for working tirelessly to advance her clients’ interests.”
Mair, a veteran blogger (lizmair.com), comes to Hynes Communications with a varied background as a political columnist and a corporate finance attorney at a London-based law firm. Her work has been published by the New York Sun, Seattle P-I, American Spectator, National Review Online and many other online and print publications. She has appeared as a guest commentator on CNN.com, C-SPAN, NPR and a wide array of talk radio shows sharing her expertise and insights on government, politics, and social media.
“Liz knows how to move the dial in clients’ favor, and her assumption of a senior client services role will enable Hynes Communications to provide even more value and results for our clients. She will be especially valuable to us as we expand our presence in the DC area and we’re excited to welcome her to the team,” added Hynes.
About Hynes Communications
Hynes Communications is social networking and new media public relations firm specializing in assisting the business and advocacy community in developing winning online strategies. Hynes connects client’s existing communications infrastructure with the ever-changing world of blogs and social media networks. With unparalleled contacts at high-impact blogs and experience integrating social media tools into advocacy and outreach campaigns, Hynes Communications develops everything from a client’s first new media communications strategy to optimizing and enhancing the plans of an established new media player. For additional company information visit http://www.HynesCommunications.com.
]]>“Tom’s experience in Washington and broad knowledge base concerning numerous domestic policy issues will be especially helpful to Hynes’ many public policy and advocacy clients,” said Patrick Hynes, President of Hynes Communications. “Moreover, his experience on the political side of the coin will prove valuable heading into the 2010 campaign cycle.”
Before joining Hynes, Cronin served on the Washington, D.C. staff of Senator John E. Sununu, R-N.H., where he worked on a wide variety of domestic policy issues including healthcare, veterans’ affairs, national defense, and homeland security policy. Prior to his work on Capitol Hill, Cronin participated in a number of Congressional races in New Hampshire and elsewhere and was involved with a variety of political and civic education ventures. Cronin holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Politics with concentrations in Public Policy and Communications from Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire.
About Hynes Communications
Hynes Communications is social networking and new media public relations firm specializing in assisting the business and advocacy community in developing winning online strategies. Hynes connects client’s existing communications infrastructure with the ever-changing world of blogs and social media networks. With unparalleled contacts at high-impact blogs and experience integrating social media tools into advocacy and outreach campaigns, Hynes Communications develops everything from a client’s first new media communications strategy to optimizing and enhancing the plans of an established new media player. For additional company information visit http://www.HynesCommunications.com.
]]>Hynes Communications uses webforms to collect personal information for the purposes of providing you with the services and information you request. By submitting your contact information, you consent to Hynes Communications representatives using that information for the purpose of contacting you and sending you relevant information. Your email address and contact information will not be sold or rented to any other organization. If you submit your personal information to subscribe to an email service or e-publication, you will have the opportunity to remove your email address from the list via a hyperlink provided in every message.
Comments or opinions expressed on the Blog are those of their respective contributors only. The views expressed by outside contributors do not represent the views of Hynes Communications, its management or employees. Hynes Communications is not responsible and disclaims any and all liability for the content of comments written by outside contributors to the Blog.
You represent that comments posted by you on the Blog will not defame, compromise the trade secrets or confidential information of, or violate the copyright or other intellectual property rights of, any third party. You agree to defend, indemnify and hold Hynes Communications harmless from and against any claims, losses or liabilities based on a violation of the foregoing representation.
It is in the nature of Blogs for contributors to take responsibility for their posted comments. We therefore do not accept anonymous comments. By submitting a comment to the Blog, you understand and agree that your full name and company name will be posted along with your comment. To that extent, you do not have the same degree of privacy or confidentiality as you receive in other areas of HynesCommunications.com
All posted comments become the property of Hynes Communications, Inc. By agreeing to posting your comment on the Blog, you acknowledge and agree that your comment may be reused by Hynes Communications or quoted in other media and might be attributed to you by name.
We sometimes link to outside Web sites that are related to the Blog discussion and that we believe may be of interest to you. These links are not provided for the purposes of marketing or advertising, and Hynes Communications is not responsible for the content or practices of other Web sites.
The Blog moderator may include information about, and links to, other Hynes Communications content and information that may be of interest to you and are related to the topic of the Blog.
We reserve the right to change Blog procedures and these Terms and Conditions at any time. If and when we do that, we will let you know.
This privacy policy sets out how Hynes Communications uses and protects any information that you give Hynes Communications when you use this website.
Hynes Communications is committed to ensuring that your privacy is protected. Should we ask you to provide certain information by which you can be identified when using this website, then you can be assured that it will only be used in accordance with this privacy statement.
Hynes Communications may change this policy from time to time by updating this page. You should check this page from time to time to ensure that you are happy with any changes. This policy is effective from March 1, 2009.
What we collect
We may collect the following information:
• name and job title
• contact information including email address
• demographic information such as ZIP code, preferences and interests
• other information relevant to customer surveys and/or offers
What we do with the information we gather
We require this information to understand your needs and provide you with a better service, and in particular for the following reasons:
• Internal record keeping.
• We may use the information to improve our products and services.
• We may periodically send promotional email about new products, special offers or other information which we think you may find interesting using the email address which you have provided.
• From time to time, we may also use your information to contact you for market research purposes. We may contact you by email, phone, fax or mail.
• We may use the information to customise the website according to your interests.
Security
We are committed to ensuring that your information is secure. In order to prevent unauthorised access or disclosure we have put in place suitable physical, electronic and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect online.
How we use cookies
A cookie is a small file which asks permission to be placed on your computer’s hard drive. Once you agree, the file is added and the cookie helps analyse web traffic or lets you know when you visit a particular site. Cookies allow web applications to respond to you as an individual. The web application can tailor its operations to your needs, likes and dislikes by gathering and remembering information about your preferences.
We use traffic log cookies to identify which pages are being used. This helps us analyse data about web page traffic and improve our website in order to tailor it to customer needs. We only use this information for statistical analysis purposes and then the data is removed from the system.
Overall, cookies help us provide you with a better website, by enabling us to monitor which pages you find useful and which you do not. A cookie in no way gives us access to your computer or any information about you, other than the data you choose to share with us.
You can choose to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. This may prevent you from taking full advantage of the website.
Links to other websites
Our website may contain links to enable you to visit other websites of interest easily. However, once you have used these links to leave our site, you should note that we do not have any control over that other website. Therefore, we cannot be responsible for the protection and privacy of any information which you provide whilst visiting such sites and such sites are not governed by this privacy statement. You should exercise caution and look at the privacy statement applicable to the website in question.
Controlling your personal information
You may choose to restrict the collection or use of your personal information in the following ways:
• if you have previously agreed to us using your personal information for direct marketing purposes, you may change your mind at any time by writing to or emailing us at info@hynescommunications.com
We will not sell, distribute or lease your personal information to third parties unless we have your permission or are required by law to do so. We may use your personal information to send you promotional information about third parties which we think you may find interesting if you tell us that you wish this to happen.
If you believe that any information we are holding on you is incorrect or incomplete, please write to or email us as soon as possible, at the above address. We will promptly correct any information found to be incorrect.
Hynes Communications
121 Bow Street
Building 6
Portsmouth, NH 03801
As the 2008 campaign showed, an ever-evolving catalogue of social media tools can help your organization do all of the things people in the public affairs and campaign worlds do—or would like to do—more effectively than you have ever done them before.
But here’s the trick: The Internet can’t do any of these things by itself. The Internet is just a medium, like radio or television.
To get the most out of a social media campaign—whether you are running for president or trying to kill a bill in the state legislature—you need the following:
First, you need the will. The biggest difference between then-Sen. Obama’s online campaign effort and Sen. McCain’s online effort was a willingness to accept the necessary risks in order to build something powerful and transformative on the Web. The McCain campaign built a social network called McCain Spaces which never left the ground because the campaign’s leadership was too afraid that they would lose control of the website. They suffered for this shortsighted, old-school thinking. Within your organization, you need to determine the will, and develop your plans accordingly.
Second, you need a genuine commitment to engage your target community. Nothing will fail more dismally than a half-assed Web effort to promote your talking points without honestly listening for feedback and meeting your target audiences where they live online. Too many well intentioned campaigns have a great burst of activity over the first few days or weeks, and quickly fizzle out as new priorities arise and staff resources are focused elsewhere. If you’re developing an annual or ongoing campaign, you need to devote the same level of staff commitment and resources for the duration of the plan.
Third, you will need a realistic plan that is commensurate with your goals. If you gave me a penny for every client I had who has told me since November 4th, “I need what Obama has,” I would be retired. The Obama campaign spent tens of millions of dollars to build its online community which was in turn supported by a billion web ads … a billion with a “B.” The Obama campaign alone accounted for half of all political web ads sold in 2008. I’m willing to bet no one here has an issue (or the budget) that can inspire and sustain such a campaign. You need to make an honest assessment of what your goals and limitations are and build your campaign around those assessments.
Fourth, you will need to dedicate appropriate resources. Most of the popular social media tools available to you are free or mostly free. But you still can’t do this stuff on the cheap. I talk to so many organizations who say they are engaged in a social media campaign only to find out it is being run part time by an entry-level staffer. If this stuff is important to you ,you need to treat is as a serious priority, with senior staff and competent consultants and vendors involved in it at an intimate level. If you’re committed to leveraging the internet for communications and advocacy purposes, then it needs to be integrated at every level of your organization. This is not just an IT exercise, or a grassroots exercise, or a communications exercise, it’s all of the above. Key staff from all levels and departments needs to be dedicated to the cause and empowered by senior management to affect change in order to build a successful internet /social media campaign.
Fifth, recognize that for the vast majority of people this is a social, not a political, experience. If you spent any time near a college campus when Barack Obama held a rally then you know that going to see him speak became “the in thing” for many people of the college-age set. This translated into his online success, as well. Think about the average user—not your ideal user—when you are building a social media plan.
Sixth, know where your people live online. If you run an association that advocates for small business interests, it might make some intuitive sense to build an environment using Linked In. But if your members use Facebook, and they refuse to migrate over to Linked In—as research suggests will be the case—then you will fail to connect to your people.
If you are thinking about launching a social media campaign then first insert a series of questions into your next phone survey, membership renewal, or employee survey that helps you identify where your people live online. You will get more information from that exercise than you will from calling in a dozen consultants to tell you how to do this stuff.
Seventh, content, content, content. You cannot just build a social networking profile and let it sit there. You need to populate it with relevant, compelling content in the form of message board activity, Web video, interactive events, digital media, etc.
Eighth, manage expectations within your organization. After the election the Obama folks invited 13 million of their people to take part in an online dialogue on health reform with then-HHS Secretary-designee Tom Daschle. 10,000 people took part in it. That’s .076%—less of a return on a call to action campaign than you might expect than, say, from a phone program or even a direct mail program.
Ninth, remember, it’s okay to fail on the Internet as long as you diversify. If you run a stupid television commercial during the Super Bowl and it fails you’ve just wasted millions of dollars and you have to rethink your whole ad campaign for the year. If you try to float a viral video on the web and it fails—who cares? You can try another one in a few days. Of course, if your whole social media campaign is built on viral videos and they’re all duds, you’re going to be in trouble. But if you diversify and you have a broad social media footprint, you have other social utilities to fall back on if your viral video is a flop.
Tenth and finally, remember: This is still about people. You need to get to know the bloggers you want writing about your campaign. You need to engage the people in your Facebook Group at a personal level. Your Twitter feed is not just about you sending out lawyer-approved talking points in 140-character increments. Don’t be dazzled by each new “hot” social media technology that pops up. Before you leap, take a look at your goals and what you’ve learned about your online supporters, and determine if you can build a people-focused plan to integrate the new tool with what you’re already doing online. Then (and only then) you should invest in the manpower and resources to add something new to your existing social media efforts.