The Internet Is Your Primary Tool To Connect With Voters

On February 21, 2008, I published these words on the Under The Power Lines website:

“We believe that one day every voter will get the majority of their news from the web. But that’s not going to happen in the next few cycles and it certainly isn’t going to happen today.”

Boy was I wrong. And so is just about every campaign today. This may be the most important post I ever write, so listen up.

Recently, Gary Vaynerchuk posted a video in which he states, accurately, that most businesses look at the Internet as “the pepper” instead of “the steak.” What he means is that most companies falsely look at the Internet as some garnish (another tool) that is added to the steak (the strategy), when in fact, the Internet is now the steak itself. It’s the meal. It is the strategy.

It’s not just the private sector. Most campaigns are stuck in this rut too. General consultants are so fixated with the big bucks that come with television and direct mail that they are treating the Internet as some redheaded stepchild that a campaign has to use because everyone else is using it.

That’s a MASSIVE mistake. The Internet is now the primary tool by which people connect with a campaign.

Notice what I just said. I said CONNECT. I didn’t say COMMUNICATE.

That’s because as people start to get more of their news from the web instead of television and newspapers, they are starting to join social networking systems to share their lives with their friends and family, and yes, connect with organizations like political parties and campaigns.

Let’s take a look at the stats.

A recent study showed that it didn’t matter if a person did or did not regularly read a print newspaper – they all are now more likely to get their news from online. A 2008 poll revealed that 80 percent of Americans over 17 say that the Internet is “a critical source of information,” which was a 14 percent jump from 2006. The 2008 Pew Research Center poll on news consumption is particularly interesting. Between 1995 and 2008, the percentage of people who got their news online at least three times a week rose from two percent to 37. During the same period, the number of people who read a print newspaper, listened to radio news, watched local TV news or the national nightly news all declined precipitously. According to the poll, about 36 percent of the public are regular-to-heavy users of Internet news. These people are also well-educated and affluent, the sort of people who tend to show up on Election Day.

Additionally, almost one-in-four people read political blogs, and one-in-five read other people’s comments on news stories and check what stories were emailed by others.

Here’s the big news folks – as people move toward the web to get their news, they are staying there to connect other people, something that cannot happen with television or direct mail.

According to Nielsen, “member communities” (social networking and blogging) are now the fourth most popular Internet activity, even surpassing personal email. Also, time spent on social networking and blogging sites has grown by three times the rate of the rest of the Internet. In terms of time spent, between December 2007 and December 2008, Facebook saw a massive increase of 566 percent. It’s not just teenagers and college students, either. In February, statistics were released that showed 45 percent of all new Facebook users in the United States are 26 years old or older.

Twitter, barely on the radar just two years ago, has become standard for candidates and parties. Many elected officials are now turning to it as a way, in 140 characters or less, to be in contact with their constituents in real time. Over last year, Twitter went from about 500,000 unique visitors to 4.43 million. Now, 20 percent of all ads viewed online are on social networking sites.

What’s the point in all this?

While the Internet is far cheaper than television and direct mail, it still requires financial investment. Campaigns at every level have to wake up and start reallocating financial resources toward better websites, Internet advertising, new voter outreach tools, and most important – manpower.

Manpower? That’s right. Remember, it’s not just about communicating a message by posting on a blog or by sending out a tweet. It’s about connecting with people. Campaigns need to start hiring social media directors to answer emails, Facebook posts, and tweets. The worse thing a campaign can ever do is let social contacts wither on the vine.

Here’s what I suggest:

1. Invest in a website that sucks voters in and keeps them there to connect with other supporters and the campaign through social networks. Barack Obama did this with my.barackobama.com, which allowed his supporters to blog, connect with each other and develop stronger ties to the campaign. If you’re interacting with other people on a campaign site, you’re probably more likely to donate money and volunteer, and definitely more likely to actually show up to vote.

2. Advertise – Google and social networks give you the ability to target like never before. For instance, there’s a reason why I get ads touting USC-themed Snuggies on Facebook. And why a Conservatives in Action banner ad showed up on a college football blog. The “brave new world” is here, and it’s making money. For campaigns, that could mean money as well as votes. Targeted marketing like this allows for more effective use of advertising dollars, instead of the tens of thousands needed for a TV ad.

3. Don’t be afraid of ideas. People want content. Give them a reason to keep coming back. To use the Obama example again, a lot of candidates and staff would immediately nix the idea of user-driven content, like site’s social networking component. Often, controlling the message takes precedent over being inventive. One way that Sen. Shane Massey keeps his site fresh is by taking advantage of what the web has to offer. He writes blog posts, there are Twitter updates and he uploads videos from his town hall meetings.

4. CONNECT – give your staff the flexibility to talk with voters. You start off with the old-line basics, phone number and email address, then add in Facebook and Twitter. That way, you can make sure to get the word out about the next event, or how the candidate feels about a pressing issue. Sen. Jim DeMint has so thoroughly embraced this facet that he’s frequently lauded for his adaptation to new media.

For a campaign to remain out in front, in all terms, proper investment in an Internet strategy is very important. It’s not just about having a slick-looking site. The site needs to have good, fresh content and provide a way for voters to connect with the campaign. And, it’s not just about having a site. Google Ads probably has better data on your voters than you do, and using it to target market to those voters is another way to connect and drive people to the site. Twitter and Facebook provide more aspects for interacting with voters.

An effective web strategy isn’t something to toy around with. It’s a necessity for a winning campaign.

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