Political Marketing & The Internet

Fellow marketers, you might think I’m crazy to espouse that you can learn some hot new techniques from a politico, but I’m not trying to mislead you. These days, the sheer definition of a cutting edge political campaign is one that involves the Web. Republicans and Democrats alike have tapped into the Web not only to build their campaign war chests, but to garner community backing, as well.

Why? A recent study by the Pew Internet and American Life Report shows that 13 percent of the 1,506 adults surveyed regularly find election information via the Internet; this is up 4 percent from the 2000 election. Moreover, 20 percent say they occasionally receive campaign news from the Web.

With these numbers positively progressive, it certainly makes sense for politicians to focus more of their efforts on the Internet. But like most online marketing campaigns, success is affected by how well the politician personally connects with his consumer, or in this case, supporter. Let’s take a look into the successful methods today’s frontrunners have implemented to date:

Forums

A forum is an example of e-dialog, a method of communicating directly with participants. Forums can either be open to the public or restricted to those registered to a particular site. Since forums are postings on a web page, in essence, those involved create back and forth dialog, just not in real time.

Senator John Kerry, winner of the Iowa Democratic presidential caucus, has an online forum that is quite the hot spot on his site. Topics of interest include Homeland Security; Campaign News and Discussion; and Campaign Activity Suggestions. Visitors can easily read all posts under any given category, make personal comments in reply, or start a new thread themselves.

Blogs

Blog, short for weblog, is simply a live, online journal — one’s online diary. Many of the political web sites contain their own community blogs. Blogs are effective because they not only allow users to read breaking news, but to join in and post their own comments or information, as well. This creates a sense of involvement for the participant.

Democratic nominee Wesley Clark has two different blogs for visitors — User Blog and Campaign Blog — as well as his own personal blog, Wes Clark Blog. At GeorgeWBush.com, the official re-election site for George W. Bush, supporters are encouraged to read the official blog instead of actually contributing to it. All blog entries are written either by the georgewbush.com staff or by several higher-ups in the Republican party.

Meet-Ups

Perhaps the biggest Internet campaigning trend is the meet-up. Meet-ups allow for candidate supporters to “meet up” with other supporters in the same geographic areas. Playing off the popularity of blogs, meet-ups allow the community to discuss issues at hand, rather than simply donate money or volunteer. Supporters can easily set up their own agendas, meet, and discuss whatever is of interest in that particular city and/or region. These “meet-uppers” feel a sense of participation that harkens back to the start of true democratic government where debate and discussion (and ultimately power) lay in the hands of the people.

Howard Dean, who has thus far used the Web to raise more money than any other Democratic nominee, has certainly gained support due to his use of the meet-up. “We fell into this by accident,” Dean admitted to Wired magazine. “I wish I could tell you we were smart enough to figure this out. But the community taught us. They seized the initiative through MeetUp. They built our organization for us before we had an organization.”

Email Lists

“Sign up for our email list” — it’s an almost unavoidable request at web sites such as the Republican National Committee or Senator John Edwards. By joining a politician’s email list, you may receive a calendar of upcoming appearances, links to view new tv commercials, or invitations to fundraisers.

Interactive Tools

Truly effective web sites not only attract visitors, but give them a reason to stay there as well. Most of the frontrunners in the political race have become well aware of this fact, offering their visitors various unique activities to engage in.

Dean’s site may be one of the most interactive. Once there, a surfer can request Dean’s presence at a speaking engagement, create a Dean postcard, watch a clip from Dean TV, or even sign up to attend or host a letter-writing party in Dean’s support. There’s even a Dean Grassroots Store with Dean apparel gear.

At Clark04.com, supporters can even take a class of sorts: “Grassroots 101.” Or, join the Clark Convoy, a group of dedicated people who knock on doors, participate in community events, hand out flyers and brochures, etc. Or take it one step further. Clark’s fondness for argyle sweaters has been the topic of discussion has his site reporting, “The sweater sparked conversations and op-eds around the country on [his] taste in clothing. [Clark] claims what the sweater lacked in style, it made up for in warmth.” There’s now so much hoopla about the sweater that it’s being auctioned off on eBay, where as of January 20, 11am, the bid was $16,412.69. (Proceeds to go to a shelter called Liberty House.) Now that’s what I call tapping marketing potential!

According to PC World, December 2003, “experts are calling the 2003-2004 presidential election a watershed for the Internet.”
We think this is more like fact than observation.

RELATED WEBADVANTAGE.NET ARTICLES:

Presidential Hopefuls Log On To Internet Campaigning

Presidential Candidates Turn to Blogs

Building Online Community with Forums

Blogging — Funny Name, Great for Online Marketing

RELATED LINKS:

http://www.johnkerry.com

http://www.clark04.com

http://www.georgewbush.com

http://www.deanforamerica.com

http://www.gop.com

http://www.johnedwards2004.com

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