Colorado GOP Race Prompts Facebook Attack Page | ClickZ
Intersting use of Facebook for an ‘attack’ site here. I guess a couple of advantages of Facebook for this type of activitiy are that it’s quick, cheap and highly targeted.
Could this be the first Facebook “hit” page? Political attack sites – sometimes called “hit” sites – are flooding the Web as the 2010 elections edge closer, but a new form of hit site has surfaced in Colorado’s contentious Republican Senate primary race. The centerpiece? Pink stilettos.
GOP primary hopeful Ken Buck has borne the brunt of a backlash against a comment he made during a campaign stop after a voter asked why people should choose him. “Because I do not wear high heels,” Buck responded, adding that his cowboy boots are caked with genuine “bullst.” Buck is running against Jane Norton in the primary, and her campaign is taking advantage of Buck’s gender-themed gaffe in TV ads, an attack website, search advertising, and on Facebook.
via Colorado GOP Race Prompts Facebook Attack Page | ClickZ.
Political fundraising tool taps social networks
From The Associated Press: Political fundraising tool taps social networks:
BOSTON — Candidates in some top political races are raising big sums of money using software that taps donors social networks, an endeavor that lets the donors track their friends donations with the zeal a fantasy baseball team owner uses to monitor player statistics.Republican gubernatorial candidate Charles Baker in Massachusetts and two GOP Senate candidates, Marco Rubio in Florida and Rob Portman in Ohio, are among those using a software-based fundraising tool called BlueSwarm to successfully tap their social networks for campaign cash. The Democratic Governors Association also plans to use it.The software democratizes the fundraising process by letting average citizens not just donate, but raise money themselves from their Outlook contacts or their Facebook friends.The traditional political fundraising model relies on experienced bundlers to hustle money from a small set of well-connected donors.In contrast, BlueSwarm and similar software lets users work their friends and families and, in turn, have them solicit their own network to build a donor tree with deep roots. The same technique applies to institutional fundraising used by colleges or social causes such as charity campaigns.Success and failure are tracked over the Internet on a screen illustrating the roots of donors organization, as well precisely who has given and who still needs to cut a check or type in their credit card number.
Read the whole post here.
How Political Campaigns Are Using Social Media for Real Results
Just as social media has opened a dialogue between businesses and consumers, its value is apparent to those in political office, whose work and very professional survival hinges on the needs and perceptions of their constituents.
But when was the last time a local politician garnered the same social media buzz as a hip startup, or a savvy online retailer?
As it stands, the social web is ripe with opportunities for candidates and office holders alike to connect with voters, foster transparency, and even spar with opponents in the same ways they have been in the traditional media for hundreds of years. We spoke with some innovators who have been tapping into the political power of social media. If their work is any indication, expect the future of elected government to be measured in fans and followers, as well as votes.
Read the entire post here: How Political Campaigns Are Using Social Media for Real Results
5 Lessons from Obama’s New Media Director
Obama New Media Director and Blue State Digital Founding Partner, Joe Rospars, sat down in a recent interview to unveil some nuggets of truth from the Obama campaign's online game plan in 2008. Most of these truths have been stated by myself and others many times over, but they certainly deserve repeating:
1. Take ordinary people seriously
2. Give your supporters the tools to turn online action into offline action
3. Invest in talented online savvy staff
4. To raise the most money via email, a candidate must not use every email interaction as a solicitation
5. Campaigns must believe in the role of the internet from the top down – from the candidate to the campaign volunteer
Here’s the full interview:
Read the entire post here: Jordan Raynor: 5 Lessons from Obama’s New Media Director
Online Tactics: Viral Marketing/Viral Campaigns
What characteristics can help viral campaigns succeed?
Be relevant to your audience
Who are you trying to reach? What would fire them up? Remember that you’re going to be asking people to “vote” for your viral content by sending it to people in front of whom they want to look good — they’re trying to boost THEIR status/coolness quotient by attaching their name/reputation to YOUR content. Be sure that what you’re promoting is something that people are going to want to associate themselves with. YOU are not your audience — play to their tastes, not yours.
Check your hunches with Forrester Research’s Groundswell tool.
If at all possible, be funny!
Much of your potential audience consists of people stuck in offices during the workday and desperate for distraction. Give ‘em something to make ‘em laugh and you might make ‘em yours. Humor’s tough, though — you have to have an idea that’s inherently funny and also well-presented (how many good jokes have died through bad telling?). Keep your pieces short — a couple of minutes is usually getting too long — and well-timed. Test, test, test! And not just on people around the office who’ve already been converted to your issue — try it on friends and ask for honest criticism.
Try to tie your piece to something topical
For instance, you could reference a holiday or some event that’s in the news. Of course, if you’re not careful, you’ll be one of 500 Halloween-themed campaigns out there.
See the Liberal’s Tricks & Excuses campaign for an example of making it funny (for politics) and topical.
Offer an immediate payoff
You only have a few seconds to catch someone’s attention, so don’t waste it. Try to grab viewers’ attention immediately with a strong visual (or audio) lead-in, even if your piece really builds to a crescendo later.
Offer an immediate way for your audience to act, and use it to capture names and emails
You may just want people to see the piece as an educational tool, but more likely you’re also using it to build your email list or to generate an action (”Write the Bilbo Gear and Sprockets company and demand that they no longer use parts made from itinerant llamas”). Make the action obvious and easy — if people can’t see it or have to jump through a bunch of hoops to take it, you just lost them.
Make your content easy to forward
Include a “send this email to a friend” link on the page and even in the viral email itself (it can’t hurt). Ask readers to send to a specific number of people (i.e., “tell five friends about this spectacular video”) — for some reason, having a specific number seems to work better.
Promote it ruthlessly
Yes, some viral party invitations and such have spread around the world after being sent by the host to only three friends, but a big fire is much more likely to start from a bunch of little fires than from a single spark. Obviously, sending to your email list is a good start (and everyone in your office should be helping by sending to their friends and colleagues), but also consider media outreach — several PR firms specialize in “helping” your viral campaign get on local news shows and into print outlets. Also, think about blogads, blogger outreach and advertising (or free placement, if you can swing it) in newsletters that go to your potential audience.
Read the entire post here: e.politics: online advocacy tools & tactics » Online Tactics: Viral Marketing/Viral Campaigns
