I was able to watch a presentation by Obama’s Campaign Manger, David Plouffe on what they actually did. Whether you like Obama or not, this guy was on the ball! Really impressive…take a peek at my notes.
They leveraged the power of people to deliver the message of the Obama Campaign. This is huge evidence that social media is changing traditional marketing and promotion concepts.
They’ve also embraced the idea that people are seeking their own information. Customer base is more cynical of traditional media, but more accepting of ideas and concepts presented by individuals.
Their Success Came from 2 Major Items
- Keeping the campaign message consistent across all platforms (web and other traditional media outlets)
- Repetition – They would talk to supporters 5-6 times to help them arrive at a decision
They were able to maintain the grassroots-level by usage of:
- Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, coupled with Door knocking
- Cable On Demand outlet for an Obama Channel
- Tried to meet people where they "lived," be it home, website, SMS messaging, Facebook, email
The big challenge was to maintain brand control, all while empowering people to deliver the Obama message
- They provided supporters and campaigners with Art and Music
- But still wanted to make sure that the core integrity is maintained
- Supporters made their own videos on YouTube, posted images to Flickr
- Essentially catered to their audience
Lead gathering was utilized to keep track of what every supporter was up to
- Utilized Google Adwords to point to regional landing pages to gather supporter data
- Used that data to see if those supporters could be used to help with campaigning
- Kept track of data to see if they were meeting registration goals
Maintain a Relationship with your Customer Base
- Always seek feedback from supporters
- Always question how your supporters will respond on certain things
- Understand what motivates your customer base
- Value their input
- Providing a "partnership" mentality is important.
Learn more about the social marketing here.