Using The Force: Winning The Battle Online

Using the Force: Winning the Battle Online

New Medium, Same Goal:
Raise campaign funds.
Recruit supporters & volunteers.
Increase awareness of the candidate.
Get your message out.
Secure more votes than your opponent and win the election.
The Internet is just another tool – a power tool!

Raise Campaign fund $
Barack Obama got 27% of his $25 million in contributions from online donors. Sen. Clinton, the only other candidate to announce the percent raised online, got about 23%.
Candidates have learned that putting a “Give money” button on the home page of their Web sites usually is both cheaper and more effective than mass mailings or 800 numbers, the two standards for populist fund raising in the days before the Web.

Rudy Giuliani is recruiting other bloggers to raise funds for him through the use of Widgets .
The internet offers “viral” tools that can help you harness the enthusiasm and energy of your supporters in raising funds.

Most Candidates are including a comprehensive online donation page.
Notice Fred accepts PayPal donations!
Make it easy to set up recurring contributions.

Recruit supporters & volunteers
People research candidates online. Make sure your campaign has a website and that it is optimized for Search Engines.
The first screen every candidates’ home page requests a name and an email. It all starts with the email!
All candidates are encouraging supporters to recruit through a “Email Friends” tool.
Notice the use of major social networking sites to reach voters.

Use Game Mechanics to make your site more compelling, and to motivate your supporters.
Recognize your top volunteers, contributors and recruiters through your campaign web site!

The five elements of Game Mechanics are:
1. Collecting. The most successful games involve the collection of items like artifacts or tools… (Ex. MySpace members collect “friends”)
2. Points. Points are the second critical component, because people will continue a certain behavior to gain more points…(Ex. Townhall tracks users with the most comments…)

The five elements of Game Mechanics are: (continued…)
3. Feedback. The next key aspect is feedback on how you’re doing, whether auditory, visual, or other… (Ex. A User gets a confirmation email after doing an action…)
4. Exchanges. Next are explicit or implicit exchanges, or interactions, such as trading or gifting…(Ex. Campaign promises a autographed photo in exchange for 5 friend referals)
5. Customization. Finally, customization increases investment and creates barriers to leaving…(Ex. GOP.com allows activists to set up their own MyGop.com website.)

GOP.com allows supporters to create the own MyGOP website, and tracks & rewards top contributors.

Increase candidate awareness
What the French taught us:
Conservative candidate Nicholas Sarkozy’s website provides hundreds of videos that drove his campaign’s message, many user-generated.
Repetition counts. Establishing a strong online presence can not only increase candidate awareness, but also keep the message focused and on the forefront.
There is a need for video that can be parsed into channels so people can see the video that is relevant to them on the issue they care about.
Online video can help you bypass a biased mainstream media.

Leverage partnerships with major online media sites:
Big Web operations such as Yahoo and Google have learned that the interest in a presidential election, just like the interest in “American Idol,” can, with the right sort of marketing, be translated into more “page views” and thus more advertising. The sites have begun actively recruiting presidential candidates to avail themselves of politically oriented special features, such as a presidential election “channel” on Google’s YouTube.

Make effective use of email:
Let your supporters know about media appearances, so they can tell their friends and family members.
Keep the email targeted. Because of a blog I write focused on Hispanic issues, I received a Romney email about a recent Hispanic media coverage.
Romney is using his adult sons and wife as influencers to promote his message and raise support among a different demographic.

Get your message out
Fred Thompson authors a blog (Fred Files) that is often quoted among conservative bloggers. This is an effective and FAST way to get your core message out to supporters and a way to bypass the establishment liberal media.
Mike Huckabee shares campaign videos, pictures and up to the minute news on his blog.
All GOP candidates currently include a blog as part of their campaign website. Candidates that post to their blogs are afforded more credibility.

Notice Fred’s use of the most popular Social Networking websites. The best part: its FREE!
All candidates have established a presence in various social network sites. Go to where your voter or supporter is engaged – make it easy.
Populate the Search Engines with your message.

Four Common Elements of a Viral Video: http://www.josuesierra.net/?p=247
Laugh (have to be laugh-out-loud funny)
Edgy (make you a little uncomfortable)
Gripping (you can’t stop watching)
Sexual Content (surprised?)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VsNTk59exI

Secure more votes
The web is a powerful tool.
Like a power tool, it requires handling with care.
Wrongly used, it can cause your campaign damage.
But effective use of the internet DOES make the difference in an election.
Target your influencers

Secure more votes
Some ideas for using the Internet:
Provide a search / map to help supporters find their voting precinct.
Provide a “Reminder” email or phone text alert to help remind voters and influencers of important dates.
All key areas or tools should include a “Email to a friend” tool that empowers your supporters to spread your message.

Secure more votes
More ideas…
Recruit and organize supporters using the internet and emails to make “get out to vote” phone calls on the night before election.
Bush/Cheney used their website to mobilize volunteers.
Use the internet to target “Influential's” to represent you and your message among relatives and friends.

Secure more votes
Use the power of the internet to reduce geographic barriers and bypass media gatekeepers.
Keep your message focused. Don’t over do it just because you have space.
Keep your eyes on the end-results: getting more votes and winning the election. Don’t get distracted by “cool” ideas that aren’t focused on results.
Integrate your Internet efforts with all other strategies – Your campaign manager should be in charge of your internet efforts, not a volunteer or an intern .

Learning from the best:
http://adfero.com (Agency)
http://www.davidallgroup.com (Web Strategist)
http://jameskotecki.com (video)
http://www.campaignleadership.com (Strategist)
http://www.patrickruffini.com (web strategy)
http://techrepublican.com
http://www.campaign08blog.com
http://www.techpresident.com
http://www.springwidgets.com
http://netcentriccampaigns.org
http://www.technomania.com
http://connelldonatelli.com
http://www.imwithfred.com/Downloads/widgets.aspx

Contact Me:
jmsierra@josuesierra.net
My Political Website: http://josue.townhall.com
My Internet Strategy Website: www.josuesierra.net

Using The Force: Winning The Battle Online

by Josue Sierra on Sep 08, 2007

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