The document emphasizes the necessity of integrating social media into all aspects of a campaign, from fundraising to live events. A case study from the 2014 Arkansas Senate race highlights how social media was effectively used to counter negative media narratives and improve candidate perception. The results indicate that early and creative social media engagement can lead to better communication and positive outcomes in political campaigns.

2. KEY TAKE-AWAYS
 Your social media efforts can’t exist
on an island…
 Social media strategy has to be
integrated into everything you do!
 Every part of your campaign should
include social media.

3. WHERE CAN I INTEGRATE?
 Fundraising
 Press/Comms
 Email Marketing
 Grassroots / Coalitions
 Other Paid Media (TV, Mail, etc.)
 Live Events
 GET CREATIVE! Polling, EDO, GOTV, etc.

4. CASE STUDY: AR-SEN RACE 2014
 We had a problem….
 Even though we were cruising, the media coverage wasn’t
reflecting this reality…
 Media portrayed Cotton as a bad candidate; Pryor as a
“master of retail politics.”
 Could we use social media to boost our PR strategy & target
journalists with social media?

5. ACTUAL MASTERS OF ARKANSAS RETAIL
POLITICS….

6. “COTTON IS AN OVERRATED CANDIDATE. SETTING ASIDE HIS
IMPRESSIVE BIOGRAPHY, HE IS NOT A STRONG RETAIL POLITICIAN
IN A STATE THAT VALUES HANDSHAKE-TO-HANDSHAKE COMBAT…”

7. “Cotton’s mandate is clear: Convince voters he’s likable enough so he can
fight the campaign on his own terms. Heightening the challenge is the fact
that Pryor and his popular father are both natural, back slapping pols, with
a combined half-century of practice at retail politics.” – Manu Raju,
Politico (6/16/14)

8. “Some lament, when it matters most, Cotton is not even showing up. The freshman representative
missed the Bradley County Pink Tomato Festival in his own district in June, a celebration attended by
an estimated 30,000 that has become a marquee opportunity for political candidates to showcase
their grinning, gripping and backslapping. Pryor rode in the parade, posed for pictures with ladies in
tomato-cut aprons and spoke at a luncheon. When it came time for the candidates to compete in the
fast-paced tomato eating contest, Cotton was nowhere to be found. ” – Dave Catanese 7/8/14

9. PERCEPTION VS.
REALITY
DON’T TELL THEM – SHOW THEM!
WE USED OUR COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGE
ON SOCIAL MEDIA TO PUSH BACK ON THIS
NARRATIVE
125,000 FACEBOOK FOLLOWERS VS.
PRYOR’S 16,000. WE STARTED EARLY!

10. ISSUES

11. DON’T TELL THEM; SHOW THEM…

12. ONE-ON-ONE CAMPAIGNING

13. DID IT WORK?
 Mostly, Yes.
 Reporters quit reporting this bullsh*t because we visually showed them it was
garbage.
 If nothing else, it led to better communication, which is a win by itself.
 What areas are YOU not integrating social media into?

14. QUESTIONS?