The Making of a Cyber-President
This year's presidential election will be largely influenced by the online activity of its supporters. In terms of individual participation, email, social networks, and online polls are the most common ways supporters are communicating about a candidate, according to the JupiterResearch report, Political Communication: Mobilizing Online Voters. Like with any customer strategy, the goal is to engender trust and provide a two-way dialog that provides value for all. McCain, Obama, and Clinton are all working online to create such a community.
Today's issue of 1to1 Weekly shows how online strategies have evolved in the last four years, mirroring the development of CRM tools and customer strategy. What started out as a blast strategy to reach as many people as possible to gather donations has turned into a communication tool to connect individuals on their terms. Politicians still have a long way to go online, but this year's election shows progress being made on a number of levels.
More people than ever are interested in politics (especially young people), and they are using the Internet to educate themselves. Many of the tools I've used already have been to learn about the positions of each candidate, and how they compare to each other. And when I find friends online who support specific candidates, I know I can talk to them one on one, without getting the rhetoric from the candidate's official site.
It will be interesting to see the role online tools will play when it gets down to a two-horse race. TV news is still the number one candidate information source, JupiterMedia says, but as people watch less TV the cross-channel strategy becomes more important.
What do you think? Have you connected with candidates and supporters online? How well do you think their online strategies are working?
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