Here is some real world advice for politicians trying to tap into the Youth base by going online. At the outset I would like dispel the notion that the youth is only an online being without any life out of it. So the first step for you take is synchronize your offline and online campaign to mean and say the same things, else you will get royal beating ver 2.0 both on the web and beyond.
However, cunning that you all are you might probably know the above point beforehand. However, there is another notion that needs to dispelled before you make a mockery of the whole system. The notion is that having a website and/or a blog online with profiles on all the major social networking site isn’t using the web the Obama way. Case in point – Even John McCain had all these with him. In fact any Tommy can have one. If you think the youth is going to consider you tech savvy because some web design company made a website with your photographs and accomplishments then you are sadly mistaken.
The fact remains that Obama didn’t win because he used the web to drive voters. Obama won because he drove a new wave of hope and action and everything that the average American voters sought in their leader. His online campaign didn’t just work because his speeches were on YouTube or because his Facebook page grossed the highest number of fans ever or because he was on Twitter. You see the online world is a reflection of and not distinct from the offline one. His campaign worked online because it is what people were looking for offline. The digital medium just helped get the word across faster and cheaper and with more authority.
So if you want to use the Internet you needn’t spend a dime on an adword copy or a banner or even put your TV campaign video on YouTube. You do the right thing by presenting the proper leadership and putting a proper plan for the country and believe me your online campaign will be taken care of by the same people whose votes you seek.
People will tweet about you if you say the things that they want or don’t want to hear from you. They will re-tweet if you say the things they would have wanted to say. People will blog about you if you sow an idea of a country that you envision, the idea will take roots as a million trees on the web with every blogger expressing their vision of the idea. People will capture your speeches and load it online if you open their eyes to the country you see in the future. They will make fan pages of yours and invite others if you do and act as a role model should.
The Obama way of using the web was not about money or content, but it was about being an inspiration and that’s why it worked. Nothing spreads like inspiration on the web. So if you are a poltico then all you need to do to use the web effectively is just be a good leader. That’s the winning online strategy.
Read this post on WATBlog on some poll related initiatives online.
