With the Presidential primaries in full force, I wanted to take a couple of entries to discuss what candidates from both sides of the fence are doing from a word of mouth perspective.
This is not an endorsement for any particular candidate or party; just an opportunity to chat about how WOM and social media, in particular, are playing a role in shaping this upcoming election. I’ll start it off with the GOP.
Rudy Giuliani
The former mayor of NYC recently leaped head first into the Web 2.0 scene with a new social network built into his official website, called “Team Rudy”. The social network has all of the basic features of its predecessors (full profiles, messaging center, etc.), but with a clever twist that makes it all the more noticeable.
“Team Rudy” includes an open ambassador and incentive program in which visitors can join and earn points by completing simple campaigning tasks (i.e. calling into radio talk shows, writing letters to newspaper editors). Your “Rudy Points” define your position on the site’s leader board, and can be used to purchase items in the Rudy store.
The social network has also incorporated a widely popular Google maps feature into the site, giving members the ability to post comments that appear over their location in the nation. It’s a clever way to unite the members of his “Team”, while giving his camp a good outlook of the geographic make-up of his supporters.
Much of Mike Huckabee’s online success can be wrapped up in two words: Chuck Norris.
In arguably the most successful viral marketing campaign this primary season, the former governor of Arkansas appeared in a wildly popular YouTube video with Walker: Texas Ranger himself. Both Norris and Huckabee used the one-minute clip to make light of each other’s popular personas, and, in turn, created what a viral video should be – hilarious.
[youtube]http://youtube.com/watch?v=MDUQW8LUMs8[/youtube]
With an opening line like “My plan to secure the border: Chuck Norris,” there’s no way that this video could have failed. Since its launch, the video has received over 800,00 views, 4,500 comments and coverage by every major news network in the country. It spiked awareness for the Huckabee name, and certainly increased his appeal/credibility among a younger voter base.
Aside from the Norris video, the Huckabee camp has incorporated a constantly updated blog into its official site. And when I say constantly updated, I mean constantly updated (on December 6th, the blog was updated 10 times throughout the day.)
With rapidly changing voter opinion and breaking news stories throughout the day, a regularly monitored and up to date blog is crucial. Additionally, running next to each entry is a Digg counter and an “Add This” button (which I’m 1000% in love with).
Ron Paul
Ron Paul, while still trailing comfortably behind the leading candidates, has made major headway within the past few months, thanks to a substantial group of web loyalists who have used both social networks and bookmarking sites to spread his message.
Currently, the Texas Congressman has over 51,00 Facebook groupies; 94,000+ MySpace friends; and an astounding 6,315,916 YouTube channel views. Not a day passes when Paul doesn’t make the front page of Digg, and he’s obtained more Meetup.com members than Clinton, Obama, Huckabee and Giuliani combined.
The Paul camp has primarily relied on the grassroots efforts of these passionate Internet followers to create buzz around his campaign and launch major fundraising initiatives.
These Paulites have been responsible for several “money bombs”, in which they’ve driven Paul’s supporters to contribute substantial donations in a 24-hour time period. The first major bomb struck on November 5th when 37,000 supporters broke a record for online campaign fundraising by donating $4.2 million in a one day.
And, in their latest WOM endeavor, Paul’s most loyal fans are close to launching the Ron Paul Blimp – a full-sized advertisement that would fly up and down the east coast over the next month. Lead and sponsored solely by his supporters, this PR stunt drives users to “Google Ron Paul” – a slogan that has come to define his Internet/WOM movement.
Talk to us
We want to know what you think about how word of mouth and social media are shaping this year’s primary. Who’s leading the pack? Which camps are doing it right? Post some comments to our comment section.
In the next couple of days, I’ll be blogging it out about how the Dems have been using WOM and social media to draw attention to their campaigns. Keep checking back for a fair and balanced view of this primary season.
