There is a very important lesson to be learned from the American election this week.
For more than 18 months each side argued, fought, blamed, schemed and hated one another. But, on one thing they completely agreed. One single thing was strong enough to cross party lines and affect both campaigns.
That one thing was Social Media.
Four years ago, for the very first time, an American Presidential Candidate utilized Social Media to reach his audience. This “grass-roots” campaign strategy was quickly credited with his ability to reach the people he wanted to connect with and allowed him to engage with them on a more personal level. He was no longer “that guy on television running for President”. By election day in 2008, he was Barack Obama; a charismatic, likable, and approachable man who also happened to be running for President.
During that election, Social Media changed how candidates would campaign, how the public would interact with them and how people would be influenced.
Fast forward to 2012 and it’s clear that the lessons learned during that election stuck. Not only with President Obama’s campaign but also with others. Facebook and Twitter were literally saturated with status updates, images and hash tags by, for and about the campaigns across the United States with comments and interactions from people watching all over the world. Both Presidential candidates and a majority of others running for office took to these platforms to talk to their audience directly.
They also released mobile apps for their respective campaigns to provide new avenues of communication with their constituents. On both sides of the spectrum, these strategies worked. It made the candidates seem more in touch with the public, more personable, more human and definitely more accessible.
<~~~It makes you feel great when the President of the United States is following you on Twitter! At least I know it does for me! 😉
I think there is a lesson in their marketing strategy that can be applied directly to business. You must reach out and communicate directly with people if you are hoping to inspire any type of a movement.
If both candidates for President see the value in utilizing Social Media for their campaign to connect with their audience there is definitely an opportunity here for you and your business.
Connecting with people on social media can help you:
- Gain new customers
- Connect with all of your existing, past and prospective customers quickly and easily
- Overcome your fear of technology
- And More!
It is not too late for you to win your own business campaign. You have access to the same tools and the same community as they do.
I know you know it works.
It’s been proven time and time again to work for large corporations, online businesses, entrepreneurs, political campaigns, causes and, maybe most importantly, small to medium sized retail stores.
Social Media is the ONE AND ONLY place where any individual, business or organization can reach virtually anyone they want. Whether you want to advertise, talk to or get feedback from your audience, this is THE place to do it.
How can I help you use Social Media more effectively for your business? If you have questions, leave a comment below and take advantage of the support of this community too!
