There was so much hype back in 2008, when Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama were both campaigning for the Democratic party president primaries. It was either first female president or first African-American president, but all in all, it brought a fresh breath of air to American politics.
The Clintons are no stranger to politics; they had the biggest name in the Democratic party. Throughout her campaign, she created an all-star team of consultants, and she raised the most amount money than anyone else in democratic politics. However, her campaigning model was very traditional. On the other hand, Obama found financial success through the use of social networking, and he had Chris Hughes (the co-founder of Facebook) to thank for it.
The maximum legal amount of any individual donations is $2,300, but Obama wanted to appeal to the younger generation through the use of online social networking and use $200 as a point of entry. Thats one-tenth of the original amount!
By using social media, specifically FaceBook, it gave him the viral effect that traditional campaigning models would not have provided. In Feburary 2008, he raised up to $45-55 million, most of which were contributions over the internet of sums of $200 or less. Turns out, a million little donations was the key to a big donation! Obama not only had their email addresses to thank them for their generous contributions, but he also had a huge list of names to ask for more.
In April this year, Obama visited FaceBook at their headquarters, where he held a town hall meeting to discuss hot-topic political issues. FaceBook benefited from Obama's appearance, when thousands of people flocked to FaceBook's video channel to watch the streaming of the live interview.
Big points for Obama for using the internet and social media as a platform for addressing political and economic concerns, and submerging himself in social networking to appeal to the younger audience. Obama sums it up quite nicely that "what FaceBook allows us to do is make sure that this is not just a one-way conversation. Not only am I speaking to you, you are also speaking back".
Feels free to watch Obama's town hall meeting at FaceBook's headquarters. Its quite long.
Great post Katie. I think this is a good example of a SM hero. I wonder however if HC used SM, whether the outcome would have been the same, which would have meant that SM did not actually play such a crucial role. But this does show the power that SM can have when you understand your target (knowing you will effectively reach them through SM).
ReplyDeleteRoss
I love seeing what Obama did with SM. I guess it's really no different to what successful politicians have always done... door knocking, hand shaking, and baby cuddling. Connecting with people on a one-to-one basis. That's SM's strength, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work!