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It's In The Way That You Use It - Even Social Kings Have Dings
April 10, 2012
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If brands want to be "game changers" with digital and social platforms (or at the least just make sense of all the "channels" we have at our disposal today) we must first be willing to learn the dynamics of this permission-based space.
This means letting go of the "push mentality," or as Tom Bender/Senior VP-Greater Media Interactive puts it, let go of the "What are we going to do to them today?" type thinking. And that translates to what tactics will we use to interrupt our fans' day today?
The focus we have here at Jacobs Media is honing in on the primary purpose behind each platform to strengthen brand assets and serve the connections.
While people are always asking for examples of who's doing it right– there's been one example that has been in front of us all along – "Team Obama." (And by the way, "Merge" is truly non-partisan. The only party I support stands for an effective use of today's tools.)
"Team Obama" has identified that the opportunity with digital and social lies within the chance to listen, to stay ahead of the conversation, and to offer reassurance that the Obama "brand" is present, tuned into constituents, and the world around them.
Since his 2008 campaign, President Obama (along with his digital and social natives) has used Internet, mobile, and social to build a large community. His strategists have proven that it's not enough to just have presence by showing digital and social adaptability, but that appropriate behavior on each platform is what makes for dynamic returns and true connections.
Obama's ground-breaking use of mobile in the 2008 campaign, promising to announce his Vice Presidential pick via text built not just this monster mobile database – but one that was filled with loyal, motivated relationships because of the way they used mobile - offering immediate and insider type information.
It's pretty remarkable what you can achieve digitally and socially when there's a level of sophistication and efficiency.
Fast-forward to 2012, and President Obama's team continues to show they are present and connected by hosting the White House's first ever "Google Plus Hangout," which is a group video chat provided on that platform.
As I watched this live via YouTube, it was clear to me that Obama's digital and social team are sensitive to the time and tone of the messaging, the authenticity, and the value of speaking in a singular voice to create and nurture communities.
Always making sure they are maximizing the use of emerging platforms, earlier this year you may have seen President Obama's team tweet about his most recent Spotify playlist.
And while that made the news – it's an even bigger story when the President himself tweets. It's been said he always signs his personal tweets with "bo":
Whether it is really him doing the tweeting or a digital aide, it doesn't matter. The President has forever changed the way that citizens get to interact with politicians.
However – even with all of these examples of how strategic Obama's digital and social natives are – even the best trip over their skills at times.
"It's like you don't even value our make believe relationship"
Lately – the emails being communicated and sent from Team Obama have been offbeat – frankly kind of weird. And it was downright funny last week when Jon Stewart called the President out.
Look, these channels provide opportunity, but they also require being aware of every message sent out. Don't get too caught up in being too hip – you might just interfere with your own brand.
With digital and social, there's a new model of advocacy – and if you're present and connected with your fans on their favorite channels (like "Team Obama") you have the ability to elevate your message even higher than you can imagine. But as a strategist for some of radio's biggest brands – I can tell you it takes a commitment to full-time thinking and understanding to be effective.
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