The chatter in social media outlets in the final days before the national presidential election will likely reach exceptional levels as digital and traditional national pundits try to predict the outcome. Feeding the banter is Twitter’s Twindex which tracks numbers of followers for each candidate, and Facebook’s Election Insights, which tracks how many people are talking about each candidate on the social media platform. To me, attempting to predict the next president by the conversation on Twitter and Facebook is about as effective as my local bar attempting to predict the outcome based upon how many customers order an Obamatini versus a Romneytini. It is not what the tools were designed to do. However, there are plenty of lessons business can learn from the politicians and campaigns strategists who are using social media to gain influence and promote change.
Experts in politics, government and grassroots campaigns recently came together in Seattle to discuss how a culture of clicks, shares and likes are affecting the business of politics. The panel discussion, titled “Social Media and Democracy,” was produced by the MIT Enterprise Forum Northwest and showcased what businesses and marketing folks can learn from the political world’s social media triumphs and failures. Here are some key takeaways:
Social media has to be a conversation, not a monologue. Nathan Daschle, founder of Ruck.us and former chair of the Democratic Governor’s Association, lamented that the current presidential candidates are using Twitter and Facebook as a broadcast tool rather than a conversation tool. He observed that the campaigns are not utilizing the power that these tools offer to interact and engage with constituents around issues. As this AdAge infographic shows, each presidential candidate talks about himself in more than half of his social media posts instead of interacting with constituents. Many established consumer and business brands make the same mistake.
Stories need to be meaningful and compelling in order to promote change. According to Joe Mirabella director of campaigns for All Out, the key to gaining mass attention that fosters change is to create stories that are so compelling that they get to the part of our brains where we are motivated to act by liking, sharing and retweeting a meaningful story. When our emotions are stimulated we are inclined to join a cause, advocate for an issue, and be part of a movement that creates mass awareness on social media channels.
Social media offers a trusted intermediary for collaboration outside of traditional silos such as political parties and entrenched stakeholder groups. Washington state representative Deb Eddy says because of their ability to connect people outside of special interest groups, social media tools have enormous potential to change the decision-making process of those in power. As social media tools are better developed, Eddy says the potential grows for more people to engage with the process and decision makers to advocate for new laws or changes in established policies. A business could learn grassroots campaigns that utilize social media to galvanize support if, for example, it is introducing e a disruptive technology, entering a crowded market, or protecting the reputation of a brand.
As these tools evolve, government and business are both learning that the power of social media lies not in numbers alone, but by combining effective communication strategies such as storytelling, and dialogue with the ease of connecting and transparency that social media tools provide.