Just as corporations need to create and execute a social medial marketing plan, so do politicians running for office. Political figures have long complained that the media was filtering their message to the voters. So it is with no real surprise then that an aspiring politician in Canada is using YouTube as a platform to reach voters, especially younger voters.
The politician is called Carol Loader and she said that she is using YouTube because:
“Ten years ago nobody had a website. Now we are getting into blogging, that’s a popular thing. So YouTube is a new medium on the computer, and I think that any politician should take a look at it, or anybody that’s interested in getting a message out, a mass message out.”
While some politicians like Ms. Loader are embracing YouTube, others are afraid that the social media networks will unfilter their message too much. That people will catch and publicize all their missteps and misspoken words before their spin doctors get a chance to fix things.
CBS.com illustrated this recently with two examples of how YouTube is having a major impact on the outcome of Congressional races.
A posting there of a picture of Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut kissing President Bush helped fuel Lieberman’s loss to anti-war candidate Ned Lamont in the recent primary in the Nutmeg State.
And Sen. George Allen, R-Va., who’s running for reelection, has seen his once large lead in the polls slip to just a few points. A big reason: a video on YouTube of his using the term “macaca” to refer to a campaign opponent. “Macaca” is seen by many as a racial slur.
“With the Internet and YouTube, there is no discussion. It’s automatically posted,” notes long-time Bush strategist Matthew Dowd.
The 2004 US Presidential campaign was the first campaign where the Internet played a significant role in the outcome of the election. The current congressional races in the US are being influenced by the Internet more than any other races in history. And this is a warm-up to the 2008 Presidential battle. Any presidential candidate that does not have a successful social media strategy will not be successful in winning the White House.
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Great post. I have been meaning to write about this for the last couple of weeks. While I do think it is important for politicians to use social media to get their message to the masses, I don’t think it will make or break a political campaign. I can’t remember where I read this, but historically, even the candidate who spends the most money in a campaign isn’t always guaranteed a victory. Dean is one example. The DNC knew he wasn’t going to win because he just didn’t relate to the American people; yet they continued to raise millions of dollars (all of which wasn’t spent). Most of that money probably went to the Kerry campaign.