Obama Campaign- Success through Social Networking

President Obama was in the first primary and presidential race where I was allowed to vote in. That alone made it a particular memorable and special race for me. I was hyper aware of all the news and information that came in through newspapers, the television, and by word of mouth. But what surprised me the most was how active Obama's campaign was on my social networks. During the primaries, and ultimately the presidential race, he was mentioned daily on my Twitter feed and Facebook wall, two places where I wasn't expecting him to have such a strong presence. It seemed, for politicians, that pandering to the masses via social networking was too pedestrian, but Obama's campaign used it to their advantage, making huge strides with minimal effort and producing great results.

Obama's campaign used social media networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace to capture the attention of the 18-30 age group; voters who traditionally could not be counted on to go out to vote. He knew that these young adults, largely uninterested and usually unreliable, could give him the upper hand and the win for the primaries (and presidency). Capturing their attention was one thing, but making them active supporters was a more important goal in which Facebook and Twitter were the most effective tools. In minutes, a viral video or picture can be seen by hundreds and thousands of people, and the whole nation would of heard about it by lunch time the next day. People may not have realized they were being advertised to, but many young adults were swayed to vote for him over Hilary Clinton for the sheer fact that he seemed to make more of an effort to connect with his potential constituents, and that hopefully it would carry over into his presidency.

Another successful use of their social networking strategy was through his website, MyBO. It was a highly functional, well managed website where the majority of their campaign was focused on. It had relevant and updated information, it was easy to use, and provided a platform for the public to get to know Obama. It also made it easier for the average person to donate to his campaign; almost half of Obama's donations were $200 or under. On top of that, campaign managers could collect information on users such as their location and age, and use that to their advantage by reminding people to go out and vote, or telling them about a nearby public event. They could easily target specific  cities and states with rally information and flyers, and use their volunteers more effectively by having them the most active during key times in the campaign. They also reached people through text messaging, something that had never been successfully done before in a primary/presidential race. Now the campaign could easily reach hundreds and thousands of people in a matter of minutes, wherever they are, for pennies on the dollar. They didn't have to spend thousands of dollars for a one minute ad where their target demographic might not have a chance of seeing it. They could now target and reach many people at one time and know that the majority will receive and read it.

Although we can't say that Obama won purely through his use of social networking, it is clear that he was the first candidate to do so successfully. His campaign realized early on how effective and important it would be to have a strong social network, and ran their campaign almost like a company, targeting their "consumers" through the mediums they used the most. Since he successfully won his campaign, it is highly unlikely that future candidates for any political office would not use social networking to their advantage, especially if they are looking for the 18-30 age group to support them.