Some say Obama won because of the Internet. They applaud how YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and blogs carried his message, induced action, and influenced voters. Others say this is totally over-hyped.
By Khailee Ng
WHAT DO YOU SAY?
Let’s have a look at the data, first, then extract some conclusions marketers like us can use.
McCain online ad budget : $1.5 million
Obama online ad budget : $8 million
Obama spent 5+ times more money online compared to McCain. What quantifiable effect did this have online?
Senior Analyst at Forrester Research, Jeremiah Owyang, compiled the data one day before the election:
Great, Obama beat McCain online. And I guess I don’t need to tell you who eventually won in the ‘real world’.
SO WHAT DO MARKETERS HAVE TO SAY ABOUT THIS?
Some rave about Web2.0 and how Obama ‘gets it’. Others provide a look at the Internet integrated in the marketing mix. You can email me for links to such analysis, I will gladly share them with you. However, for this article, I want to look at something else.
I’m NOT going make the buzzword laden case for more Internet ad spend. Everyone’s neighbour’s dog knows more and more consumers are weaving the Internet into their lives, as marketing budgets begin to adapt. You don’t need the president of the United Stated of America to tell you that.
I’m also NOT going to rave about websites like YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, or blogs.
After 4 years of building award-winning online communities, e-commerce in US & UK markets, and driving adoption of online web applications, I went on to build Malaysia’s Largest Youth Opinion Community of 58,000+ youths in 7 months. My online journey has taught me – it’s not about the size of your tool, it’s about how you use it.
Hence, this article will ignore the websites and the buzzwords. Instead, it will focus on 3 uncommon marketing lessons we must focus on, BEFORE we choose to ride on an Internet strategy in the first place.
- Direct response marketing, direct results
Too many web campaigns see themselves as a ‘branding exercise’ and does not make soliciting a specific and quantifiable response a top priority. Obama clearly saw the power of both.
His website www.barackobama.com was very pretty. Very informational, too. But you were also prompted for a direct response. DONATE or VOLUNTEER? Volunteer? Now get a shirt, get a sign, get on the phone, email a friend, donate your Facebook status, and read up why this is important. Donate? Great, now use this email tool to send a pre-written e-mail so you can pressure your friends to donate.
As opposed to just trying to ‘leave an impression’ on the user, Obama’s website knew exactly what the “most wanted response” was, each and every page. It was designed to illicit a direct response, for direct results. Quantifiable. Specific. Priceless.
- Set your email list on fire
Here’s a direct response you can go for: Get the email address of your site’s visitor. Build an email list. Then warm the list up.
Many companies and brands have huge databases of its customers. But really, how “hot” is your list? Do they even know you? Do they look forward to your next email? Or are they ‘cold’, wondering why you are emailing them in the first place?
Obama built a huge email list of all its supporters, but most of all, he kept the list ‘hot’ with constant, emotional communication and interaction.
The relationship with your list is more than customer relationship management, it’s a golden opportunity to turn your customers into evangelists and brand ambassadors. And Obama’s marketers knew this.
So how do we warm up your list, and set them on fire?
- Get personal: Write your emails in a conversational style, and identify yourself as a human being, not an anonymous ‘entity’.
- Give your list value: The attention they give you is precious. Don’t waste their time with silly announcements, instead, manage their expectations and exceed them. Give free stuff, and things they can really benefit from.
- Start a conversation: Ask them to reply your mails, and write back. If you value their relationship, show it, and they will notice it is genuine.
I personally do this with the communities I build. And it pays off. For example, when I send qualitative surveys on behalf of my clients, the youths in my community reply with long stories, filling up the surveys with care, because they’ve grown to know, trust, and love the YouthSays brand, and take action based on a simple email.
- Sweetheart, it’s not me, it’s you.
For a long time, Obama’s official website banner read aloud “It’s about YOU”. He got it right from the beginning.
People don’t care about products and services; instead they care about themselves and about solving their problems. Instead of slamming a brand into their face at every opportunity, you put their needs and wants first. When you help your customers succeed, when you help them feel awesome, you win them over.
Want them to spread your message? Make sure your marketing message adds value to their lives and the lives of their friends. Want them to watch your video? Make it conveniently available on every video streaming platform, and let them embed it on their blogs. Don’t force them to go to your website just to watch a video! Even little things like making their names larger on the website, and featuring their profile photos (as opposed to your brand logo) can go a long way in making them the focus, and getting their support.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
Some of us worship new social media platforms and new paradigms. Some of us hold tightly to ‘old-school’ marketing foundations. But not many of us combine them both in the same way Obama did.
When we’re armed with a clear, simple message, an unwavering belief that our target market will benefit, we are ready engage online. We are ready to engage the people on their terms. After all, the Internet is the medium of the people. They decide if they want to listen, to tell others, to talk back, or to ignore us. And because of this, we can’t control the marketing message. We can only set it free.
For links to reference articles and ‘Obamarketing’ analysis, drop the author an email.
Facebook
Obama: 2,379,102 supporters
McCain: 620,359 supporters
Obama has 380% more Facebook supporters
than McCain
MySpace
Obama: Friends: 833,161
McCain: Friends: 217,811
Obama has 380% more MySpace supporters
than McCain
YouTube
Obama: 1792 videos uploaded since Nov 2006, Subscribers: 114,559 (uploads about 4 a day), Channel Views: 18,413,110
McCain: 329 videos uploaded since Feb 2007 (uploads about 2 a day), Subscribers: 28,419, Channel Views: 2,032,993
Obama has 403% more YouTube subscribers than McCain Obama has 905% more YouTube viewers than McCain
Twitter
Obama: @barackobama has 112,474 followers
McCain: @JohnMcCain 4,603 followers
Obama has 240 times more followers in
Twitter than McCain
Internet Usage in United States
United States Population: 303,824,646
Internet Usage: 220,141,969
Penetration Rate: 72.5%
Growth from 2000-2008: 130.9%
Stats from Internet WorldStats
(Census, Nielson)