Want to be president? Master Social Media
If you want to be President you have to master Social Media first.
How did you learn of the 2012 presidential candidates? Twitter? Facebook? Well, you’re not alone. According to Reel SEO, the only acceptable way to announce your candidacy for the upcoming election is through social media. In today’s technology-dominated world, if you aren’t Facebooking, Tweeting, or using YouTube, you’re out of the loop.
In 2008, President Barrack Obama started a trend, and it paid off. The success of his campaign depended in part on his harnessing of the social network to build a solid support-base. Ironically, at the time, John McCain admitted to never having used email.
Now, things have changed. Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Tim Pawlenty are all utilizing our social media sites for more than just friend requests and simple twitter updates. According to an article published by CBS News, “2012 Presidential Candidates ‘Friend’ Social Media,” contenders of the upcoming presidential election are making use of the digital world more than ever before.
Newt Gingrich and Twitter? That’s right. And he has over 1 million followers. On May 11, Gingrich tweeted his official plans for next year: “Today, I am announcing my candidacy for President of the United States.” He also provided a link to his video announcement on YouTube, which you can view here.
Tim Pawlenty is another aspirant utilizing the power of social media. Proclaiming himself as “T-Paw” on his campaign website, Pawlenty has announced his candidacy for the upcoming election via YouTube, with a video titled, “A Time for Truth.” Uploaded only two weeks ago, Pawlenty’s video already has 138,000 hits and counting. He is also making use of Twitter and Facebook to help build a stronger social media base.
Technology is used by almost everyone, everywhere. It has a pervasive presence within our society and politicians are finally learning to take advantage. To read more about 2012 presidential candidates’ use of social networking, read Marshable.com’s article, “This Week in Politics and Digital: The Online Influence Issue.” And then, get on your Twitter account and tweet about it!