This week the RNC rolled out a new website for the nation’s Republicans at www.gop.com. Critics of the rollout have been harsh, attacking the sites design and messaging. Many say the banner looks too much like the flag of communist China. Some say the RNC is trying too hard to reach black voters.
Truth be told, those aren’t the kinds of complaints I expected from the tech community. I expected them to do more than look at the homepage, only to click away 10 seconds later for their own blogs. Unfortunately that’s not what’s happening. Their arguments are flawed, not because they’re wrong, but because they’re superficial.
Listen, the site isn’t perfect, but hardly any site is. Maybe they are trying too hard to reach out to black voters and maybe the header does look just a tad bit like the Chinese flag. Maybe not. My biggest complaint is the Mini-Mike that walks out onto the screen, but that’s something that can be fixed with the push of a button. The largest problems I see are an overall messaging issue that should not fall under the job description of the RNC’s tech team. Those decisions come from higher up and after weeks, or even months, or hardcore research.
As for the design itself, I direct my team to build websites with one motto in mind “attractive and simple.” While some argue on the attractiveness of the RNC site, I think the layout is clean, crisp, and simple. I also really like the introductory video and the facebook widget on the homepage, although I also agree with Todd Ziegler’s point about emphasizing the Our GOP network instead.
But again, these are all superficial issues.
The real power of the site lies behind the homepage, which I expected the Republican tech community to understand. I thought they’d see that the power is in the social networking capabilities and source code.
For the first time, Republicans across the country have a way to connect to each other and even more important for the RNC, they now have a way to target and collect information on those voters. The first step on being successful isn’t recruiting new supporters. It’s connecting the supporters we already have. We have to connect, organize, and activate our current supporters so that we have an outreach machine in place. After we do that, we can then take the next step to start reaching out to those we’ve been unable to grab – i.e. young voters and African Americans. For the first time, the capabilities are now there and I believe the RNC has a team in place that knows how to use them.
Facebook has gone through a few design changes over the past couple years, but has that stopped anyone from using the service? The answer is obviously no. Facebook has continued to grow into one of the world’s largest networks. The design didn’t matter. The power was in the network. The RNC’s new Our GOP won’t be Facebook, but it’s a good equivalent for Republicans looking to connect. And speaking of the two, I love that you can access Our GOP with Facebook Connect. Great move!
But that’s not it folks. From what I’m hearing, the RNC’s source code is going to be pretty open. What exactly does that mean? Two great things.
First, APPLICATIONS. This is huge! I can’t overstate it. President Obama’s team wasn’t successful because their site was pretty. They were successful because they connected supporters and then put them to work using voter outreach applications. Call banks, door-to-door walks, fundraising drives…it was all organized and implement on the web. With an open code, the RNC is telling conservative developers across the nation “here it is, start building.”
Second, more connecting. An open code allows all 50 state parties to tap into the GOP network, increasing the networks power 50-fold. But wait, that’s not right. Every county party in the nation, Young Republican group, College Republican group, Teenage Republican group, and every single other auxiliary will be able to tap into the network directly from their website, increasing the network’s power 5000-fold.
Messaging is everything, but you can’t expect a bunch of techies to tell Chairman Steele what should be said in television ads, mail pieces, and interviews. The same goes for the RNC homepage. Don’t place the Republican Party’s problems on Todd Herman and his team. Place them on the Republicans that dropped that ball over the past 10 years and the one’s who are not working tirelessly to capitalize on President Obama and Nancy Pelosi’s big government policies. The RNC tech team should be praised for putting together a system that works. Leave the messaging to the messengers.
I’ve never claimed to be the smartest guy in the room. Maybe the most intense or the most passionate, but never the smartest. In fact, I’m pretty sure I’m running out of brain cells. And I’m not the only one. Campaigns should be aware of this…and adapt immediately.
Let me explain.
I know I’m a little abnormal when it comes to the massive amount of information flow I receive. I don’t have time to read a lot of books, but the past year I’ve read “The Tipping Point,” “Outliers,” “The Blogging Church,” “The Art of War,” “The Reagan Diaries,” “Pour Your Heart Into It,” and “The Four Hour Workweek.” I subscribe to “Men’s Health,” “Politics Magazine,” “Wired,” “Fast Company,” and “Inc.” I read them cover to cover. I read about 50 news and blog articles a day. While at work, my TV is always on Fox News or MSNBC. I stay on the phone all day and hold more conversations than I can count. I read my tweet stream at least once every two hours. Yesterday I received 327 emails. I don’t watch a lot of TV except every episode of Heroes, Grey’s Anatomy, House, and Mad Men. I spend most of my TV viewing time watching movies, probably around two per week. I also watch Tekzilla daily, every Gary Vanynerchuk, Ijustine, Kevin Rose & Tim Ferris, Diggnation, and Totally Rad Show podcast.
That’s pretty much my life in a paragraph. Well, except all the conversations I have with my wife or all the stuff I learn at church. Oh, and Gamecock football information, chats with buddies, or any of that other stuff one encounters just going through life.
As you can tell, I soak up A LOT of information every week and I’d be lying to you if I told you I remembered even half of it. To keep track of what I need to remember, I carry around a spiral notebook at all times. I use my iPhone voice recorder daily. I keep track of all work projects on Basecamp and I use Evernote.
Still, I can’t keep track of everything. I can’t tell you what happened three episodes ago on Diggnation, a Techcrunch post I read 16 days ago, the number of tackles Eric Norwood got last week, or a story I read in Outliers. I soaked up the information, but I didn’t retain it.
Maybe I’m just not that smart, but I don’t think that’s the case. I think I have a limited number of brain cells. You do too.
I use myself as an example to say this – the Internet is called the Information Superhighway for a reason. It’s full of information. With blogs, emails, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc…we are being bombarded with information from all angles. Those Internet tubes are getting clogged folks, and so are our brains.
Political campaigns should keep this in mind when building websites, writing emails, sending tweets, or doing anything else on the Internet. Clutter is killing campaigns, mostly because they are being part of the clutter. People don’t have enough brain cells to soak up all the information they are receiving. Remember that.
On February 21, 2008, I published these words on the Under The Power Lines website:
“We believe that one day every voter will get the majority of their news from the web. But that’s not going to happen in the next few cycles and it certainly isn’t going to happen today.”
Boy was I wrong. And so is just about every campaign today. This may be the most important post I ever write, so listen up.
Recently, Gary Vaynerchuk posted a video in which he states, accurately, that most businesses look at the Internet as “the pepper” instead of “the steak.” What he means is that most companies falsely look at the Internet as some garnish (another tool) that is added to the steak (the strategy), when in fact, the Internet is now the steak itself. It’s the meal. It is the strategy.
It’s not just the private sector. Most campaigns are stuck in this rut too. General consultants are so fixated with the big bucks that come with television and direct mail that they are treating the Internet as some redheaded stepchild that a campaign has to use because everyone else is using it.
That’s a MASSIVE mistake. The Internet is now the primary tool by which people connect with a campaign.
Notice what I just said. I said CONNECT. I didn’t say COMMUNICATE.
That’s because as people start to get more of their news from the web instead of television and newspapers, they are starting to join social networking systems to share their lives with their friends and family, and yes, connect with organizations like political parties and campaigns.
Let’s take a look at the stats.
A recent study showed that it didn’t matter if a person did or did not regularly read a print newspaper – they all are now more likely to get their news from online. A 2008 poll revealed that 80 percent of Americans over 17 say that the Internet is “a critical source of information,” which was a 14 percent jump from 2006. The 2008 Pew Research Center poll on news consumption is particularly interesting. Between 1995 and 2008, the percentage of people who got their news online at least three times a week rose from two percent to 37. During the same period, the number of people who read a print newspaper, listened to radio news, watched local TV news or the national nightly news all declined precipitously. According to the poll, about 36 percent of the public are regular-to-heavy users of Internet news. These people are also well-educated and affluent, the sort of people who tend to show up on Election Day.
Additionally, almost one-in-four people read political blogs, and one-in-five read other people’s comments on news stories and check what stories were emailed by others.
Here’s the big news folks – as people move toward the web to get their news, they are staying there to connect other people, something that cannot happen with television or direct mail.
According to Nielsen, “member communities” (social networking and blogging) are now the fourth most popular Internet activity, even surpassing personal email. Also, time spent on social networking and blogging sites has grown by three times the rate of the rest of the Internet. In terms of time spent, between December 2007 and December 2008, Facebook saw a massive increase of 566 percent. It’s not just teenagers and college students, either. In February, statistics were released that showed 45 percent of all new Facebook users in the United States are 26 years old or older.
Twitter, barely on the radar just two years ago, has become standard for candidates and parties. Many elected officials are now turning to it as a way, in 140 characters or less, to be in contact with their constituents in real time. Over last year, Twitter went from about 500,000 unique visitors to 4.43 million. Now, 20 percent of all ads viewed online are on social networking sites.
What’s the point in all this?
While the Internet is far cheaper than television and direct mail, it still requires financial investment. Campaigns at every level have to wake up and start reallocating financial resources toward better websites, Internet advertising, new voter outreach tools, and most important – manpower.
Manpower? That’s right. Remember, it’s not just about communicating a message by posting on a blog or by sending out a tweet. It’s about connecting with people. Campaigns need to start hiring social media directors to answer emails, Facebook posts, and tweets. The worse thing a campaign can ever do is let social contacts wither on the vine.
Here’s what I suggest:
1. Invest in a website that sucks voters in and keeps them there to connect with other supporters and the campaign through social networks. Barack Obama did this with my.barackobama.com, which allowed his supporters to blog, connect with each other and develop stronger ties to the campaign. If you’re interacting with other people on a campaign site, you’re probably more likely to donate money and volunteer, and definitely more likely to actually show up to vote.
2. Advertise – Google and social networks give you the ability to target like never before. For instance, there’s a reason why I get ads touting USC-themed Snuggies on Facebook. And why a Conservatives in Action banner ad showed up on a college football blog. The “brave new world” is here, and it’s making money. For campaigns, that could mean money as well as votes. Targeted marketing like this allows for more effective use of advertising dollars, instead of the tens of thousands needed for a TV ad.
3. Don’t be afraid of ideas. People want content. Give them a reason to keep coming back. To use the Obama example again, a lot of candidates and staff would immediately nix the idea of user-driven content, like site’s social networking component. Often, controlling the message takes precedent over being inventive. One way that Sen. Shane Massey keeps his site fresh is by taking advantage of what the web has to offer. He writes blog posts, there are Twitter updates and he uploads videos from his town hall meetings.
4. CONNECT – give your staff the flexibility to talk with voters. You start off with the old-line basics, phone number and email address, then add in Facebook and Twitter. That way, you can make sure to get the word out about the next event, or how the candidate feels about a pressing issue. Sen. Jim DeMint has so thoroughly embraced this facet that he’s frequently lauded for his adaptation to new media.
For a campaign to remain out in front, in all terms, proper investment in an Internet strategy is very important. It’s not just about having a slick-looking site. The site needs to have good, fresh content and provide a way for voters to connect with the campaign. And, it’s not just about having a site. Google Ads probably has better data on your voters than you do, and using it to target market to those voters is another way to connect and drive people to the site. Twitter and Facebook provide more aspects for interacting with voters.
An effective web strategy isn’t something to toy around with. It’s a necessity for a winning campaign.
By now you probably know that I’ve been recruited by Chairman Karen Floyd to help ramp up Internet outreach for the South Carolina Republican Party.
I told you in the past that its a lot of fun working with Senator DeMint, because as a former marketing guru, he really gets communication strategy and the impact of new technology in delivering a message and recruiting supporters. Karen Floyd is the same way. She understands messaging and how the Internet is being used to reshape everything we do. Even more important, like Senator DeMint, Karen knows that we have the right message to resonate with online activists. We just have to get that message in front of the right people and launch the tools to bring them into the fold.
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Yesterday I received an email from a friend needing advice on how to design a political homepage. My buddy does some create corporate work, but this will be the first time he’s designed a political site. In a nutshell, here’s what I told him:
Your homepage is like your mothership. Yeah, I know that’s weird, but you know me… I’m a pretty big nerd, so just bare with me for a few minutes.
Again, your homepage is like your mothership. It’s where your aliens live, it’s where they depart, and it’s where they return to experiment on abducted humans. The mothership is where the aliens coordinate their strategy and then leave to do enact their individual assigned tactics. They round up people and bring them back to the mothership.
It looks like this:
(Before you start yelling at me, yes, I know that the prime directive prohibits the USS Enterprise from abducting other species. I just wanted to show you that I could draw the USS Enterprise.)
That’s exactly what your political homepage should be like too.
You see, in today’s world of social networking, most activity happens away from the campaigns website on places like twitter, facebook, and youtube. Your mission is to use RSS feeds and other syndication methods to get your message from the website to each individual social network. But most importantly, you have to bring people back from those social networks to the website so that they can volunteer and donate.
It looks a bit like this:
Let’s take it to the next step, which is really a whole different topic. You have to make sure your alien spaceships can talk to each other too. You don’t want two ships trying to invade the same house, do you? They need to communicate. So when setting up your social networks, they need to talk to each other. YouTube videos should upload to Facebook and be promoted through Twitter. All tweets should update on Facebook. You get my point.
It’s a little messy, but it looks like this:
Speaking of messy, you don’t just bring humans back to your mothership for dinner. You experiment on them. Your homepage has to include a number of tools that allow you to analyze where your hits are coming from, what message is bringing them in, where people are spending the most time on your site, and most importantly, how to improve your operation.
As for the homepage design, make sure you have links to all your social networks and use the latest applications to not only promote those sites, but to bring the latest activities from those site to the homepage.
SC gubernatorial candidate Gresham Barrett does a good job with it. Check out his sidebar. You will see both a Twitter update and a Facebook widget. In the footer you will see links to all social networks.
Now you’re ready to build a great homepage and abduct a few human lab rats.
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There’s a good reason why your campaign’s Internet strategy isn’t working. Or shall I just say…why it’s sucking.
It’s because you are doing the same junk everyone else is doing.
I say all the time that the best part of the Internet is that we share. And I’m not just talking about how we share our lives through Facebook. I’m talking about how we share our jobs. We share what works. We share what fails. We share and share and share and through all that sharing, we get to finely tune strategies and tactics.
The problem is that when we all find something that works well, and we share it, everyone else starts doing it too. Then that really cool something becomes the norm and then it becomes boring. Then it just becomes sucky.
Need an example?
How about Twitter? Now, you know I’m the world’s biggest fan of Twitter when its done right. Unfortunately its hardly ever done right. It’s typically just some canned BS from a campaign operative.
God forbid that operative write something original or even let the candidate tweet for him or herself.
Or even more heinous, actually respond to the people trying to talk to the candidate.
I’ve got a crazy idea for you…one that might just blow your mind!
STOP DOING WHAT EVERYONE ELSE IS DOING!
That’s right, just stop. Like right now. Get wild and crazy. Step outside your comfort zone and do the unthinkable – think outside the box. Get creative. Do something that no one else is doing.
Sure, you might fail. Your second, third, and fourth attempt might fail too. But if you keep trying, eventually you’ll hit on something big and it will pay off.
Often in politics, as in life, the facts get in the way of a good story. Such is the case with the recent events surrounding Nikki Haley’s web site. The facts are usually boring, long and more importantly they don’t generally fit in to the caricatures some people try to advance of their opponents in this business.
This weekend I received some comments about our decision to remove Rep. Haley’s site from our company’s server. I felt the need to respond, but not for the reason you might think. First, hardly anyone who disagreed with my decision said anything to me. Unfortunately, the current political environment in South Carolina lends itself to discourse being lessened to anonymous blog comments about courtesy, honor and political courage by those who lack enough of any of the aforementioned qualities to stand by their comments in public. But artificial courage from behind a keyboard is a whole other matter in-and-of-itself. What drives me to respond, are the comments by many of those who were delighted by the decision to remove Rep. Haley’s site from our server. Many assume it was simply a well-played political maneuver to disrupt the gubernatorial announcement of an opposing candidate. They are incorrect.
Now, for the boring facts of the story. Rep. Haley contacted our firm about six months ago to have us design and launch a web site for her. We did so and she seemed to be very happy with the site. Then last Saturday May 9th, Rep. Haley politely e-mailed us saying that she wanted someone else to handle her site and asked that we transfer the work we’ve done. She said she needed it quickly. We said we’d be happy to transfer the files and did not even intend to bill her for the work to do so. We assumed based on the rumors, it was because she would be running for Governor but she did not directly say that was the case. This worked out fine for us because two months prior we signed a contract with Congressman Gresham Barrett to build his site for his gubernatorial campaign. Clearly, if Rep. Haley were running for Governor we could no longer help her with her site.
Rep. Haley did not give us any sort of deadline of when she needed the files, other then to say she needed it “quickly.” She also, did not want to tell us who would be doing her website, but wanted us to give her the information she would provide to this anonymous person transferring her site. The problem is that to access her web site and all of its files we have to give them access to our server. The same server that houses many of our other clients. Obviously we were not interested in giving access to our company web server to some web consultant she didn’t want to name. And I’m pretty confident that every one of our clients is would appreciate those kinds of decisions by us. So it took several days to put the content in a secure place on our server that was walled off from the rest of our sites. We sent Rep. Haley all of the information and content she needed on late Wednesday, three business days after she first asked. At the time we thought this was a sufficiently “quick” turnaround time. Not only did we do the transfer in a timely manor, we did all of this without asking for a single penny for the labor it took to move the content and create to a secure spot.
What did we get for trying to be helpful? On Thursday when Rep. Haley announces for Governor on the Internet, she did so with a link to her website that had not yet been removed from our server and still had our company name at the bottom of it with a link to our company site. She did all of this without so much as the courtesy of a call or e-mail to notify us. Obviously the appearance of our firm working for two separate candidates for the same office is not a flattering one. So I made the decision to take her site off of our company’s server. We left all of the files and other content for her site in a place where she could get them. However, I was not going to allow her to launch her campaign on a site with our name at the bottom of it on a server we were paying for.
In response to all of this her supporters quickly began to attack us on the blogs and through word of mouth. It was even claimed by her supporters that it was Congressman Barrett’s campaign that had requested I pull the site. That is completely untrue.
So today, after we had sent them everything they needed, and they still couldn’t figure out how to transfer the domain name to their new website… And they were telling folks that we “didn’t give them all the information.” What did we do? Someone with our company actually got on the phone with Justin Evans, a Haley staffer who is very polite, and another Haley supporter, and held a conference call with their server company and our server company to help them complete the transaction.
So if you’ve made it this far in the story you clearly have too much free time on your hands (as, obviously do I since I took the time to write it) but I hope you’ll get the point of it all. Which is you can’t quite believe the spin on the blogs… especially when the spin comes directly from rival operatives supporting their own candidate. Oh, and the facts actually do matter.
I’m very excited to announce the launch of my new Internet show ‘Livin’ Venti’ with one of my best friends, Clark Covington. Clark is a successful Internet entrepreneur who is making gobs of money doing very different things on the Internet. When the two of us get together our conversations always divert to our latest experiments. We thought it be helpful to you if we recorded one of these conversations every week to teach you about the latest trends in Internet business, marketing, and campaigns.
Maybe these chats will be exciting. Maybe they’ll bore you to tears. We just hope you can learn a little from what we are doing and improve your game a bit.
This week the RNC rolled out a new website for the nation’s Republicans at www.gop.com. Critics of the rollout have been harsh, attacking the sites design and messaging. Many say the banner looks too much like the flag of communist China. Some say the RNC is trying too hard to reach black voters.
I’ve never claimed to be the smartest guy in the room. Maybe the most intense or the most passionate, but never the smartest. In fact, I’m pretty sure I’m running out of brain cells. And I’m not the only one. Campaigns should be aware of this…and adapt immediately.
By now you probably know that I’ve been recruited by Chairman Karen Floyd to help ramp up Internet outreach for the South Carolina Republican Party.
