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Communicate and spread YOUR ideas
I was asked a couple times, recently, for some suggestions on running a web political campaign (for political office). I thought I'd summarize these suggestions here, on this site.
Probably won't get implemented (for one, I had to send a Word doc, so probably not) , but maybe these can help someone running for office in the future.
(BTW, the "you" is the candidate.)
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The Web is about spreading ideas: Some people would say it's about creating a community. If you're Obama, then yeah, it's about community. But you're not Obama.
For you, it's about IDEAS. Your IDEAS. Communicate and sell and spread those IDEAS.
And it doesn't have to be expensive. But it's time consuming and YOU need to be involved (staff can help).
The Web is your network to communicate and spread your ideas using the tools at hand: your website, Google, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Flickr, uStream. Here are some suggestions on how to utilize this network:
Your Website: The depository for the archives of your campaign. Remember to think about Google Search.
Blog: Where you can write about your ideas. This isn't a press release. Reactions to current events, your ideas on improvements, thoughts on articles/editorials. Etc.
Twitter/Facebook: Twitter/Facebook for your "status" so people can follow you and learn more about your life. Also, Publish links/notes to your blog, important issues, editorials, etc. You need to reach out to as many relevant people as you can. (Use an autofollow service on Twitter.)
Twitter Search: Find people with similar interests. Also, track what people are saying about you, and respond when needed.
Flickr: Use Flickr as the photo archive for the campaign. Use it for all the website's photos and link back to Flickr whenever there's a photo on the site. Flickr is a great source of new, interesting contacts.
TV: Use the Web as the your TV network. Regular, short videos from the campaign. (Get a Flip camera.)
Live: Do regular live broadcasts, using uStream (campaign events or broadcast an interview with a reporter).
Donations: Just has to work easily for contributor. However it's important to be able to an "affiliate network" of sorts and track how/who the donations came from. Also be able access/import contributor info easily.
Campaign events: Use Google calendar and evite for public events.
Google Adwords: Make sure people can find you easily.
Mobile: I hate campaign text messages. Don't do it. Just use Twitter.
Track it all:
It's not about how much $ comes into the bank. It's about people. You need up-to-date information about the people you're reaching. Your followers in Twitter and your friends in Facebook. Use Google Analytics to track your visitors on your site. Read about the Obama Houdini project and use 37signals.com's Highrise and Basecamp for contact and project management. And get a daily report of it all.
Website staff: Get someone with CSS/xhtml ability. If they can do CSS, they can do everything else you need. Also, get someone that's handy with video editing.
