‘World of Mouth’ Campaigning
January 16, 2009
Q: What do you think about House Speaker Andy Dillon’s announcement for governor? Do you think he’s following Tiger’s model of hiding out in cyberspace?
A: It’s fascinating to watch how social networking services, a.k.a. social media, are quickly overtaking traditional media in terms of usage and influence. Dillon chose to use a two-minute video posted on a new website and YouTube and a written one-page statement to announce the formation of an exploratory committee. When you click on the written statement on his website, you hear the audio of the video announcement.
Before social media, politicians were expected to hold a news conference for an announcement of this sort and answer reporters’ questions. Those days are over. Politicians these days would rather engage citizens and voters directly via the Internet than have their words filtered and edited by the media.
His announcement was a three-legged stool, and two of those legs were Internet-based. The third leg — the written statement — had audio wrapped around it on the website. No one from his campaign did any news media interviews, and as a result it forced people to his website. As of January 12, the site had 70,000 hits. This approach ensured control of a consistent message. It did mean, however, that reporters had to go outside the campaign for comments.
Dillon announced two days after Lt. Governor John Cherry withdrew from the race. Cherry chose not to face questions either and announced his withdrawal in a statement to supporters by email. Like Dillon, he chose to go directly to the people via the Internet.
Eventually, Dillon and others in the race will have to face the public and the news media’s questions. But for now Dillon has chosen to engage supporters by inviting them to participate in the discussion by visiting his website. He recognizes the fact that social media make it easy for people to communicate, listen, interact and collaborate — essential elements of a successful campaign.
Bonnie J. Knutson, PhD, professor at the Broad College of Business at Michigan State University, stated in the January 2010 issue of The Greater Lansing Business Monthly that social media are changing the dynamics of communication more quickly and forcefully than any other technology since the printing press. We say that word of mouth — always the most powerful form of advertising — has taken on new meaning. In the lexicon of social media, it is now World of Mouth.
Paula Blanchard Stone and Patty McCarthy are partners in McCarthyBlanchard, an executive training firm specializing in key message development, presentation skills training, media interview training and executive presence. Copyright © 2008 McCarthy Blanchard. | Website
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