Thanks to everyone who checked out and Dugg/Stumbled our first entry on the Presidential primaries.

This is the second half of our political series, focusing on what the Democratic candidates are doing from a word of mouth and social media standpoint. Enjoy!

Barack Obama

Over the past year, Obama and his faithful supporters have really been able to tap into a number of emerging mediums. His camp has been successful in merging these newer technologies and social tools with traditional efforts to effectively spread his message.

Take for example, his foray into the mobile scene. His supporters have the option receive Obama updates and news on their mobile phones by texting keywords to a five-digit number. If they’d like general information, they text “GO”. Or, if they’d like topic specific news, they can simply text “IRAQ” or “HEALTH” to the same number. The information is topical, and can easily be forwarded to friends.

And Barack is Twittering too. For those of you unfamiliar with Twitter, it’s a social networking tool that allows members share one or two sentence updates about what they’re doing at that moment, via a text message, instant message or email.

Every few days, the Obama Twitter page will update with a message that reads something like:

Using this tool, Barack has been able to update and provide news to his Twitter followers with a few keystrokes and a click of a mouse. It’s a nice way to stay in touch.

Hillary Clinton

Clinton, no stranger to what it takes to win the popular vote, has combined the support of her passionate followers with several offline and online word of mouth tactics.

In a move aimed at lessening the need for traditional volunteer centers, Clinton has incorporated a call service into her own website, where supporters sign in to receive names and phone number of potential voters from across the nation. They are asked to follow a set script, and are then prompted to report back on the results of the call.

It’s a very smart move for Clinton as it cuts back on the reliance of traditional brick-and-mortar call centers, and simplifies the process of reaching out to these potential voters. Imagine pulling up these phone numbers on your iPhone and making calls while stuck in traffic. It’s a great way to empower her advocates, and is sure to be mimicked in election years to come.

Like a number of her competitors, Hillary has also built a “Find/Plan an Event” feature into her site. This tool lets volunteers agree to host a Hillary themed party at their own homes or an outside location, and provide details on locations and timing. People search for ‘parties’ in their area and sign up to attend.

These get-togethers focus on raising additional campaign contributions, watching Democratic debates, or simply discussing the nation’s issues. Not only do they provide a perfect way to connect face-to-face with like-minded voters, but they also serve as a means of generating buzz around her grassroots following.

Bill Richardson

Governor of New Mexico, Bill Richardson, has incorporated a number of word of mouth tactics into his overall strategic approach, with the hopes of gaining ground on the leading Democratic candidates.

In a program intended to draw support from the Latino demographic, the Richardson camp has created what is known as Mi Familia Con Bill Richardson. This nationwide initiative produces a network of families to serve as his ambassadors. They are given the tasks of connecting with and recruiting other local families, as well as performing basic volunteer activities (collecting voter information, hosting debate parties, etc.)

Richardson has also tapped into the user-generated video model through his website. In a section of his site, called “Ask Bill”, visitors can submit text, audio or video questions for the governor to respond to. Each week, one question is selected, and Richardson replies via a YouTube video.

Once again, we want to hear what you think about how the election is shaping up from a WOM and social media perspective. Who’s doing it right? What tactics are most influential on election day? And who’s gonna win????

Thanks for reading. Digg, Stumble and de.licio.us it.

Thanks, Stumblers!

With the Presidential primaries in full force, I wanted to take a couple of entries to discuss what candidates from both sides of the fence are doing from a word of mouth perspective.

This is not an endorsement for any particular candidate or party; just an opportunity to chat about how WOM and social media, in particular, are playing a role in shaping this upcoming election. I’ll start it off with the GOP.

Rudy Giuliani

The former mayor of NYC recently leaped head first into the Web 2.0 scene with a new social network built into his official website, called “Team Rudy”. The social network has all of the basic features of its predecessors (full profiles, messaging center, etc.), but with a clever twist that makes it all the more noticeable.

“Team Rudy” includes an open ambassador and incentive program in which visitors can join and earn points by completing simple campaigning tasks (i.e. calling into radio talk shows, writing letters to newspaper editors). Your “Rudy Points” define your position on the site’s leader board, and can be used to purchase items in the Rudy store.

The social network has also incorporated a widely popular Google maps feature into the site, giving members the ability to post comments that appear over their location in the nation. It’s a clever way to unite the members of his “Team”, while giving his camp a good outlook of the geographic make-up of his supporters.

Mike Huckabee

Much of Mike Huckabee’s online success can be wrapped up in two words: Chuck Norris.

In arguably the most successful viral marketing campaign this primary season, the former governor of Arkansas appeared in a wildly popular YouTube video with Walker: Texas Ranger himself. Both Norris and Huckabee used the one-minute clip to make light of each other’s popular personas, and, in turn, created what a viral video should be - hilarious.

With an opening line like “My plan to secure the border: Chuck Norris,” there’s no way that this video could have failed. Since its launch, the video has received over 800,00 views, 4,500 comments and coverage by every major news network in the country. It spiked awareness for the Huckabee name, and certainly increased his appeal/credibility among a younger voter base.

Aside from the Norris video, the Huckabee camp has incorporated a constantly updated blog into its official site. And when I say constantly updated, I mean constantly updated (on December 6^th, the blog was updated 10 times throughout the day.)

With rapidly changing voter opinion and breaking news stories throughout the day, a regularly monitored and up to date blog is crucial. Additionally, running next to each entry is a Digg counter and an “Add This” button (which I’m 1000% in love with).

Ron Paul

Ron Paul, while still trailing comfortably behind the leading candidates, has made major headway within the past few months, thanks to a substantial group of web loyalists who have used both social networks and bookmarking sites to spread his message.

Currently, the Texas Congressman has over 51,00 Facebook groupies; 94,000+ MySpace friends; and an astounding 6,315,916 YouTube channel views. Not a day passes when Paul doesn’t make the front page of Digg, and he’s obtained more Meetup.com members than Clinton, Obama, Huckabee and Giuliani combined.

The Paul camp has primarily relied on the grassroots efforts of these passionate Internet followers to create buzz around his campaign and launch major fundraising initiatives.

These Paulites have been responsible for several “money bombs”, in which they’ve driven Paul’s supporters to contribute substantial donations in a 24-hour time period. The first major bomb struck on November 5^th when 37,000 supporters broke a record for online campaign fundraising by donating $4.2 million in a one day.

And, in their latest WOM endeavor, Paul’s most loyal fans are close to launching the Ron Paul Blimp - a full-sized advertisement that would fly up and down the east coast over the next month. Lead and sponsored solely by his supporters, this PR stunt drives users to “Google Ron Paul” - a slogan that has come to define his Internet/WOM movement.

Talk to us

We want to know what you think about how word of mouth and social media are shaping this year’s primary. Who’s leading the pack? Which camps are doing it right? Post some comments to our comment section.

In the next couple of days, I’ll be blogging it out about how the Dems have been using WOM and social media to draw attention to their campaigns. Keep checking back for a fair and balanced view of this primary season.