How I Earned

One week ago, the United States elected Barack Obama in a landslide – thanks in part to his stellar online marketing campaign.  His web team ensured that he had a presence in every corner of the internet, especially the sites where his likely supporters lived, including Facebook, Twitter (@barackobama), Flickr, and more. They revamped the rules of political campaigning and essentially changed the game of how politicians market themselves online.

Regardless of your personal political beliefs, you first must realize that all politics is marketing – it involves marketing not only the individual politicians, but policy, ideas, concepts, and actions. What Barack Obama’s campaign staff did that was so groundbreaking was how they reached out to and then leveraged the support of the online community, and maintained a consistent positive message throughout. Here are several ways that you can adapt Barack Obama’s online marketing strategy to develop your business:

1. The Internet is a Conversation – One of the most important ways that the web has changed marketing is that it is no longer a one way street. Obama’s staff reached out to supporters on the websites that they already use, like Facebook and Youtube. They also encouraged user-generated content, allowing people to feel like they were participating in the campaign process instead of being manipulated.

What You Can Do: Participate on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, and any niche social networks that are relevant to your business – and interact like a human, not a brand. Leave comments on blog posts that mention your company and allow comments on your own blog.