Post written by guest author Megan O’Neill

Barack Obama’s victory last night is not only historical because he is the first African-American to win a US Presidential election nor because it signaled one of the largest voter turnouts in election history. Obama’s victory is also historical because his campaign is one of the most effective presidential campaigns ever. This can be largely attributed to the fact that Obama and his staff understood how to use social media tools to carry out his message of change and connect with the voters online on a personal basis, updating them regularly regarding his every thought and move.

In the past, presidential candidates have relied on broadcast advertising, rallies and debates to get out their message. However, with the growth of technology and emergence of Web 2.0, these traditional methods of campaigning have become less and less effective with voters. People are turning more to the internet and social media sites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube for their information. Obama took advantage of these tools to meet voters in the sites where they are already spending their time.

As Denise Shiffman points out:

“Political commentators believe Barack Obama is more popular with web surfers because his followers are younger, and young people are more likely to use blogs, social networks and other new media. That may be true, but it’s far from the only reason he’s faring well. Obama’s campaign is immersed in his audience’s experience. He meets his audience where they already go on the web, and his message of “change” is packaged in a clear and consistent manner, much like the best consumer products.”

Obama’s campaign has focused on some of the most popular social networks. On Facebook, Obama holds a fan page with over of 2.5 million fans, an endless number of groups with hundreds of thousands of supporters and a slew of applications, including the Obama application developed by Obama for America that allows supporters to share inspiring Obama quotes, videos and speeches.

On Twitter, Obama let over 118,000 followers know exactly where he was through every step of the campaign trail, complete with links to live video streams of all of his public appearances. Obama’s feed was updated multiple times a day in the first person and, as a result, Twitter users felt a strong connection with him—Obama was their Twitter buddy.

Additionally, tons of Obama supporters helped him spread his message by posting creative and fun viral videos to YouTube including ObamaGirl’s “I Got a Crush on Obama” with over 10 million views, “Yes We Can”, a video collage inspired by Obama and created by will.i.am from the Black Eyed Peas with over 11 million views, and a BarakObamadotcom YouTube channel with over 120,000 subscribers and over 1,800 videos.

Obama also has a social network of his own—my.BarakObama.com, where supporters can come together, build profiles, add friends, blog, make donations, find and host events and find information about voting registration and polls.

With his campaign activity in social networks, voters of all ages have said that Obama brought a new light and sense of excitement to the election process, compelling people to vote through innovative and unique methods. Any company can learn a great deal from Obama about how to use social media to create brand awareness and promote effectively. If social media could help Obama become president, think what it can do for you and your company.

Thanks to Travis Hellstrom for the pic.

Megan O’Neill has worked with a number of Internet and media related companies both in the United States and in Israel in design, content and marketing positions. She currently works at Blonde 2.0 as a Social Media Marketing Manager.

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 6th, 2008 at 12:23 pm and is filed under News, Social Media. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.