Political campaigning through media

Social Media is changing the way political campaigning has ever been used before. With Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign, we have seen that media has become a crucial tool for political campaigning.   When doing this it is important to keep a few things in mind:

1. Consistency is key– Don’t let this confuse you. Consistency does not mean make sure to always post the same thing every time you use an outlet. It means to make sure to post at the same frequency that you usually do. If you are tweeting, blogging, posting, you want to keep up with it on a regular basis. This way your readers are able to follow your work more easily and stay updated!

2. No Ghost Towns– It is really important to keep in mind when you are building media platforms to think carefully about which networks will actually be productive and useful. It does not make sense to create as many as possible if you are not going to be using all of them. It is better to not overextend yourself and drop it a few weeks after. Make sure to think long and hard about which networks you are going to choose because once you make one, you can’t just ditch.

3. Platforms all have a different language… learn the lingo– A common mistake that is made is people tend to post the same message across all social media handles. This is a big misunderstanding. All platforms have different reasons for why people use them. Being able to understand your audience is one of the most important elements when using social media. It is crucial to keep that in mind when making a post and make sure to connect with your followers in a way that they will understand.

4. Listen to your audience– Social media is a chance to connect with your voters, donors, and supporters on a one to one basis. By setting up listening strategies you can help keep yourself updated on what’s being said about you and how you can help participate in conversations to direct your campaign strategy in a more positive light.

5. Use social advertising to expand your reach– Social advertisements has been proven to make or break an election. You have to learn how to use them in your favor. It is a way of drawing in an audience when you want them to take action.

6. A picture is worth a thousand words– There are so many online tools, many of which are free that you can use to edit and create graphics that are appealing to your audience. Social media platforms have become very visually appealing and posts should call out attention to your campaign.

7. Keep learning– Just like most things, social media is always evolving. With that comes keeping up with the latest trends and practices. If you monitor campaigns that are successful via media you can see how and why theirs continue to do well.   That can help you stay updated on your own tactics and give insights on how to better your own. 

New social networks for journalists

Social networks can be useful to journalists to promote, explain and persuade the public.  There are various forms of new and old media that are continuously enhancing the way journalists gather and write information.  An older form of microblogging that journalists use is Twitter.  Twitter was founded in 2006, and is a great way for journalists to scale messages and measure where the information comes from and where it goes.

 

Twitter is also beneficial because it offers tweet lists, which show a list of people in a certain geographic area.  This makes the content trustworthy.   Another great feature of twitter is that tweets can be geo tagged.  This shows the location of where the tweet came from.

Another interesting tool that is advantageous to journalists is Talkwheel.  Talkwheel is a tool that keeps conversation flowing with minimal time commitment.  It allows its readers to interact across social media, websites and video sharing sites.  It is a circular form of social media that mimics a dinner table by making it easy to participate and share comments unlike other forms of social media like Facebook where chronological order plays a factor.  Journalists find Talkwheel to be useful because it is easy to navigate and focus on the text  as opposed to the physical set up.  The conversation wheel app has a left panel with topics, which are extremely beneficial for a busy journalist who wants to visualize what people are responding to.  If someone does not have the time to answer a question that another person has posted, a third person is able to jump into the conversation and answer which can be great for a journalist who does not always have the time to wait for an answer while working on multiple stories and having to make deadlines.

Another fascinating tool is SocialBro.  This is a great time saver and is a twitter analytic tool.  It is extremely simple which is probably a reason for its early success and likeability.  The main dashboard shows recent unfollowers, new followers and offers information that helps see why certain people do not follow you and vise versa.  It also allows us to see who is not really active on Twitter from the list of people that one follows.  SocialBro also offers a feature that gives you advice on the best time to tweet.  Knowing when most of your followers are online, journalists are able to track when they will get more retweets and replies.

A third compelling tool is called Storyful.  This is an IPhone app that allows one to get the most popular social media stories of the day when on the go.  Storyful editors assemble the largest news from credible sources for journalists to browse for story ideas or even to stay up to date with current events that are taking place.  The app also allows people to see what certain media users may be saying about trending topics.

Social media is transforming journalism.  One major reason is because ordinary people can get involved.  The Boston bombings is an example.  Bystanders and ordinary people such as marathon runners and spectators quickly became citizen journalists while taking videos and photos of the traumatic events.  Some of the most read headlines featured their shots because they were the first to witness what was occurring and were able to turn in their work sooner than professional journalists.  Thousands of people take photos and videos every day that can develop into a sourceable archive for the masses. 

For more information on types of social network for journalist, visit here.

Blogging for Dummies

What comes to mind when you hear the word “blog?” Someone once told me that those who blog are self-centered individuals who blog so that others can know who they are. Even though I started blogging last summer, I take no offense to that comment— Especially since I once thought the same.  However, I have fully entered the blogging community and see it as more of a place to have open discussion and a ways of expression between members of a community who are interested in a similar topic or question. 

Blogging is a place where everyone is welcome.  It is collaborative, customized and shared.  The most unique aspect of blogging is that you are able to locate it anywhere at anytime.  There are so many benefits of using a blog and I have become more than appreciative for this new media outlet. 

I first created my blog for professional use.  It is strictly a fashion blog that is a daily look book of outfit inspirations.  Because I want to continue along this professional track, I assumed that creating a blog would enhance my resume and demonstrate a set of skills that I could use in an internship or job.  It turned out to be extremely beneficial for my professional life because during the interviews that I have been having for summer internships, the interviewers want to discuss my website and ask me questions.  It also has helped me with interviewing because some of the skills I acquired from blogging were needed to answer some questions that were asked of me.  An example of this was a fashion marketing internship I applied for asked me if I had experience working with charts and being able to read statistical data and being able to understand and interpret the numbers and information.  I was able to reference my google analytics account that I use for my blog and how I am able to track all the information on my demographics.  I mentioned how statistics are not only a method to express numbers in different ways but could also be applied to other aspects of a company and its business.

My fashion blog has also become much better from the help of my readers.  Because there is a variety of features to a blog like “likes, comments and email”, there are so many ways that I am able to stay connected to my fans.  They are usually the ones who get my thoughts going and give me fresh ideas to write about.  I enjoy the comment system because then I am able to spin off other people’s ideas and amable to directly communicate with them via the blog.  Some of my most brilliant ideas spring from my readers.

However, blogging has become so much more to me than just a necessity.  I suppose at this point you could call it a hobby.  It is such a great outlet for stress, time management, and even organizational skills.  There are so many things that one could blog about.  Sometimes I feel that the hardest part about blogging is thinking of topics that you are motivated to constantly write about.

Blogging is a way of staying connected.  It is educational and enjoyable.  It is one of the most fascinating media outlets that the Internet has to offer.  It will constantly be evolving and adding better and newer technology and I hope to keep up with this communication strategy even after I complete my college studies.  I  aspire to continue to remain passionate about blogging!