The 2008 Campaign Legitimized Social Media for Communicators
On Thursday, I volunteered with PENCIL as Principal for A Day at Alain L. Locke Elementary School in Harlem, NY. I talked to the 3rd, 4th and 5th graders what I do on a daily basis as PR person specializing in social media, and explained to them how our president-elect set a precedent for how to use this medium effectively.
The Sarah Palin /Joe Biden debate generated one of the largest TV audiences in US election history. The two candidates may not have been Googling themselves for facts during the debate, but millions of people watching it were. The kids fully understood this. Are you privileged to actually know how smart and tuned-in these little guys are? I made sure my kids were clear that social media is here to stay, getting bigger by the day, and how important it is to get their skills fine tuned.
Michael Sebastion’s article, What the 2008 Campaign Taught Communicators
outlines what the 2008 presidential campaign teaches those of us in the field of communications. Michael outlines fifteen lessons:
- Social media is here to stay
- Tap into social networks
- Don’t sequester your executive
- Portray your female as tough in her own way – don’t adopt a masculine mystique
- Say no to the formal speech
- Don’t forget the power of a good story
- PowerPoint is mainstream
- Acknowledge the other side is right
- The teleprompter killed the stump speech star
- Blend litany and concrete detail in your speeches
- The person who tries something new wins
- The idea speech is alive and well
- Write for the sound bite
- Beware of high-flown rhetoric
- Your job security looks good
When talking about the Obama campaign’s social network, Sebastion acknowledged that at times, members of that network criticized the candidate over his various positions. Has anyone who’s up to something big ever not been criticized about their positions?
Geoff Livingston, a Washington, D.C. based PR pro said, “If you can’t control your local people or your retail chain… who might be communicating or blogging on social networks then give them the tools to communicate. Enable them with the brand, don’t control them.”
Whether you’re a sole proprietor or a law firm, the problem is that media change is extremely fast and most people, including lawyers, are not aware of how to use the tools. The strategies used in marketing and public relations less than 3-years ago, won’t give you the same if any, return on investment today.
Tags: Kara Smith, Karasma Media, Legal Marketing Tactics, Legal Marketing Trends, Public Relations, Social Media
September 14th, 2009 at 7:27 am
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