We often get questions from colleagues, business partners, and friends on proper use of social media, and most importantly how to engage. Both my Columbia podcast partner Tom Richardson and I remain bullish on the proper use of Twitter as a news curation and listening tool almost as much as a way to engage in online conversations. Always watch, always listen, and pick your spots. Pretty simple.
In many ways the ability to use Twitter as a way to create one on one conversations, even with a mass audience, is pretty profound. If you follow someone and they follow you back, you have the ability to speak directly to them. If you are a celebrity, an athlete, yes even a politician, the ability to follow, follow back and engage in a meaningful conversation to convey your message is sometimes forgotten.
Does it work? Ask Barack Obama. The former President’s use of social media, especially Twitter as it emerged as a platform, was key to his engagement especially with younger voters. The campaign, and his White House, mastered the use of social to speak directly to potential voters and supporters in a way any candidate ever did before. Industry insiders pointed out that Hillary Clinton did not effectively engage in the social space during her campaign, and well, we know how the sitting President has used social to tell his story directly to the American people daily.
With all that in mind we saw on Tuesday that the Biden-Harris campaign, in their quest to reach younger voters, had launched an online election push in the casual gaming space, giving players of Animal Crossing, New Horizons the ability to add Biden-Harris signs to their gameplay. The story is on The Verge, and can be read here. It talks about the use of the digital space by the campaign for virtual town halls and that this will be an added part of a strategy to reach undecided voters in a unique and fun way.
Great.
So, with that in mind, I took a quick look at Twitter to see how the Presidential candidate was using the platform. Would he be grabbing the ability to speak directly to people who may be following him…the ability for a one on one conversation that President Obama played out so well?
The answer so far. Barack Obama has an engaged audience of 122 million and follows 601,000 who he can engage directly with for everything from birthdays to campaign messages. Joe Biden has a growing following of 9 million…but follows 28.
28 people. Total.
Now I’m not here to question strategy. President Trump only follows 50 people but he already had used Twitter with his outward regular flow of messages to engage people far and wide. He talks to everyone directly. Joe Biden as the challenger, could reach so many more by that direct engagement his former running mate did so well.
There are certainly other ways for the campaign to engage, and the strategy I’m sure is robust…but 29? There is so much listening that can go on…so much direct engagement that can happen…so much of a wow factor that can play out by just increasing the flow, retweeting…and using Direct Messaging. Maybe it’s not the Candidate’s style…it has to be authentic and engaged…but 28 people?
Seems like something is being left on the table.
So, in the bigger picture always good to recap a little Twitter Tip…
Pick a wide range of followers and work to share and grow your follow backs authentically. That creates the ability to have a respectful and direct conversation with each one of those people. Keep your lists vibrant and engaged, and use those lists as listening tools for interests big and small.
Hey, Animal Crossings, New Horizons is a fun and buzzworthy step for the campaign…maybe tweeting about it would also help.
It’s a great tool used well, just ask the last two inhabitants of the Oval Office.
