There is a lot of talk recently in the Republican circles about adding social networking and a stronger Internet presence to their arsenal. Everyone knows after what happened this past year they need it. While I am still a little skeptical they are going to do what it takes to not only catch, but to get ahead of where the Obama machine is, there is at least hope. The good news as I see it is they are willing to get David All involved in the process which is good news for us techno geeks. As long as All is given the tools he needs I think the Republicans will at very least make great strides.
But I don’t want to talk about what they should be doing on the national level. David All and his buddies are taking care of that. I want to talk more grass roots and what they should be doing on a state level that would benefit everyone. If a plan like this was implemented on a local level it would allow Republicans to exceed even more than they can by implementing a national plan. So who am I to talk about this? Just another conservative techno geek. I am not going to go into all my credentials, but those who have worked with me know I have managed state-wide, congressional and numerous state senate races as well as working on presidential campaigns. I also have been involved heavily in social networking over the last year and using social networking and blogs to build a real estate business. I have also worked as a professional blogger in more than one state over the last few years.
So what would I do if I was a state chairman for a year to build an Internet and social networking presence? First thing I would do is hire a full-time tech person who would replace some of the duties of a field representative and some duties of a press secretary. I know, spending money, makes Republican chairmen get all squeamish. But sometimes you need to invest to get an even larger return. If needed I would replace a field representative with the technical organizer. Anyone who knows the value I put in field workers (great) should take note that I would cut that position for this new position. Times are changing.
So what would this new technology organizer (TO for here on) do? They would basically be both an Internet press secretary and a field representative in one. Their first duty after the basics of setting up a Facebook, Twitter and YouTube accounts would be to develop a good blog for the state party. Yes there are dozens of political blogs in each state, but why rely on someone else to control your message. Use them to help spread your message. The TO would be responsible for writing a blog post each day to be approved by the executive director. There are dozens of posts penned each day by bloggers so there is plenty of material. Then the TO would pimp that post to each of the conservative leaning blogs to make sure they are covering it too. There is no more cost effective way of spreading your message to each corner than this. The TO would also be required to post comments on the other blogs under the TOs name so they are interacting with the communities. This constant blogging can greatly help drive the party’s message. Also it will ensure the party has a message each day.
The TO would also be responsible for building a strong Twitter following and Facebook following in their state. This is instant contact with thousands of activists and a constant communications with a community which will lead to a lot more later. But first how to build that network. Sure there is the method of just following everyone who you know is a conservative or a Republican and hope they follow you back. And that is a good way to get going in the first week, but after that I would mix more traditional grassroots activities with the new technologies. First as Chairman I would call all current Congressman, Senators, State Reps, State Senators, Mayors, City Council members etc. and ask for a meeting with them. I would ask each of them for an email list for all their supporters and volunteers. Do they have to help? No of course not. Do they need to help if they want help in the future from this new powerful resource? It’s politics, if you want help I expect help in return. After all those e-mail addresses were obtained I would do the same for each former elected official and failed candidate.
For the next month the TO and I would be on the road meeting with a different group each afternoon and night. I am inviting not only my new friends on Twitter and Facebook, but I am inviting every one of those new e-mails I have. We are going to sit down and discuss our plans, encourage everyone to connect to us and become a full participant in the plan. This getting to know each other in person would lead to a much better community building effort online with my new TO and new plugged in activists. It is now the TOs job to stay in constant contact with these groups we have built online. Community is everything online, your followers need to know you care. As someone a whole lot smarter than me once said, they don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. And you should, these people are your lifeline to success in the future.
John Smith from Pecksville is a lot more likely to take a few weekends of his time to knock on doors or make calls if he has a personal connection with you. I used to tell field representatives that by the time the last month or two of the election came I did not care how much your volunteers and town chairman liked the candidate. As long as they had developed a true friendship with you, they would do anything you asked them to do out of loyalty for you. This is the same way, the TO should should know his community and they should know him so well they will do anything to help. Should the TO be building false friendships online? No, if they need to do that we hired the wrong TO.
These new tools make it a lot easier to build those relationships. It used to be the field representative had to spend 15 minutes a week on the phone with each town chairman and visit them at least once a month. Now those times are greatly reduced and you can get even better results. A TO is a field rep in a way, and so much more.
Is this a detailed plan of what I would do, of course not, but it is a good outline. There is a lot more to building a community than just meeting people and saying let’s connect. The work is in really building those connections. Obama did some of this stuff better than anyone had done so before. But he did not do a great job with it. He could have done a lot more. We can do a lot more. There is a cost in the beginning, but that can easily be recouped. Remember all those $10 donations Obama was famous for? How do you think he got those. Community! Build that community, give them something they can believe in and engage in and they will be there for you when you need it. But if you half-ass it, so will they.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Sure, relationships create obligation, but the Republican party needs to return to their foundational principles and not continue to try to be the Democrat-lite option.
How about creating the message before the means?
Geoff, I agree. One of the things I did mention is a daily blog post would force Republicans to have to have a message. I think that is part of the battle, the other part of course is having a good message.
I would love to see this position carried out. Our message must be heard loud and clear and must be carried out in cost effective ways that will reach out to larger groups of people. Not taking advantage of these available tools should not be an option.
Nick, this post is from a year ago, and what is happening may be worse than what was happening. now the are all doing it, well they THINK they are doing it, but really not committing to it and as we know when you do something only half way, you only get a quarter of the result you should