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Latest Updates: WOM in Politics RSS

  • The Republican Candidates by the (Twitter) Numbers

    Pat McCarthy 11:39 am on January 18, 2012 | 0 Comments Permalink | Post Your Comment!
    Tags: , , WOM in Politics

    Dan Zarrella analyzed the Twitter accounts for the leading Republican candidates. I found it interesting how they differed. Influence in politics is critical to distributing a message in a highly competitive market. Because of this, retweets and replies are key to each candidate.

    For instance, Ron Paul gets the most retweets per follower.

    retweets-per-follower

    Perhaps this is because he puts links in over 75% of his tweets.

    repub-link-percentage

    Twitter data may prove to be a very helpful indicator of a candidate’s success. We’ll need to roll through a few more elections to truly understand the impact of tweets on votes. But in the end, candidates are brands in themselves. A solid Twitter strategy could swing a close race.

    See the full infographic at HubSpot

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  • Twitter Dominates Occupy Wall Street Buzz

    Pat McCarthy 10:08 am on October 14, 2011 | 0 Comments Permalink | Post Your Comment!
    Tags: , , , WOM in Politics

    Attention USA got curious about the online buzz from Occupy Wall Street and set about measuring it. Their findings showed that the online conversation was heavily dominated by Twitter (82.5%), with blogs placing a distant second (12.6%).

    mentions-300x217

    And the Twitter buzz-volume grew as such:

    twbuzz-300x219

    The first major spike, coming on Oct. 1, was driven by mass arrests on the Brooklyn Bridge.

    Political movements rely heavily on word of mouth, so it’s no surprise that Occupy Wall Street, much like the Arab Spring, generated so much chatter. And Twitter appears to be the political movement platform of choice.

    Read more about the Occupy Wall Street buzz at Attention USA

    ———-

    Attention USA will present a case study at WOMMA Summit 2011 with Mattel about their campaign that reunited Barbie and Ken. Read the Session Description

    Attention USA is a WOMMA member.

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  • Facebook Adds Zip Code Targeting

    Pat McCarthy 10:10 am on August 12, 2011 | 0 Comments Permalink | Post Your Comment!
    Tags: , , , , WOM in Politics

    Known for its hyper-targeting capabilities, Facebook upped the ante by introducing zip code targeting this week. This serves as a big win for small businesses and political campaigns.

    Here’s how:

    For Small Businesses – This might be the tool that was needed by local brick and mortars to make Facebook ads worth it, especially in high density markets like New York, Chicago and San Francisco.

    For Political Campaigns – Local- and state-level politicians who have limited campaign budgets may now see Facebook ads as viable and, in fact, very effective. Simple calls to action will be amplified by their relevancy to the user.

    Read more about zip code targeting at ClickZ

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  • Expert Interview: Developing a Compliant Social Media Policy

    Pat McCarthy 8:28 am on April 20, 2011 | 1 Comments Permalink | Post Your Comment!
    Tags: , , , , WOM in Politics

    tony-diresta-blog-photo

    Tony DiResta is WOMMA’s General Counsel and a Partner at Winston & Strawn, LLP. He will present “Developing a Compliant Social Media Policy” at School of WOM, May 9-11, with James Dudukovich, Marketing Counsel for The Coca-Cola Company.

    Tony blogs about word of mouth ethics and regulation for WOMMA at DiResta-the-Law.

    What do legal departments need to consider when crafting a compliant social policy that still leaves enough room for marketers and community managers to still be creative?

    It seems to me that a company or brand’s social media policy has to really reflect the culture and soul of the organization. So the way it’s put together; the stakeholders at the table; the way it’s implemented throughout the organization; the way it’s monitored to be sure its speakers comply with its guidelines; all of these cultural factors are very important because that soul of the organization needs to come through in the social media policy. It isn’t a legal document. It isn’t a compliance document. It’s one that requires the input of many stakeholders that reflects the core cultural values of the organization.

    Having said that, there are also some core ingredients that are needed in any social media policy for it to be compliant. First of all, if there is a sponsored communication involved, there are required disclosures under the FTC Guides. The social media policy needs to be very clear as to what type of disclosures are needed in what circumstances and on what platforms. In addition, the core substance of a social media policy has to reflect the company’s commitments to transparency, accuracy, honesty, and respect in all of their communications either by their employees or by third parties such as bloggers or agencies.

    It’s very important that those four core ingredients are identified in the contents of the social media policy. So in short, a social media policy has to reflect both the culture of an organization and the core content needed to comply with the FTC Guides.

    Over the last year, what is the greatest change you have seen in the social media/WOM ethics realm?

    I think there are two major issues that are being presented right now in the WOM space. The first is privacy. This is on the front burner. Earlier this month, the FTC’s announcement of its action against Google really tees this up. That is something that is going to be on the minds of everybody in the WOM or social media space. The question is how we appropriately respect the privacy of our customers and how do we be appropriately transparent in letting them know what we’re going to do with their personal identifiable information.

    The second issue is the evolution of the FTC Guides. Social media policies are a dynamic process. Just because they were drafted after the FTC Guides came out, that doesn’t mean it’s the end of the story. The FTC would ask not only if you have an appropriate social media policy in place, but also if it has been appropriately and effectively implemented. So that requires training, education of employees and third parties. It requires monitoring and auditing of blogs and communications to be sure the social media policy has been honored.

    It’s a very dynamic process. The company can’t just draft a policy and place it on the website, intranet or somebody’s bookshelf. It’s important that the company see this as an ongoing process that requires refinement by all stakeholders, not just the legal or marketing team. Everyone from senior executives to customer service need to be involved in that evolution.

    What does the FTC’s recent ruling that requires Google to implement a comprehensive privacy program mean for other companies?

    I think that this is the first announcement from the FTC that requires a company to bake privacy into the business practices of the company. The bottom line is that every company and brand that is going to receive any sensitive or personal identifiable information from consumers has got to adopt a framework of a program similar to what the FTC is asking Google to do.

    You’ve got not only the FTC, but you have other governmental agencies like the Department of Commerce involved in this conversation. You also have the legislative interest. Up on Capitol Hill and in state legislatures, there are conversations about what needs to be done with respect to consumer privacy in this digital age. Then you also have the plaintiff class action attorneys who are going to see a ripe area for lawsuits because customers are going to be really unhappy if they find that companies are using their information in a way that they thought that they wouldn’t be doing. Also, from a PR perspective, you can have all this risk management and legal clouds in the sky, but you better believe that there can be a data breach. Or somewhere there is a group of complaints like at Google where customers were concerned with what they thought was going on with their Gmail accounts. That creates negative publicity.

    Negative publicity about consumer privacy is going to affect the brand whether it’s financial, health or other sensitive information. That’s a huge issue for companies. So it’s not only good risk management, it’s also good prudent business policy to adopt a comprehensive privacy program that incorporates some of the elements of the FTC requirements for Google.

    WOMMA is working on, through its legal affairs committee and privacy subcommittee, a template on guidance or best practices that we hope to announce shortly that will identify those principles that companies need to adhere to be sure they are moving in the right direction in designing their privacy policy.

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  • Reality Check: Facebook Doesn’t Win Elections

    Pat McCarthy 9:04 am on April 4, 2011 | 2 Comments Permalink | Post Your Comment!
    Tags: WOM in Politics

    North American politics dove right into social media once it became clear that a direct line to your greatest supporters can drive enthusiasm at the polls. However, expectations shouldn’t be inflated. For example, the conservative Tories in Canada ran a negative TV ad during the 2007 election which was seen by over 700,000. The same ad has been on YouTube ever since, netting just over 20,000 views.

    Community engagement in politics is critical. But mass market message recognition is also critical, and sometimes a solid YouTube video just can’t live up to that need.

    Key Takeaway: Like the private sector, social media has its place in the communication arsenal. But don’t expect a silver bullet.

    Read more at The National Post

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  • Getting Personal with Millions

    Pat McCarthy 10:00 am on May 19, 2010 | 0 Comments Permalink | Post Your Comment!
    Tags: , , WOM in Politics

    The recent British elections have once again brought up the debate about WOM, politics and how one person could possibly have a conversation with millions. The traditional media folks argue that WOM and social media works for raising money, which is then funneled into print, broadcast and outdoor media spending.

    But Tom Messett of 1000heads argues that not only is the fundraising part true, but you can’t discount the value WOM and social media adds to a political stance. Certainly one candidate can’t have a conversation with millions, but they can start a conversation that extends to millions.

    Read the full post at the 1000heads blog

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  • Making the Census Cool

    Pat McCarthy 9:17 am on April 5, 2010 | 0 Comments Permalink | Post Your Comment!
    Tags: WOM in Politics

    census

    How do you make something as bland as the Census cool? You make it about more than civic responsibility. Data, as a rule of thumb, isn’t a great conversation starter. History, however, is. The Census grasped onto this and developed an app that holds a lot of historical details about every corner of America. This shows users how the Census mapped the development of our country. It also is engaging, visually stimulating, and sharable. They gave people a new topic of conversation that leads them to the end goal. Its effectiveness is hard to determine currently, but many companies that feel they are too boring for WOM can clearly use the idea.

    Read more about the Census’ WOM marketing at Inside Facebook

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  • Crowdsourcing Patriotism

    Pat McCarthy 10:15 am on March 31, 2010 | 0 Comments Permalink | Post Your Comment!
    Tags: , WOM in Politics

    aussie

    Australia’s tourism industry draws a cool $89 billion into the island nation every year. Previous innovative attempts to promote their country have failed. Some of you might remember the “So where the bloody hell are you?” campaign that got banned on UK and Canadian TV. Now Tourism Australia is encouraging citizens to submit photos and descriptions of their favorite Aussie spots. Instead of relying on a 30 second ad that must contain applicable and accepted content worldwide, they are now relying on their most enthusiastic citizens. This is a great step for crowdsourcing. After a bad experience with a risqué ad, Tourism Australia naturally needed a more reliable method. Crowdsourcing to the rescue.

    Read more about the campaign at The Australian

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  • Watcha Gonna do when they Facebook You?

    Pat McCarthy 11:24 am on February 5, 2010 | 0 Comments Permalink | Post Your Comment!
    Tags: WOM in Politics

    Police departments have dabbled in social media, but few have fully embraced it. Many attribute this to the inevitable problems associated with releasing too much information, thereby lessening their authority. But there are a few options out there that can help police departments keep communities safe. Despite what the title of this article suggests, Facebook is not one of them. Twitter can help a police department connect with the community and hear their concerns in real time. Delicious and StumbledUpon can become great tools to aggregate articles about personal and home safety. Social media may seem out of the bounds of a police force’s responsibility, but it can increase their effectiveness and connection with the community.
    Read more about how police can use SM at The Crime Map

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  • Snow Shoveling WOM

    Pat McCarthy 9:56 am on January 7, 2010 | 1 Comments Permalink | Post Your Comment!
    Tags: , WOM in Politics

    Anyone who lives in a snowy climate knows the pains of shoveling a walk and driveway especially when it isn’t yours. When Newark, NJ, Mayor Cory Booker saw that one the people he follows on Twitter, radio host Ravie Rave, tweeted about his snowed in 65-year-old father, Booker tweeted back “Please @BigSixxRaven don’t worry bout ur dad. Just talked 2 him & I’ll get 2 his Driveway by noon. I’ve got salt, shovels & great volunteers.” I’m not suggesting the marketing industry pick up their shovels. But the brand Booker is building with actions like these leave an imprint on his constituents. Unexpected customer service and heart warming image building is what made this million dollar publicity.
    Read more and see the video at 360i’s blog

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