The Social Media Marketing Blog: Are Presidential Candidates Using Social Media Effectively?

Occasionally, I'm pleasantly surprised at some of the dividends that my blog pays. For example, at the end of last week, I was contacted by a staffer at BostonNOW, a new local paper that is edgy and is beginning to embrace social media, to see if I'd like to be interviewed as a social media expert, commenting on the use of social networks in the presidential race.

A note: I didn't use a partisan approach in the interview, nor do I intend to use this blog to discuss my political views; they are irrelevant in this forum. My goal is to assess what is being done and to what degree.

I also learned that my friend and new media colleague Doug Haslam was interviewed as well; he's got a nice entry on his blog summing up his point that candidates are not using social media to the fullest potential.

I made that point with the reporter as well, likening the candidates' treatment of MySpace, FaceBook, YouTube, etc. as media buys - they've simply ensured that they have a presence there. There's little to no conversation going on with their constituents.

In many ways, political candidates are very similar to corporations: they have a specific message that they want to push out. At rallies, stump speeches, debates and public appearances - even town hall meetings - they manage to spit out their talking points.

One of the most important points I made with the reporter was this: the candidate that learns to use social media to listen to the people is the candidate that will pull ahead. Social media works best when candidates - or companies - hear what's being said and put themselves in a place to respond accordingly. Even if they can't solve a problem or completely address a concern, the fact that they make their constituents/customers feel as if they've been heard is enough to create brand loyalty.

The other major point I made is that the presidential candidates are using social networks for a different purpose. Rather than to connect to their base, they are allowing the base to connect to each other. This is a pretty shrewd move when you think about it. Create the conditions for a social movement and you'll see a major shift begin to occur.

It's exciting to see this unfolding before us - and to wonder how much it will improve in the run-up to November of 2008. But we're far beyond where we were a short time ago in 2004.

Labels: New Media, social media, strategy

About Scott

For hi-res, click here

Ranked by Forbes as one of the top 10 influencers in social media, he has been called "an unstoppable force of nature," "the best corporate social media lead on the planet," and Alan Mulally, the CEO of Ford Motor Company, called him "a visionary."

At Ford, Scott heads up the social media function and holds the title Global Digital & Multimedia Communications Manager. He is a strategic advisor on all social media activities across the company, from blogger relations to marketing support, customer service to internal communications and more, as social media is being integrated into many facets of Ford business.

Prior to joining Ford, Scott served as Consigliere for crayon and spent a number of years with PJA Advertising + Marketing, a boutique BtoB agency specializing in health sciences & high tech.

In addition to his professional responsibilities, Scott is an active blogger and podcaster. He writes about the intersection of advertising, marketing and PR at The Social Media Marketing Blog and also writes The Baker Street Blog and cohosts I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere, two literary undertakings. Scott has been featured in hundreds of news and business publications in print and on the web, in nearly dozens of books, and on a variety of mainstream media, including NBC, NPR, CNN and The Wall Street Journal. Scott is a recognized thought leader in the social media industry and frequently speaks at industry events.

Scott received his Master's in Medical Science from Boston University's School of Medicine concurrently with his MBA from BU's Graduate School of Management. He lives in the greater Detroit area with his wife and two young sons, golfs all too infrequently, and has a hidden talent for voice over work.

Oh, and one last little-known fact: Scott coined the Oxford Dictionary of English-accepted term "tweetup."

You may download a headshot here, courtesy of Rosh Sillars; a PDF version of Scott's bio is here .

Books in which Scott or his work is featured:

The Social Media Strategist

Social Business by Design

Digital Strategies for Powerful Corporate Communications

Social Media Marketing for Dummies

Real-Time Marketing and PR: How to Instantly Engage Your Market, Connect with Customers, and Create Products that Grow Your Business Now

Engage: The Complete Guide for Brands and Businesses to Build, Cultivate, and Measure Success in the New Web

Empowered: Unleash Your Employees, Energize Your Customers, and Transform Your Business

Brains on Fire: Igniting Powerful, Sustainable, Word of Mouth Movements

Open Leadership: How Social Technology Can Transform the Way You Lead

MicroMarketing: Get Big Results by Thinking and Acting Small

Spend Shift: How the Post-Crisis Values Revolution Is Changing the Way We Buy, Sell and Live

Power Friending: Demystifying Social Media to Grow Your Business

The New Rules of Marketing & PR

by David Meerman Scott

Twitterville
by Shel Israel

Six Pixels of Separation
by Mitch Joel

Monkeys with Typewriters
by Jemima Gibbons

Read This First
by Ron Ploof

World Wide Rave
by David Meerman Scott

Get Seen
by Steve Garfield

Disclosures/Relationships

Scott is on the board of the Social Media Advertising Consortium

Scott has been named to the Advisory boards of Pivot, SavvyAuntie, Business Smart Tools, The Hive Awards,
Scott is a judge for the SAMMY Awards

Named one of iMedia's 25 Top Internet Marketing Leaders & Innovators

Humongo occasionally does web work for me and designed this site

No animals were harmed in the making of this blog.

Scott Monty Bio

Speaking Events

Scott speaks on social media at events, seminars and conferences around the world. His topic generally focuses on corporate use of social media, becoming an online spokesperson, and specifically on the progress that Ford has made in the recent past. If you're interested in booking Scott to speak at your event, please click here to submit a speaking request for Ford-related purposes or email me at speaking [AT] this site's URL (if you know what I mean) to send a general email request.. Scott's bio and headshot can be found in the "About Scott" tab above.

Who is Scott Monty?

Hi, I'm Scott. I'm the global head of social media for Ford Motor Company. This is my personal blog, where I share my perspectives on social media - the convergence of marketing, advertising and PR on the Web - for marketers, agencies, the enterprise and the individual. This blog contains my personal views. My bio is available here and my headshots can be found here.