5:22PM November 14 2008
How Barack Obama used social media to become US President
Well done Barack Obama for becoming the next US President, in what has been dubbed the first YouTube election. I think it’s interesting how this year’s campaign focused on social media, moving away from traditional forms of marketing, such as poster advertising which was hardly to be seen. For example, the ‘I’ve got a Crush on Obama’ video on YouTube was the beginning of Obamas’ success which lead to a wave of support from the younger generation of Americans.
Obama also cleverly instigated an integrated campaign online, focusing on all ages and classes with a simple, consistent message, driving users to his website but adapting the content depending on the platform used so it was more relevant. Obama had a presence on Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Flickr, Digg, Twitter, Eventful, LinkedIN, Black Planet, Faithbase, Eons, Glee, Mcgente, Mybatanga, Asian Ave and DNC Party Builder..what a list! This lead to an increase of 173% of unique video viewers on Obama’s website between July and August, compared to 5% of viewers on McCain’s website. I think this clearly shows the importance of having a strong online presence and utilising social media across all platforms, not just Facebook. With 75% of US voters searching for information online, it will be interesting to see how the UK candidates respond to this next year. Check out Obama’s site www.barrackobama.com.
