Successful political campaigns must have a strategy that includes social media and database marketing. As voters shift to digitalization to increase social contact, candidates have to adopt new and important platforms, notably the Internet. For Obama, mounting an aggressive online marketing campaign earned him a win in both the 2008 and 2012 elections.
Obama’s Presidential Campaign Strategy
Months before his presidential elections, Barrack Obama faced many challenges. Seen as an underdog and a black American, Obama and David Axelrod set strategies to bring down racial prejudice against minorities (EZ Texting, 2020). They chose a target that was appropriate for the Obama brand. The team went after the youthful population that always felt sidelined from the leadership of America by previous administrations. The target audience was morally minded and well-educated users of social media who were very ready for change (Cleanthous, 2011). Therefore, the main aim of Obama’s strategy was to attract and recruit as many members as possible to create a political movement.
The campaign team then hired one of the founder members of Facebook – Chris Hughes – to help develop a social networking strategy. According to Cleanthous (2011), social media enabled Obama to raise $ 5.1 million from donors to aid him in his campaigns. Through twitter and other social networking platforms, he was able to recruit more than 5 million supporters. The campaign utilized the three phases of value creation in marketing: choosing, providing, and communicating the core message through the Internet and other communication tools (Kotler & Keller, 2009). Obama could converse with people and rally the troops around his main aim. At last, this strategy attracted several volunteers in his campaign.
In the 2012 presidential elections, President Obama applied the same strategy against Governor Romney, and this time it became an increasingly favorable platform option and even more widespread. Each candidate used the social media differently to campaign. Obama employed nine different platforms while his opponent went for five (Quelch, 2008). Social media was the strategic tool critical to the success of President Obama’s reelection.
Influence of Obama’s Presidential Campaign Strategy in the 2016 Presidential Elections
The role of Obama’s campaign strategy in the 2016 presidential elections can be gauged. According to Quelch (2008), most adults received information about the presidential election through social media. Other voters got campaign messages from posts made on similar platforms by Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.
Both candidates had millions of twitter and Facebook followers. Through this strategy, the followers and donors of Trump and Hillary were able to raise millions of dollars to aid in the Democratic Party and Republican Party campaigns. Women also raised an unparalleled amount of money to support Hillary. Surveys, case studies, and content analyses that have been carried out reveal the impact of social media platforms on the electoral outcome and how they influenced people’s opinions and perceptions (EZ Texting, 2020). Therefore, the Internet has become a crucial part of campaigns in the USA that helps expand political support and membership. Through this approach, Trump emerged victorious over Hillary.
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Expectations in the 2020 Presidential Campaigns
Political marketing through social media in the USA has become integral to presidential elections. Therefore, it is obvious that party nominees will use social media in their campaigns for their voices to be heard. For a candidate to win they must recruit more supporters in the best way possible (EZ Texting, 2020). Professional communication and the use of images and videos will help deliver the message to the people through social media platforms.
Conclusion
For one to run a successful political campaign, social media must be the most prominent form of communication because it is an easy way of reaching and recruiting more supporters. Such platforms are also useful in mobilizing resources. Therefore, the lessons learned from the Obama campaigns will continue to shape political strategy in the future.
Reference List
Cleanthous, A. (2011). 10 lessons from Barrack Obama’s online marketing strategy. Web.
EZ Texting. (2020). What can political campaigns learn from Obama’s use of digital marketing? Web.
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Kotler, P., & Keller, K. L. (2009). A framework for marketing management. Pearson Prentice Hall.
Quelch, J. (2008). Marketing: How better marketing elected Barrack Obama. Web.