Technology Resolutions for the New Year

Keeping with tradition, I would like to set a few resolutions for Republicans in terms of technology. With 2010 being an important election year, these goals become even more critical. Below I have 3 simple resolutions which I hope your campaign will adopt.

1. Master at least one social media platform
I have talked about many different social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, etc.). Many campaigns have adopted social media, but I feel that a good number of those campaigns need to develop their strategy more. There are often two mistakes campaigns make: one inexcusable, the other slightly more understandable, but should still be remedied. First, the inexcusable mistake. Many feel that "if you build it, they will come." Social media does not work this way. You must engage and build a community. The second mistake is having someone on your staff post content. It is understandable that candidates are extremely busy people and sometimes they will not be able to directly engage everyone who responds to them. However, the most ideal situation is to have the candidate engage social media. Voters will appreciate it more and take more interest in the campaign if they know they are interacting with the candidate (after all, that is the point of social media). Both of these mistakes can be prevented by mastering at least one social media. Know how to use it, follow the changes in that platform, and engage users and build followers.

2. Keep website content fresh
This is a challenge for any organization with a website. Adding content can be time consuming and tedious. However, visitors to your website expect to see up-to-date information. I have even seen sites that advertise the candidate running for the wrong position when they used their old campaign site for a run at a new office. This will only frustrate and annoy voters. On the other hand, voters will revisit your site if they know new information will be there. The site becomes a resource and will get bookmarked. Big campaigns especially need to keep their sites fresh, but it is important for even local candidates. A great example of a local candidate with lots of fresh content is Ohio State Rep. Ron Amstutz, http://www.amstutz.org

3. Develop a comprehensive online strategy
Too many campaigns do not have a comprehensive strategy for the Internet. In my experience, campaigns approach new media in bits and pieces without looking at the big picture. They also do not sit down with their staff and draw up a plan. Technology still is treated like an afterthought. I strongly recommend developing a plan, and then revisiting the plan every now and then. Analyze your options, discuss pros and cons, and decide the best way to execute the plan.

I hope you take these three resolutions into consideration, and above all else...have a happy New Year!

The next post will be January 19th.

The Wayne County Young Republican Website

One of the many organizations I am part of is the Wayne County Young Republicans. WCYR was formed early in 2009 in response to the high level of Democratic youth votes in the county. My role is the Marketing Chairman which means my challenge is to find young Republicans in the county and get them to join a new organization. My first task was to put together a website and online strategy for the organization. We recently completed the first phase of the website at http://www.WayneCountyYRs.com and I wanted to share a few key elements of the website.

First, take a look at the home page. We have a large image that shows something the organization has done. Right off the bat, the organization looks active. Then, we have two columns on the top right: Events and the Twitter Feed. Visitors can keep up to date on what the organization is doing and are invited to follow the organization's events and Twitter feed. To further reinforce the concept of staying connected, just below that area is a form to sign up for the email newsletter and a cluster of links to all the WCYR's social media.

On the topic of social media, we can now look at the organizations strategy for social media. We have included a number of social media elements including YouTube, Flickr, Facebook, blogging, and Twitter. These are all possible points of contact with the community which mean possible points of recruitment. They also each serve a different function. Facebook events have been a great way for WCYR to organize and advertise events. Flickr will be the main repository for pictures of events. This will help show how active and involved members are in events. The blog helps focus on the ideals of the organization. I could go into much more detail on each element but the point is we are providing multiple ways for members to find us and interact with the organization.

Another important part of the site is the Committees link. This page has a list of all the current executive committee members and information about each. The idea was to try to break down the "stranger" factor with joining a new organization. If there was a young Republican who wanted to join, they could become familiar with some of the officers. Not only would they know what they look like from the pictures, but also certain information about the person. This makes the officers more relatable and approachable. Just think about how much easier it will be at the first meeting you attend to start up a conversation with Doug Deeken when you know he is the guy who is not only an engineer, but also is a stay at home dad in Doylestown who often calls into the Matt Patrick show to talk about issues Doug brings up on his YouTube channel.

There will be more to this site in the future. More connections to local campaigns, more information on events, both past and up-coming, and new features. The site is to the point where we can advertise it heavily and it provides a good resource to members. Hopefully, some of the ideas and tactics that went into building this site can be easily transferred to other political organizations.

The next post will be Nov. 24th

Republicans and New Media

About a month ago the Ohio Erie County GOP Chairman Mathew Old asked be to put together a document with my ideas on how Republicans can leverage new media. My hope is that this document can help campaigns begin to think about new media and ask important questions. Below is the link to the document and the summary.

Republicans and New Media (pdf)

Many will argue that "traditional" media has evolved over time. In many ways, it has. From the written word, to the radio, to the television it seems the dynamic of media is on a continuous and steady march. However, in the past few years there has been a fundamental revolution in media. It is the advent of the Internet. Traditional media is all one way communication; the advertiser has all the power, controlling the information while the public is at the mercy of billboards and commercials. The majority of the public does not have the resources to broadcast their thoughts and opinions to millions of people. With the arrival of the Internet, individuals have just as much power as the advertiser. They can write a post on a blog that will reach just as many people, if not more, than a TV ad. They can tweet and Facebook their friends about their positive or negative opinions. Many organizations fail to understand the multidirectional nature of communication on the Internet. They are stuck in the traditional media mentality and end up annoying customers with spam and failing to address complaints that are instantly shared with millions of fellow users.

Corporations are just now realizing that the Internet has given their consumers more power than their own PR departments. For the most part, political campaigns are even farther behind. The 2008 election gave rise to one political organization that clearly understands and respects the complex and powerful nature of the Internet: the Obama team. Obama’s new media campaign demonstrated that these technologies are relevant but no single organization can control the discussion. To be successful, a candidate must participate in the discussion, not lead it. They must use the opportunity to listen, not shout. They must sincerely engage voters, not spam them. A candidate must genuinely understand the paradigm shift, rather than simply jumping on the band wagon without understanding where the band wagon is going.

Republicans and New Media (pdf)

The next post will be Oct 13th.

Conversations from the Wayne County Fair

This past weekend I returned home to attend the Wayne County Fair. I spent a significant amount of the time at the Republican's booth discussing politics and technology. While I could write a post on each of my conversations I am going to give a broad overview of some of the things I discussed that I think are relevant to share in this blog.

The first candidate I ran into was Craig Sanders who is running for Wooster City Council At-Large. His concern was that his website,http://www.craigsanders.net/ , still advertised he was running for Ward 1, which he did in the past. The problem was his campaign had no way of directly changing content. They had to call up their provider and ask that they change it, who were not very responsive. I checked today and it looks like they managed to change what is advertised on the site. However, the title tag still says "Ward 1." While no organization should tolerate this kind of dysfunction, the demands of a political campaign require responsiveness. This is why campaigns need to be very careful about how they set up their site. If Sanders was using a content management system (CMS) he could change it himself without worrying about time delays and contacting a programmer. All the intricacies like the title tag would be fixed instantly and automatically.

The next candidate I talked to was Ron Amstutz. He is currently the chair of the budget committee in the Ohio State House of Representatives and is from Wayne County. Amstutz seems to always be experimenting with technology. Here is what he tried and had lots of success. First, Amstutz created a short survey about state issues designed to be released around the time of the fair. Then he got on Facebook and created a list of all of his constituents. Finally, he invited all of his Facebook friends on that list to take his survey online. He also had paper version at the Republican booth at the fair. Just in the first few days he got a ton of feed back and there are still three more days left for the fair.

Now that you know what Amstutz did, let me walk you through why it was awesome. First, Amstutz reached out to his constituents through an online survey. He is able to ask his roughly 110,000 constituents to directly participate with him on state wide issues. Voters will take note of that kind of interaction and will feel more valued by the candidate. Furthermore, Amstutz leveraged social media by reaching out to his Facebook friends. He didn't just send them a message, he invited them to a week long event (the fair survey). He also did not send it to everyone. He targeted his own constituency using Facebook's list feature. With a different project he may want to target a different group, such as his Facebook friends in Columbus. This use of the list allows him to only get the group he wants and cuts down on spam. Too much spam and messages about things that do not apply to the individual will always result in "defriending."

Finally, I had a short conversation about Internet tools with Jim Renacci's campaign manager Matt Hutson. Jim Renacci is running for the Ohio 16th District for US House of Representatives. This is the same district that State Senator Kirk Schuring ran in last year. His website is http://www.renacciforcongress.com/.Even though I had a short discussion with Matt, I feel pretty confident that this campaign understands that they have to use all these new and exciting online tools. First, he recognized the importance of having YouTube videos show up under certain search terms. In this case, they managed to have a positive video of Renacci as the top result when you search "Boccieri" (Boccieri is his Democrat rival). He was also very interested in integrating social media into their new website. Right now Renacci's Facebook and Twitter accounts have a long way to grow, but the campaign is putting effort forth 14 months before the election. Finally, Matt recognized the value of bloggers. He pointed out a positive post that was written just the other day and is excited about connecting Renacci (not a campaign staff member) directly with other bloggers.

There are a lot more to discuss on each of these candidates. The basic point however, is that there is a lot going on in the world of political technology. Candidates are realizing there are problems and opportunities associated with the Internet. This is a topic of discussion that we must always engage.

The next post will be September 29th.

Why Spend on Graphic Design

Today I have a new logo for Republitech. Rather than having something that I threw together I decided to use a real graphic designer. Like a lot of people, I do not have a graphic design talent. However, I do know the elements that make a good design. I thought today, in honor of my new logo, I would discuss why investing in a good graphic designer is a good idea.

First, it is only a good idea to have a designer that knows what looks good, but one that knows what works well for websites. As I have stated many many times, the Internet is interactive. Your website should be designed with interactiveness in mind. That is, understanding where a user's eyes are drawn, what users imply certain colors mean on the web, how to visually navigate your menu system, how to segment content, etc. I could write long posts on each of the issues mentioned in the previous sentence, but the point I am trying to make is that there is more to design than just what looks pretty. I have seen several good graphic designers struggle with designing for the web. The problem is there are designers out there who were trained and practiced in graphic design before the Internet really took hold. They do awesome print material, but struggle with the interactive nature of the web. Having something that works well on the web also requires a certian organic process. If you have a tracking system set up (I highly recommend Google Analytics) then you can test many minor changes. For example, you can answer questions like "How many more people click on my donate button if I change it's location on the home page?" and "What is the optimal font size for my menu?" My suggestion is to find a designer who has had a lot of online experience and can work with you over the course of the campaign to continue to improve and optimize the user experience. I highly recommend Greg Peterson of L'Atelier Muetpointe located in my home town of Wooster, Ohio.

Secondly, in politics it is always a good idea to develop a "brand." Companies do it all the time with colors and images. Developing a clean look that conveys your message is critical. Let us take a look at Obama's logo.


The colors used are red, white, and blue. These are common colors used in American politics and blue and white are Obama's colors. The logo is also rounded yet sharp. This conveys a sense of modernity, or as many others saw it a change from the old way of politics to the new. The logo itself looks like a sun raising over farmland, like a new day over the heartland of America. This implies "change" and gives a sense of "hope" for a symbol of America: farming. I would say Obama's logo is the most brilliant piece of graphic design work I have ever seen. I could go on and one about how brilliant the rest of his graphic design work (from websites to posters) but I think you get the point.

The biggest challenge for a campaign and graphic design is expense. I am not going to lie, good graphic design is not cheap. Expect to pay hundreds of dollars at minimum just for a good logo. This is a decision that has to be made by you. However, I strongly advise campaigns to seriously consider the benefits. For a small campaign with a well known local candidate graphic design will not be on top of their list. However, good graphic design may make the difference in a tight House race. I am by no means suggesting that simply because your site looks awesome people will vote for you. What I am saying is that good graphic design will help consistences relate to you, understand who you are, and feel at ease using the resources you provide them with online. Those are legitimate reasons that will make you better at your job.

Using an RSS Feed to Stay Ahead

A common question I get is "What exactly is an RSS feed?" In technical terms it is a simple xml formatted file which is commonly used to update data. To add to the confusion RSS is sometimes interpreted as meaning "Really Simple Syndication" but also can be interpreted as meaning "Rich Site Summary." In either case, it is the same thing: raw xml data coming from a website. So with all this technico mumbo jumbo why should you actually care about RSS feeds?

An RSS feed can be used to deliver real time updates for events, news, and blogs. It is essentially a stream of data directly from the data source (e.g. your website). This is very critical for political campaigns. RSS feeds can handle delivering all the event updates and press releases straight to the voter (assuming the voter has subscribed). It is a great way to keep people informed about what your campaign is doing.

Subscribing to an RSS feed is quite easy. The user can subscribe to particular feeds using a variety of feed readers. I recommend Google Reader. Subscribing is as simple as copying and pasting a link into your reader. The user will then be sent updates when you enter them into the feed.

The sharing of these data streams not only informs readers but they can also appear on websites. I highly recommend having the feed displayed on your own website. A common trick I do is turn my Google Calendar into an RSS feed so the information about events is easily given to the voters in multiple formats. RSS feeds can even be integrated into other's websites. For example, you may include the state party's RSS feed or they may include yours on their website. The great thing about RSS feeds is that they give you flexibility.

RSS feeds keeps everyone informed. They is easy to participate. And they gets the information seen in multiple places in multiple formats. Political campaigns need to be providing up to date information on events, positions, etc. and RSS feeds are an excellent way for a campaign to keep a competitive edge.

The next post will be on September 1st.

Choose the Right Web Designer

Choosing a web designer can be difficult, especially if you do not know what to look for. Far too often I hear of web developers getting work because they know the right people. Frequently, this leads to the developer overcharging for services since the client does not really know what all goes into building a website. Here are a few issues you should explore before settling on a web developer.

First, does the developer actually have solid web experience. I know of several traditional marketing agencies that claim to know the online business when in fact they do not. Frequently, marketers (and far too often graphic designers) believe that a web site works similar to a pamphlet. It is easy to see where this fallacy originates. Both a pamphlet and web page are informational in nature. But here is where that logic breaks down: a website is interactive, a pamphlet is not. A pamphlet provides information that you can read and that is the end of the story. A website is a "place" where people do things such as clicking on links or signing up for mailing lists. A website has traffic which can be measured and refined. Through the web you can actually reach out and interact with your constituency. The possibilities extend way beyond just providing information (note: you cannot sign up for a mailing list or donate through a pamphlet). Make sure to ask your potential developer why a website is different from mailings, television ads, and other traditional media outlets. The answer "Well, it is just another place to provide information" is never good enough. You developer should have a deeper understanding of the Internet.

Secondly, capability and scalability. A certain developer may meet your needs today but tomorrow you may need to scale up your site and add certain features. Check their work to see if there is diversity in the type of sites they have built. Furthermore, talk to your developer about how easy it will be to add new systems or pages in the future. If the site is done right, it really should not be much of an issue to scale up and add new features to the site.

Finally, ask about pricing structure. A good Internet strategy and a well developed website can be expensive. However, you need to ask questions to make sure your developer is not taking advantage of you. For example, embedding a Twitter feed should not cost a fortune. I can do that in under a minute. Designing the page to integrate Twitter feeds and styling the feed to look nice is a legitimate expense. I could give you an endless list of examples and there would still be many more I would miss. The point is to have a discussion with your developer about what all will be involved.

By no means am I suggesting all developers out there will take advantage of you. I am merely suggesting that you shop around. Above are a few topics to begin you discussion with potential developers.

The next post will be August 18th.

Be Seen with SEO

A common theme of this blog is "Have a website that is not just a website." In this post I am going to talk about something that is a little more behind the scenes then usual: SEO. SEO stands for search engine optimization which is techy jargon for having your website be favored by search engines such as Google, Yahoo!, or Bing. Each search engine has an algorithm that is applied to all the sites on the Internet to figure out which sites are relevant to which search terms. When you type in a search term, such as "political campaigns," the search engine will run the algorithm and display the results in the form of a list. The first link in the list is what the search engine considers to be the most relevant. As a website owner you always want your site to be listed first.

Several of the organizations I work with have recently become very interested in SEO and The Ohio State University even sent me for a week long conference and training seminar on the subject. SEO is a multimillion dollar industry. The big problem is that these algorithms are closely held secrets of Google, Yahoo!, Microsoft,
etc. Many organizations will just pick out a few key words to target in their SEO strategy and build those key words into the site. At this point you are probably wondering why such a technical issue should be the concern of campaign in general, after all is that not what you hire a tech guy to do? Well there are several answers to that question.

First, you need to be aware of this issue before you pick a web developer. This goes for smaller campaigns that do not have the funding to hire someone, but still have a website through volunteer work. In any case you need to insure that who ever is doing the site is up to date on SEO issues. Even if you do have a volunteer who may not know much about SEO, the least he or she can do is some research. There are plenty of forums out there where experts discuss SEO tactics.

Secondly, you need to understand certain aspects of SEO if you want the technical part of SEO to work. Your web developer may not be a marketer. At some point before the site is built, decisions have to be made about what type of search terms you think the site needs to be built around. Will it be just your name? Or perhaps your district name? Your intended office title? These are decisions that you, not the developer, need to make. Furthermore, one big factor in these algorithms is links to your site. We do not know how exactly the search engines calculate the weight of a link to your site but we do know it will have a noticeable affect. Again your developer cannot get you links. You will have to encourage other site owners, I recommend starting with bloggers, to include links on their site. This will take personal networking and communication skills, not technical ones.

Finally, it is just plain important even for small campaigns to rank well in search engines. Let me put it this way, if someone were to search for your name on Google would you rather have your site appear first on the list, or some blog post from an individual who is "not" affiliated with your opponent? You should not let your opponent control the debate by having his site or sites listed before yours. Voters will also be happier if they can find the content they are looking for quicker.

Hopefully the trick describe above will not happen to you (but I have worked on enough campaigns to see plenty of "creative" strategies come out of the Democratic machine). The actual technical aspect of coding websites for SEO will probably be left to professionals. However, SEO will not work without a basic understanding and support from the rest of your campaign staff.

The next post will be on July 7th

The Minimalist Website

So your campaign does not have all the resources in the world to support a super fancy website. This is a common problem. I know all campaigns want to find a cheap solution but also want to make sure they get some bang for their buck. The natural question thus becomes "What is the bare minimum I should have on my site?"

The biggest obstacle here is overcoming a common fallacy in terms of the Internet. Too many people think the Internet is just another place to post "billboards." Information, often copied straight from the campaign pamphlet, is placed on static websites. A related problem arises where Facebook and Twitter accounts are created and then just sit idle during the campaign. I have seen this mistake done by organizations and businesses, but it is especially troubling when politicians fall victim to this error. The Internet can be used for so much more, and it makes little sense to hand out fliers with the website that contains the same information that the flier did.

What needs to be done to overcome this common reaction to the Internet is to sit down one evening with your committee and ask "How does the Internet relate to our campaign strategy?" Try not to think of the Internet as some sort of remote, detached, and amorphous part of the campaign. It is a tool that should be kept very close to you and used to accomplish specific, well defined goals. It can do so much more then just announce you are running for an office.

Now that there is an understanding of purpose, we can go back to the original question. "What is the bare minimum I should have on my site?" Part of the answer will depend on the office you are running for and where you have deemed the Internet to fall in you campaign strategy. However, there are a few things that you should consider. First, what sort of information can be posted on the web that cannot easily be put on a pamphlet, commercial, etc.? This could be a more personal biography. This category tends to be the one that is most used, but often leans towards the side of being a "billboard." It is important and should be present, but will not make your website as useful can it could be. Secondly, and more importantly, add resources that encourage voters to visit more then once. This could be news, a blog, or a Twitter feed. It will get voters more engaged (and see your name and face more often) and show that you are actively committed to solving the needs of the constituency. Finally, a little interaction cannot hurt. For example, have a place for voters to submit comments or questions. It will help make the website part of your campaign, and not just another advertisement.

I hope you are not too disappointed that I am not providing a concise formula for what is the bare minimum needed in a campaign website. The truth is there is no one formula. Like I mentioned before, you have to determine what function your website will serve in your campaign. The minimalist website should be unique. What I have done is provide a rough outline to determine what that formula is for your own website. It may also help to talk to someone who has experience with websites. They can help you generate ideas. To often the extent of the strategy is simply just to have a website, period. The Internet deserves a bit more attention then that.

One final note: I know what you are probably thinking - "Doing more then just static information sounds expensive." In some cases it may be, but if you get a developer who knows what they are doing and are honest about costs, the expense should be marginal. Embedding a Twitter feed just takes a few minutes and you should not be charged much if anything more for one. Talk with your developer or someone else who knows the Internet to find ways to reduce costs. Weigh the costs and benefits of each proposed element to the website in order to find what the minimum you will need. And what every you decide do not just have a website, have a useful "minimalist" site.

The next post will be May 26th.