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Political Fundraising in the Social Media Era

by: @MDGadvertising POLITICAL FUNDRAISING IN THE SOCIAL MEDIA ERA *** * You could say the 2008 election changed everything. If you're talking about social media's role in American politics, you'd certainly be right. Political fundraising has evolved over time, but the age of social media has made over the entire political landscape. By tapping into social media, both front-runners and little-known candidates can appeal to the 66 percent of American İnternet users who use social media. Here, we take a closer look at the 2008 election and why social media users are prime targets for campaign dollars. 2008: THE GAME CHANGER Barack Obama's fundraising success in the 2008 campaign is well known. His secret to success: raising funds from small donors. By mobilizing a multi-channel campaign that emphasized social media, he was able to amass a slew of small donations that overshadowed his competitórs and candidates from the 2004 election in pre-nomination contributions. Percentage From Donors Whose Pre-Nomination Contributions Added Up To $1-$200 $201-$999 $1,000+ 43% 60% 56% 60% 28% 24% 20% 15% 30% 26% 21% 20% OBAMA MCCAIN KERRY (2004) BUSH (2004) Figures from the Campaign Finance Institute exceed 100 due to rounding. Pre-Nomination Total Individual Contributions OBAMA $409.2 MILLION MCCAIN $203.5 MILLION KERRY (2004) $215.9 MILLION BUSH (2004) $256.1 MILLION ANATOMY OF OBAMA'S ONLINE FUNDRAISING MACHINE BarackObama.com and MyBarackObama.com were the engagement hubs for Obama's 2008 online campaign. There, supporters could give money, set up fundraising circles, post blog entries, and earn "points" to encourage deeper involvement. IN ONLINE DONATIONS ON MYBARACKOBAMA IN ONLINE OUTREACH 3 MILLION INDIVIDUAL ONLINE DONORS 2 MILLION 13 MILLION USERS EMAIL ADDRESSES 200,000 OFFLINE EVENTS 6.5 MILLION 5 MILLION ONLINE DONATIONS SUPPORTERS IN OTHER SOCIAL NETWORKS $80 AVERAGE 45,000 VOLUNTEER GROUPS 50 MILLION ONLINE DONATION VIEWS ON CAMPAIGN VIDEOS WHY SOCIAL USERS ARE RIPE FOR FUNDRAISING SOCIAL NETWORK USERS ARE MORE POLITICALLY ENGAGED People who use social media also tend to be more politically engaged than the average American, making them prime targets for political fundraisers. During the November 2010 elections, more social media users participated in various offline political activities. COMPARED TO A NON- INTERNET USER, THE AVERAGE FACEBOOK USER IS ... 6X MORE LIKELY TO HAVE 2X MORE LIKELY TO HAVE VOTED OR 3X MORE LIKELY TO ATTENDED A POLITICAL TRY TO INFLUENCE MEETING OR RALLY SOMEONE'S VOTE INTENDED TO VOTE Political Participation By Social Network Attended a political rally Tried to convince someone to vote for a specific candidate Voted or intended to vote 79% 66% 65% 62% 51% 39% 23% 26% 28% 31% 14% 15% 10% 11% 10% ALL AMERICANS FACEBOOK LINKEDIN TWITTER OTHER SOCIAL NETWORK SITES SOCIAL NETWORK USERS ARE MORE ACTIVE SUPPORTERS Social media users who support causes are also more active supporters. Beyond just passively "liking" causes on Facebook, cause supporters on social media often participate in several other cause-related activities. COMPARED TO OFFLINE 4X MORE LIKELY TO CAUSE SUPPORTERS, 5X MORE LIKELY TO 2X MORE LIKELY TO ENCOURAGE OTHERS THE AVERAGE SOCIAL RECRUIT OTHERS TO VOLUNTEER THEIR TIME TO CONTACT POLITICAL MEDIA CAUSE JOIN THEIR CAUSE REPRESENTATIVES SUPPORTER IS ... SOCIAL NETWORK USERS ARE WELL CONNECTED Not only are social media users more politically engaged and more active supporters of various causes, they also happen to have a lot more personal connections - online and offline. And by nature of the social network, more connections means more sharing of content, links, activities, and ideas. 786 SOCIAL TIES 838 SOCIAL TIES 634 SOCIAL TIES 648 SOCIAL TIES 506 SOCIAL TIES f in NON-INTERNET USER AVERAGE AMERICAN FACEBOOK USER LINKEDIN USER TWITTER USER TWO TRENDS TO WATCH IN 2012 MORE MONEY, MORE POWER MOBILE: THE NEXT FRONTIER The 2012 election is expected to break the bank when it comes to campaign fundraising. Some speculate that Obama's team could pull in more than $1 billion in campaign funds-and that's just Obama. Republican challengers are already mobilizing their supporters on social networks in what's promising to be the most monied election of our history. Square, a mobile payment system, is already being used at political fundraisers, and several mobile fundraising apps are making it easier than ever for candidates to tap into online and offline supporters. We can expect all major candidates to integrate mobile into their fundraising efforts in addition to their ongoing messaging efforts. SOURCES: CAMPAIGN FINANCE INSTITUTE | PEW INTERNET | OGILVY PR | GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY | WASHINGTON POST | BLUE STATE DIGITAL | THE GUARDIAN | GIGAOM mdg mdgadvertising.com twitter: @MDGadvertising

Political Fundraising in the Social Media Era

shared by MDGadvertising on Mar 05
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Social media made a major impact on the 2008 presidential election and completely changed the political landscape. In fact, the age of social media redefined the way candidates conduct their political...

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