What Brands Can Learn From Candidatesâ Social Media Personas (GOP edition)
Call me crazyâbut a few elections from now, itâs quite possible for Presidential campaigns to be fueled almost entirely by social media. After all, social media allows candidates to build huge followings and craft their personal brand much more efficiently than massive TV buys. But with opportunity comes challenges.
Often times, a brand or individual isnât aware of how theyâre coming across in the social space. Their âsocial personaâ doesnât align to their real life personality, match the values they supposedly stand for, or appeal to their entire target audience. This creates a disconnect, and dilutes the authentic, transparent nature of the medium.
With the next #GOPDebate fast approaching, letâs review how the top republication candidates are doing. (Democrats to follow in a later post.)
We all know Trump has a big mouth, and itâs evident when looking through any of his social channels. Heâs not one to shy away from the media and often calls individuals out by name when he feels heâs been wronged. At the same time, however, heâs quick to praise his supporters with Retweets and Replies. Throw in a handful of controversial statements mixed with some hate-to-love-it humor and there you have itâTrumpâs social strategy.
Without any fancy branding or custom images, he pulls in the highest levels of engagement across all channels. On Twitter, the majority of his tweets are text-only, placing the importance solely on his words. Even on Facebook, his text-only posts (gasp!) do just as well as those with video and photos.
For better or for worse, it comes across as authentic. It feels like every post, every reply (heâs busy!) is coming directly from Trumpâs mouth, not some savvy social media team.
Donaldâs unfiltered style and âattacksâ on competitors would be risky for many brands, but just right for challengers. Weâve seen Samsung go after Apple for yearsâand some of the digs are quite effective.
Ben: The Thankful Optimist
The majority of Benâs posts are sharing positive press or poll results, announcing upcoming appearances and thanking his supporters. The mood is upbeat and forward-looking, with thoughtfulresponses to questions and heartfelt âThank yousâ that he posts to Facebook, further reinforcing his likability.
For some comedic relief, Benâs campaign bus has itâs own Twitter account. The bus, Healer Hauler, speaks in lighthearted first person and keeps followers updated on his travels, his favorite songs and whom he gets to meet along the campaign trail. Its a nice addition that allows for Retweeting and cross promotion.
Benâs approach seems best-suited for mission driven brands like organic foods, or nonprofits and charitable organizations that must remain upbeat. If heâs forced to come out punching, it will seem too out of character.
If you couldnât tell from his tweets about fantasy football, his football-themed product line or his video catching footballs as he fields questions, Marco Rubio loves football. (Specifically, his Florida Gators.) Marco is also very engaged with his fans. Heâs âon top of his gameâ when it comes to retweeting and responding to comments/questions. He encourages conversation by posting polls where users can vote, and includes strong call-to-actions that tell his followers exactly how they can help.
His alignment with sports is not only a unique differentiator, itâs good marketing, as any NFL advertising partner will tell you. By infusing sports-talk into his campaign messages, he makes them something familiar that we immediately recognize and want to get behind. Itâs in our nature to root for (or against) somethingâeven if it means users posting about other candidates on his feeds. In fact, these posts only fuel the fire.
By âClassic Nerdâ I of course mean a combination of classy and nerdy. You wonât find any candidate-bashing on Carlyâs social channels but rather straightforward information with passionate messages. Carly uses language like âour leaders in Washington today, perched comfortably atop a broken system of their own designâ and refers to Obamacare as a law âlonger than a Harry Potter novel,â showing sheâs comfortable being labeled a bookworm.
But donât count her out when it comes to confronting candidates on important issues; sheâs ready and willing to fight for her beliefs. Her consistency in message, reinforced by a robust website with searchable videos and answers, show that sheâs not willing to back down.
Carlyâs direct Q & A style works well for complex organizations where there is a lot of information to breakdown, much like a technology companyânot surprising given her background at HP. In fact, they use similar strategies to make information more digestible through infographics and some lighthearted images to balance out the abundance of information and appear more âhuman.â
Jeb has been playing catch up and has finally invested more in video content and taken a stronger defensive stand when it comes to remarks about him and his brother. Heâs still a mixed bag and appears as though heâs been taking notes from other candidates.
His stronger defense suggests heâs taken a page from Trumpâs book, even going on the offensiveârecently criticizing Trump for approaching foreign policy as if he were âstill on The Apprentice.â Heâs up on his football talk like Marco Rubio. And he will refer to himself as a ânerd,â a la Carly.
Using a mix of positioning strategies might haunt Jeb in the crowded GOP primary field. But for larger brands with multiple audiences, itâs a good way to connect on various levels. Rite Aid, for example, sells a wide range of products that appeal to men, women and children, so their posts include a combination of ads geared toward each of these audiences.
Itâs a safe bet these personas will evolve as the campaign marches on, presenting new lessons for brands. Or not. What takeaways do you have from the 2016 GOP candidates?
(Originally posted on RP3 Agency blog.)