If you want to learn the art of networking and building relationships, I would recommend spending some time with a local, state or federally elected official. For the most part, successful politicians spend their days reaching out to their friends, being introduced to new ones, making cold calls, speaking in front of groups and organizations, and any other activity that might help them grow their political organization. When they are not performing their public duties, you will find them working to build trust with those who elected them, or those who can assist in their reelection.
Given the amount of time they devote to creating, building, and sustaining relationships, you would think they would jump at the chance to use tools like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, as well as YouTube and Flickr, to reach new networks and audiences. These tools provide opportunities to have conversations and interactions with hundreds or thousands of people at one time, with no more effort than that expended to meet with one person.
This week I posted an article where I maintained that getting elected is about building trust. I recognize that there is more to elections than building trust with one voter, or group of voters at a time. Nevertheless, a campaign is built in the early stages with the sweat equity of the candidate and their immediate circle of family, friends and supporters. All of them reach out to their individual networks to build an organization that can form the nucleus of a political campaign. I would contend that it is the trust between the candidate and their supporters, and the trust between each supporter and their individual network, that creates this initial momentum. From that point on, a campaign will take many directions and use various tactics to ultimately get the candidate elected.
Almost all of the traditional tactics have a social component: Fundraising, going door-to-door, debates, attending community events, phone banks. Social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and Flickr provide a new set of tactics that can be utilized to open the door to existing and new audiences. Unfortunately, many candidates view these sites more as new media outlets than as places where they can build relationships over the long term.
As individuals choose to follow candidates on Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites, opportunities for identifying voters, donors and supporters emerge. In the past I have focused on the number of followers as one measure of a successful social networking campaign. The greater the number of followers, the greater the opportunity to identify those who can bring real value to the campaign. By engaging, educating, and yes, entertaining these followers, the candidate and the campaign are in a position to create a new network of supporters who will use their personal capital to educate and engage their networks in support of the campaign.
Just as every campaign employs a strategy to convert contacts into a voter, donor, or volunteer, they should also have a strategy to move Facebook friends or Twitter followers out of cyberspace and into the campaign. Your friends and followers in cyberspace only have real value if they ultimately support the campaign in some fashion. The key is accomplishing this with just an on-line profile to work with. In races that are decided by less than 1% of the vote, converting a few hundred or few thousand followers into votes could be the difference between winning and losing.
Broadcasting your message, whether it is today's schedule, or a policy position, is an inexpensive way to communicate with your on-line community. Education though, is just one facet of a successful social networking strategy. Though some following you are happy receiving this type of information, others might be looking for more, and it is important to provide them with what they are seeking if you want to keep them tuned in. Engaging them in a conversation, asking for their opinion, and moving them into more useful social networking groups and ultimately into the campaign will provide greater benefits. Generally a profile can provide enough information for a capable staff person to I.D. them and start the process of building a long term relationship.
Whether its politics or business, the goal of social networking is about creating real relationships. It enables you to cast a wide net in order to find those relationships that will allow you to reach your goals and objectives. What would you rather count, 10,000 followers on Facebook who simply hear your message, or 2,000 followers who are engaged and participating?