e-Campaign infrastructure is an early MUST DO…not a Get To

October 21, 2009 by Doug Mitchell
Filed under: Campaign Technology, Social Media

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I’ve had the chance to interact with nearly 100 new candidates, incumbents, party officials, and operatives over the last 6 months. I’m encouraged by the acceptance and clear understanding of how important technology is to a winning campaign. I’m equally as excited about the exceptional quality of the candidates I’ve met from School Board to U.S. Congress.

But I see a dramatic disconnect between that clear understanding of what MUST be done at the top…to what’s Getting done in the field.

e-Campaigning is all of the typical technology pieces you imagine including the usual suspects (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) But all the greatest tools in the world don’t matter if YOU the candidate (the driver, leader and tone setter for the campaign)don’t fully appreciate them and build the tools into your daily/hourly routine.

Candidates across the spectrum tend to be a bit shell shocked by all the options and tend to view the ecampaign suite as something that “They can get to” or something “They can just have those young volunteers manage for them.” I can’t count the number of times I hear, “I just don’t have time but I can have a staffer do that.”

Your voting block has never wanted more of the transparent YOU than now. Give them more of YOU by opening as many doors to two way communication as possible. Put the e-Campaign technologies in place early, learn what they are, and embrace them. Your tech will be a clone of you available to all at all times.