Campaign Technology Leaders and Campaign Website Developers: This Post is For You
Filed under: Campaign Technology, Red Alert Dossier
The ORS tech team strongly believes that candidates running for office should frequently put out compelling content (positions, opinions, refinement of position relative to challengers, getting to know you, etc.) Articles, press releases, blog posts (all about the same anymore) are a part of the equation for sure…but you must leverage video and audio. If you’re using WordPress like we believe you should, here’s a recommendation that took a bit of nerding out to get right.
- You must install the Blubrry PowerPress plugin for WordPress. I won’t handle configuration of this plugin in this post but I’m telling you right now that this plugin makes the distribution and display of podcasts and video an absolute charm.
- Create your video content and edit it into something meaningful if necessary. STOP: You will likely be in .MOV, .M4V or .WMV format here if you’re using iMovie or Windows Movie Maker (basic editing software choices). That’s OK in this plugin. The player says “Supported Media Formats: mp3, m4a, ogg, wma, ra, mp4a, m4v, mp4v, mpg, asf, avi, wmv, flv, swf, mov, divx, 3gp, midi, wav, aa, pdf, torrent, m4b, m4r.” So technically you can use just about any common video and audio file format and the player will just “work”. I’ve not tested all the formats.
- If a file format doesn’t work well or doesn’t work in all browsers (my gut says .wmv…that’s a windows media file) may not be the best choice for universal “workitude”) use a conversion software like Any Video Converter to turn your .wmv into something else like .mov or .m4v.
- Here comes my favorite part. If you want to distribute your audio and video casts to iTunes, PowerPress has that support all built in. It will send your content off automatically once configured properly. BUT if you’re using video you’ll want to convert your video into “iPod/iTouch/iPhone ready” format! Any Video Converter software does this for you. It creates a size and dimension of video that can be viewed on the phone. If you don’t shrink your video accordingly you will get your video submitted and viewable on iTunes…but it can’t be taken mobile. That’s a big difference. You want to be portable.
I will probably do a screen cast soon (available on our iTunes video cast feed here) showing the complete configuration of this plugin since it has taken some pretty serious time to get right. I can only imagine how long this would take if you’re in the “I know how to check email” category as a candidate on a budget.
We try to make the technologically challenging a walk in the park as we show candidates and campaigns how to run for office. If we can help you accelerate your efforts, please subscribe to our membership site or at least grab our free stuff to fuel your campaign technology efforts.
deo Converter iPhone Format Screen
any video converter iphone format screen
The Political Campaign Website Graphic Design Dilemma
Filed under: Campaign Technology, Red Alert Dossier, local politics
You’ve decided you’re running for local office. I’m certain that one of the first thoughts on your mind is to get a website up and running. Congratulations are in order. That’s a great idea. But HERE is where most fresh new candidates for public office take a turn down heartache highway. Here are some smarter next steps in the process of creating a campaign website without blowing your budget on the lipstick.
When most non-technical non-geeky folks like you and me think “website” the first thing that comes to mind is “How will it look?”
It’s very easy to “make a website” today for most of you running for mayor, school board, or city council. Making that same site look good is an entirely different animal. “But I want my picture in the top banner.” “How can I put a family photo album in the sidebar?” Once you figure out you cannot do this on your own, you’ll find a friend, relative, or “young person” to build you a nice looking “online you”. Perhaps you’ve given a nascent “web designer” their first big break int the political world? Or maybe it’s your daughter’s chance to shine. A month or two later (hopefully) you have a decent looking online brochure. Congratulations!
You’ve committed your first big mistake as a candidate and you just left the gate!
As a candidate for public office you must change your thinking. Here are the ways of the force in political websites:
- Brochures do 3 things very well…they get old, they get dusty, and they scream out “change me” from the moment they’re printed. Your website will be no different. Don’t create an online brochure no matter how nice it looks. It will get stale rapidly and constituents demand more.
- Looks are about 10% of the equation. People will get enough of your smiling face. Information, communication, engagement, and relevance is what voters are after (especially Gen X and younger). Sites with a good flow of information and value are given bonus points that can make up for looks. (Remember personality and what’s on the inside matters more than the outside)
- Build your site on the hosted WordPress platform (that’s WordPress.org) if you’re going to do the site or have someone close to you do it. Use the Thesis Theme by DIY Themes. It’s as easy as it gets for semi and non-technical people inside the beautiful world of WordPress. We’ll be developing a full course for our members soon on this whole process so hang tight.
- Graphically speaking…invest in only a banner and background. For $300 or less you can get a nice banner and background done by great graphic designers. If you don’t know someone locally, then look online or ask ORS for a referral. If the graphic designer doesn’t know how to work within WordPress or tries to convince you to go elsewhere…well…go elsewhere.
- Let go of what you believe looks good at least just a bit. MOST candidates follow a similar formula: colors of the flag, a nice picture, and definitely a YouTube video of you sitting by the fire with the dog and bible. My point is that good graphic designers may have some ideas that take you outside of the campaign box yet still serve those thematic elements you desire.
First, please understand that there is quite a bit more to pulling this version 1.0 of your site off and getting it live. You MUST work with someone who knows WordPress. WordPress allows for exceptionally rapid execution, powerful search engine optimization, and ease of update right out of the box.
The Nitty Gritty Truth-O-Meter
The point of this dissertation is to make you aware of the graphic design trap. I’ve heard of people spending $3k on nice looking brochures. Heck corporate America spends $60k-$100k on these all the time. Don’t get caught up in looks. Focus on what matters and that’s content. If you are hearing this for the first time, please continue trolling our blog for more. Or sign up for our newsletter, video tips, and upcoming webisode series, “The Good, The Bad, and Ugly of Campaign Tech”
If you really want an easy solution that will calm the inevitably pulsing vein in your left temple right now…then you can turn over the entire project to one of the excellent firms providing more “website in a box” services like Red State New Media. They’re robust platform allows you to think less and keep your waders in the garage in exchange for an upfront and/or monthly investment. There’s NOTHING bad about working with firms like these unless you really want to have the flexibility and power to do some pretty amazing things (there’s is an almost direct inverse relationship between POWER/CUSTOMIZATION and EASE OF USE/END USER MANIPULATION. Accept that and you’re well on your way to success.
There are about 100 more things you need to consider in your campaign technology mix (web strategy, content generation, social media, video, audio, etc.) and we write about those often and provide our subscription service as an affordable educational tool to accelerate your winning online campaign strategy. If you’re running for State House or U.S. Congress you may want to give us a call and see how powerful your campaign can really be.
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