In less than a week, the citizens of the United States of America will have a brand spanking new president. President-elect Barack Obama will take the helm for the next four years (at least) and attempt to steer the country, the economy and the people in the right and in a productive direction. It’s quite a task to take on given the state of affairs that Obama is walking into. There are economic pressures, diplomatic peace talks, un-balanced budgets and educational issues to muddle through and create some semblance of order for things that have become chaotic. But nevertheless, despite the cards that he has been dealt, he must persevere through them and simply get things done. He has got a lot on his plate and really, a short time to get it all fixed – – which is why I wondered today, “why does he keep emailing me?”
Yes, Obama (or at least his camp) keeps emailing me to give me updates on things he’s working on and sometimes ideas that he’s got in mind. I don’t get these emails very often, but often enough to make me wonder why isn’t he out fixing our country instead of emailing me with his “to do” list. No, I’m sure I’m not the only one that Obama is emailing. That clue came when I talked to some peers in my social networks who said that they had received the same email as well. I’d still like to think that I was the only one though. The emails sometime come from him, and sometime they come from Michele. They’re always friendly, they always address me by my first name and they always make me feel like I’m the only one on their email list. No doubt that I do flatter myself.
Obama’s team has managed to do something in his campaign that no other presidential candidate has done, and that has been to garner unprecedented online support through social networks and platforms. He’s on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and others. I’m a follower on most all of them. His strategy worked and it worked well. He has set a standard that I’m sure will be followed by many more candidates in the future.
Now, the reason I find this all fascinating is because Obama won the race, right? Yes, but even after he won, he still maximizes the leverage that he has acquired via social networking sites. Updates, quick hellos, short memos and sometimes even family photos are what Obama uses to stay “connected” to the people and to engage them even further into his political world.
Key word = Engage.
That’s what business have to do in order to stay ahead of their competitors and stay in the mind of their buyers. Engaging your audience, connecting with your customers, sharing, giving, and asking. These are all key areas of effective communications and powerful social networking that get results.
Just ask Obama. It’s working for him.
I am a freelance writer, blogger and professional motivational speaker. I primarily focus on business content, offering my clients strategic marketing strategies for their businesses. I have been an entrepreneur for over 13 years, after having worked extensively in corporate America.
