Become a world leader using social media [Barack Obama] by James Tuckerman

Become a World Leader Using Social Media

Derived from : Rahaf Harfoush, Yes We Did

Become a World Leader Using Social Media The Book

Rahaf Harfoush, Yes We Did

The Big Idea

Social Media can be used to create real-world results. Assemble online. Act offline.

Speed RAP

Barack Obama’s victory in the US Presidential Election of 2008 has set the benchmark for what can be achieved using social media. The three keys are to  design your campaign to spark the right actions  lead your supporters with direct conversations and  provide the tools to let your grassroots community create and share content.

Your Challenge

If Barack Obama can become a world leader through the use of Social Media, what can you create? What’s your campaign? What’s your real world result? RESOURCES : anything you use to generate wealth. ACTIONS : an act of will, a deed completed. PROFITS : to gain an advantage or benefit.

Contents : Obama Online

Book Rapper Issues are not direct summaries of the books we review. We take what we consider to be the most important ideas from the book. We then re-package these key ideas so you can easily digest them in about 30 minutes. We also make it clear how you can take decisive action to benefit from these insights. In some parts we follow the book closely and in others we add our own models and interpretations. Given the Book Rapper Issue is much smaller than the book we may not cover each chapter. If you want more details than what’s in this issue, we say ‘buy the book’.

BR Review : Yes We Did

Here’s a couple more relevant Book Rapper issues to rap your head around...

RAP2 : Leading With Social Media

The flip from ‘talking at’ to ‘talking with’ may be simple for some. At an organisational level, it’s a biggie! It requires a culture transplant, a divisional overhaul and a redesign of established work practice. This RAP steps you through the issues.

RAP3 : Where Are We Going?

Derived from Joseph Jaffe’s Join The Conversation.

RAP1 : The Backdrop

RAP4 : Why Are We Doing This? RAP5 : Are We There Yet? RAP6 : What Are We Talking About? RAP7 : Can I Say Something?

For many, Obama’s greatest achievement was to be genuinely trusted. Imagine that, a politician you can trust. In this issue we look at how you can build trust and ultimately influence online. Maybe you can change the world too? Derived from Chris Brogan and Julien Smith’s Trust Agents.

RAP8 : Will You Join Me? RAP9 : Can I Play? RAP10 : Can You Help Me?

An alternate title for Obama’s story is: How to Build a World Class Brand. This issue explores the challenge of making your brand world class.

RAP11 : Can I Share?

Derived from Douglas Atkin’s The Culting of Brands.

Action : Your Online Map

BR Review : Yes We Did

Rahaf Harfoush, Yes We Did : An Inside Look At How Social Media Built the Obama Brand, New Riders, Berkeley CA, 2009.

Précis

Rahaf Harfoush

An inside look at how to mobilize change through the new digital technology, ie. Barack Obama’s campaign to become US President.

• Campaign Headquarters Volunteer for Barack Obama’s US Presidential Campaign • Digital Strategist, Author, and Speaker. • Currently spending time in Toronto, Paris and Geneva. • Explores web culture, innovation and creativity. • Passion for exploring how technology is affecting the way we communicate, work and play. • Associate Director : Technology Pioneers at World Economic Forum in Geneva, Switzerland. • Previously : Research Co-ordinator for Don Tapscott’s bestselling book Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything • Contributor : Grown Up Digital : How the Net Generation is Changing the World • Coming soon : A second book called Misfits: How we’ve outgrown the way we live and what to do about it. Co-authoring with Leonard Brody. • Web and Blog : www.rahafharfoush.com • Twitter : @rahafharfoush

Features • How a mega online campaign looks from within. • In particular, an inside look at Obama’s approach to building his global brand and community. • Observe the power of including and collaborating with others to fulfil a mutual goal.

Benefits • View the breadth and depth of Obama’s campaign to expand your thoughts about your own online activities. • Specific Social Media and Online Strategy that you can instantly modify and use. • Identify gaps in your current strategy to explore, exploit and energize.

Who’s It’s For For people on a mission to change the world. Or, those still trying to get your heads around how to make the most of the web and social media.

R E C O M Book Rapper Thinks... book shows that ‘Leading with Social Media’ is M E N D This not an oxymoron. If Obama can do it, so can you. A T I O N Read it if you’re up to something big.

RAP1 : The Backdrop

PROFIT : In the years leading up to the 2008 US Presidential Campaigns, the emergence of social media and digital technology offered new modes of political campaigning. The scene was set to pit the tried and true traditional way against the innovation of using new technologies to do new things.

The Obama Strategy

Howard Dean

Hillary Clinton

Barack Obama

• The Democratic Predecessor • Unsuccessful candidate in the 2004 Presidential Nomination • Made significant gains in use of online organizing in political campaigns • Focussed on grassroots local meetings • Created customized messages • Focussed on all 50 states campaigns previously avoided the tough seats • Used the web to fundraise $50 million in campaign donations • Unable to transfer online support into actual votes due to a lack of ground support

• The Democratic Favourite • Deep pockets • Potential first female US President which had huge cross-party appeal • Already a national identity • Able to ride on the shoulders of husband Bill’s previous success and popularity

• The Democratic Underdog • Junior or first term senator • Relatively unknown outside of his home state of Illinois • Limited experience • Concerns about his racial background • Concerns about his Muslimsounding name • First challenge: Up against the powerful Clintons just to get the nomination • Second Challenge: Beat the Republicans to become US President

John McCain • The Republican candidate • War hero and POW • Experienced Senator • Already a national identity • Ran as Presidential Candidate in 2000 - unsuccessful

• Build on Howard Deans campaign • ‘Meetup Approach’ – meet online, convert this into offline voting • Local events as the key to community building • Focus on smaller donations versus wealthy donors - The Google Adwords of political campaigning - being cheaper to play meant more people could join in and they were more likely to contribute multiple times

The Result

• McCain raised $350 million - 21% or $75 million raised online • Obama raised $750 million - 66% or $500 million raised online • Clinton was $36 million in debt after her nomination campaign • And, in case you didn’t know... Obama beat Clinton and then McCain to became US President.

RAP2 : Leading With Social Media

PROFIT : For the naysayers ‘Leading With Social Media’ may sound like an oxymoron. In contrast Barack Obama’s Presidential campaign has set the benchmark for what can be achieved using social media. Three decisive strategies underpin the campaign’s success: sparking the desired action, rapping the right conversations and building a treasure trove of worthy content.

Spark Action

What’s the point of social media? Same as any technology - to spark action to achieve your goals. The decisive point is to be really clear what action you want to incite both online and offline.

where measure why

Where are we going? Are we there yet? Why are we doing this?

Rap Conversations

Mass Media is essentially a broadcast medium. It’s a oneway monologue. Your TV can’t hear you! Social Media is about interaction, it’s two-way, direct and it’s built on conversations.

spark rap add

define speak join

What are we talking about? Can I say something? Will you join with me?

Add Content

Mass Media was controlled by the few and distributed to the many. In contrast, Social Media is ‘social’ because we can all participate. And, the digital natives expect to add their own content.

play help share

Can I play? Can you help me? Can I share?

RAP3 : Where Are We Going?

PROFIT : Yeah, yeah, yeah create a compelling vision of where we’re going. Right, got it, done that. Now design everything we do to support that vision. Everything! What’s the crystal clear, decisive, on the ground action that we must take to have this happen? The key to Obama’s success was this marriage of big picture vision and brand building with the management and execution of crucial actions.

Marry Campaign and Structure

where measure why

Spark

The structure of your campaign reflects the values you hold. Obama wanted ordinary people coming together around a common purpose. Therefore he built a grassroots, bottom-up organization. And, this reflects the nature of the internet. In particular it mirrors how people connect in life. He then built credibility and trust through actions that reinforced his value proposition. Action : Does your campaign structure match your objective? Action : Make your New Media team a standalone department, not just an add-on to the communications team. Make your team scalable and agile and design a flexible social media plan.

Design For Consistency

big picture vision brand building on the ground decisive action

Obama’s campaign was the creation of a global brand. It was grounded in design to ensure every interaction felt familiar. A suite of consistent visuals and messages were created. The complete process was captured to maintain the memory and logic of all earlier decisions. Action : What elements are you managing to ensure design consistency? Action : What are you doing to capture the decision making process?

Focus on What Matters The entire campaign was based upon the clear goal to have people vote for Obama as US President. This mandate could be spoken in a handful of words. And, all features and activities of the community were geared around this objective. The clear strategy was to use the online tools to organize offline action. Too often social media is seen as separate to creating action in the real world. Obama’s campaign focussed around four critical actions : join in donate money invite others vote on election day. Action : What’s your mandate in less than ten words? Action : Translate your big picture vision into critical actions.

RAP4 : Why Are We Doing This?

PROFIT : Having a clear direction is not enough. You also need to align your vision to your cause. Incite emotions, touch hearts and speak to the soul. Inspire people through your reason for taking on your vision. Obama’s vision was to become US President. This was supported by hope for a better future, the need for change in US government and politics and the desire to include people in the process.

Tell Your Story

where measure why

Spark

To amplify the feelings of your community constantly weave their stories with your own compelling information. Obama consistently profiled donors asking them ‘Why are you supporting BO?’ This created a constant flow of content that resonated with supporters because it was by supporters. Action : Create ways to let the people who interact with your brand tell their story.

Blog To Share and Include Your blog is your primary storytelling vehicle and distribution platform via RSS feeds, YouTube video embeds and interacting with readers’ comments. Obama had several blogs. The official national blog posted all the campaign updates. There were also state based blogs and constituent specific blogs, eg students and environment. And best of all guests were often invited to contribute posts and share the spotlight. Action : Use your blog as home base for all your online media. Action : Blog regularly and include others in your posts.

align your cause and vision bring it to life through stories

Video Your Story into Life Video was one of the most effective Obama tools because it brought the blog and emails to life. Real people doing real things. Obama’s campaign had the reach of a TV network for free – 1830 videos, 162,000 YouTube subscribers, 20 million views, one billion minutes of footage plus a donate button. Three key types of video were used:  Live Streaming  Campaign Generated and  User Generated. Video Value : Use bite-size chunks under 5 minutes, let content be remixed with soundtracks and photos, allow comments, link back to the original, embed on your blog and Facebook. Beware: Video extends the news cycle keeping both good and bad issues around for longer. Action : Use Video to document what you do and share it via your blog.

RAP5 : Are We There Yet?

PROFIT : ‘Why are we doing this?’ becomes the things we need to measure. We need to measure our progress towards the goal based on the activity we’re doing. If we’re not measuring things, people are not going to be engaged, they’re not going to be energised and they’re not going to be focussed.

Measure Engagement

where measure why

Spark

The transition point from your big picture vision and cause into action lives in the measures you make. Measure engagement not numbers or people. You’ll need to define how to measure this in your personal situation. Obama’s campaign created The Activity Index to measure activity individually and across supporter groups. Scores were given for key activities weighted toward offline activities. This turned the activity into a game and a friendly competition that kept people focussed and energised. Once you’ve identified your critical measures turn them into a ritual. Obama translated fundraising into a thermometer graph on every personal page. They let supporters embed this on a personal webpage with a custom URL and they gave them tools for sharing and being public about their contribution. Action : Define how to measure engagement and publicly display it for supporters to play the game with you. Action : Provide the tools for actions to become rituals and regular practices.

translate your vision into actions build rituals around your measures

Create Frequent small Campaigns Obama was on the campaign trail for two years. Instead of one long campaign he created a series of small frequent campaigns - often for 1-2 days only. Campaigns focussed on producing tangible results on specific issues or audiences. For example, volunteer recruiting or women to women. This diversity allowed supporters to select the ones that most appealed to them. And it allowed supporters to celebrate successes along the way. This is even more critical for a corporate campaign that may be ongoing with no definitive end in sight. Action : Chunk your overall campaign into smaller targeted flourishes.

Analyse Everything Every email, text message, website visit and online ad was analysed and tested to improve conversion rates and boost website traffic. Obama spent more than $16 million on online ads returning a 15 times return on investment. Action : Continually test, refine and experiment to find out what works best for your campaign. Then test some more.

RAP6 : What Are We Talking About?

PROFIT : The key to using digital technology and social media is to manage conversations. The glue that united Obama’s supporters was the design and tone of the interactions with and between his supporters: This is what we stand for; this is what we won’t tolerate and here’s how we’re going to do it.

Define the Conversation

define speak join

RAP

What we are going to talk about needs to match how we are going to do that. Obama’s rally was for a transparent and honest Washington DC. And, those who represented the broken political campaign became the enemy that had to be defeated. This included Hillary Clinton. In this battle it was important that Obama supporters did not fight negativity with more negativity. When Clinton was negative toward Obama’s campaign, rapid response teams mounted a new fundraising drive as a show of strength. ‘The Cost of Negativity’ inspired more than 10,000 people to donate $25 in a 24 hour period. Tutorials were also made available on how to interact with Clinton supporters to overcome smear campaigns and maintain open and honest discussion. Action : Define what you’re going to campaign about. Action : Define your own rules for how you’ll engage with your enemy. Action : Debunk any smear campaigns with a targeted team.

define the conversation lead by example

Create Meaningful Content In a campaign that generated over a billion email messages keeping the content relevant to the supporters was crucial. Rather than provide a single vanilla message to all; micro-segmented lists targeted specific messages to specific individuals. Three particular groups were defined: Location based - to hone into issues in one’s own backyard Important Issues - individuals selected those of interest when they signed up and Donation History - to ensure that respectful requests were made relative to the timing, scale and frequency of previous contributions. Action : Segment your supporter base and provide messages relevant to their requests and expectations.

Lead by Example Obama’s entire vision and campaign was based upon walking the talk. This included: Turning one-way directives into two-way interactions Bypassing the mass media and talking directly to supporters and voters - The announcement of Joe Biden as Vice President was made to supporters first via SMS. Ensuring a welcoming tone was flavoured throughout the campaign - Being inclusive and created a sense of ‘We’ was pivotal to the supporters experience and all content was designed to reflect this. Action : Be consistent and do the things you say you believe in. © Geoff McDonald 2010 • For More Info click on these links • Blog • Email the Author • Other issues available at: www.BookRapper.com • Page 10

RAP7 : Can I Say Something?

PROFIT : Social media is social because it’s for everyone to join in. One of your online goals is to give your supporters the opportunity to say something. Let them put their hands up and say their bit. This is what moves the world forward.

Connect With Email

define speak join

RAP

This was the first campaign where email was considered equal to other communication tools. And, it was the most common way to touch base with supporters because it was fast, agile and current. Growing the list was a priority of the campaign. 13 million signed up through a series of small incentives that included offering bumper stickers and badges. Obama’s emails were either written by a speech writer or transcribed from his mouth. The style was : brief, concise, written as if spoken, included a mix of text/pictures/links and were more intimate than other communication modes. Action : Build your email list as a priority. Action : Develop a style guide for your emails and stick to it.

Mobilize Up Your Ladder

let your supporters speak invite them to take specific action

The Obama campaign addressed short term and long term objectives through a series of small and specific requests. For instance : donate money, knock on doors, call voters. This up-selling approach enabled supporters to increase their level of commitment and involvement at their own pace. Combining this with specific training at each level allowed participants to remain comfortable in the way they contributed. Action : Define small sequential steps your supporters can take. Action : Make specific requests in line with these steps.

Go Neighbour To Neighbour One of the key tools developed by the Obama campaign was the Neighbour to Neighbour call system. This online phone banking tool enabled supporters to make calls from home rather than trudge into the field office. This was significant. It enabled supporters to contribute in 5-10 minutes time blocks rather than having to slot in one or two hours. The call system was also linked to an individuals MyBO page and added to their Activity Index. This meant all of their actions could be easily counted and displayed and they could be publicly acknowledged as a result. Action : Use online tools to facilitate other action. Action : Have real people call other real people.

RAP8 : Will You Join Me?

PROFIT : Obama, as good as he was, couldn’t win the election by himself. He only had one vote. What he needed to do was to invite all his friends and get new friends on-board to help him change the world.

Tap into the Existing

define speak join

RAP

At the heart of Obama’s campaign were the relationships that were built with various groups. Some groups pre-existed his nomination, including ones on college campuses and Facebook groups. Find out where your audience already lives, meet them there, listen and amplify their message as well as yours. Then invite them over to your home, ie your website. Action : Source and amplify existing groups and conversations.

offer the Right Incentives New groups and communities were also spawned. To do this your first challenge is to spark excitement, energy and engagement. Offering incentives that have high appeal to your audience and are easily delivered by you is the key. Obama offered a series of phone, face-to-face and dinner meetings with him. This was the ultimate prize for his supporters that cost little more than his time. It also confirmed his positioning that he was approachable, listened and was a real person. These prizes were also rewards for small donations reinforcing the view that every person and every contribution mattered. Action : Offer rewards that have high value in the minds of your supporters and are easily provided by you. Action : Offer rewards that reinforce the values and culture of your community.

locate existing groups engage in their way in their world

Provide Portable Engagement Smartphones now offer the chance to connect with your supporters wherever they may be. Mobility is the new frontier of the online world. The Obama iPhone app was installed by 95,000 people in 33 days leading up to the election. It had almost as many features as the website. It provided: news RSS feeds of announcements and press releases enabled supporters to call friends and connect like Facebook allowed views of photos and videos gave bite-size summaries of key campaign issues so supporters could use this in their daily discussions gave a countdown to the election date allowed supporters to donate. Action : Provide mobile ways for supporters to engage as they go about their lives through their smartphones.

RAP9 : Can I Play?

PROFIT : Old one-way media like TV encouraged us to passively sit on the couch and watch. New interactive media, like video games, invites us to play, participate and create something. Design your campaigns so your supporters can interact at different levels with each other.

Enable Supporters to Interact

play help share

The first point of contact for many Obama supporters was on their home territory or preferred social network such as Facebook, Linked In or Twitter. The Obama campaign then invited them to play on their own social network, MyBarackObama.com or MyBO. The primary function of this was to enable supporters to connect with one another. More than 3 million did. This allowed groups to self-organize and form around their areas of interest such as local areas, particular groups eg Hispanics or special interest groups such as climate change.

provide the tools to play

ADD

Action : Provide the tools to put your supporters in charge. Let them organize themselves and connect to each other.

provide clear roles to play

Leverage Creativity MyBO was not just about having a place to congregate. Tools were provided for individuals and groups to express themselves. They could create their own webpage, blog, directory, electronic mailing list, collective activity index and fundraising meters. 35,000 groups created their own home page. For users this made their fundraising and campaign experience a shared one, more meaningful and allowed them to feel part of the community. For campaign managers they could more easily keep in touch, listen to what was happening and provide support and feedback. Action : Give people the tools to create and express themselves. Then give them the space, freedom and permission to use them in their own way.

Provide Clear ROLES One of the keys to the Obama campaign was clarity. Clear, simple and specific requests for action were made. Likewise, clear and specific roles were offered to supporters. They could donate money volunteer their time take on an official role to nurture the community eg moderating conversations become a staff member. Each level was an increase in commitment and participation that allowed everyone to find their own way to contribute and be part of the community. Action : Define specific roles for your supporters at varying levels of participation.

RAP10 : Can You Help Me?

PROFIT : Once you’ve given your supporters the tools to play you need to help them use them so they can get the most out of it. There’s no point having a Ferrari if you don’t know how to drive it. And this is also a two-way street, learn from your supporters as they may learn from you.

Provide Training

play help share

ADD

Training your supporters in the use of your online tools is essential to expanding what they can contribute. Equally, you may want to train your supporters in how to respond to situations or generate conversations. For instance, Obama trained his supporters in how to respond to Clinton followers. In other words, teach your advocates how to defend your brand. This can be done through step-by-step video tutorials, downloadable guides and other material accessible from your website, blog or iPhone app. Action : Provide the resources for your supporters to contribute more powerfully.

Let Advocates Support You In building a community interaction is king. And the way you help your supporters is an easy way to provide personal service and interaction. The first step is to provide online resources. The second is to provide services that allow personalized interaction in learning to improve their skills. For example a weekly conference call to share skills, updates or tips. Bulletin boards and forums manned by staff ensure there is always someone nearby to help. This reduces frustration and improves trust in your brand and your campaign. Action : Complement your product learning resources with interactions with real people in real time. Be there for them!

help others do more learn how others did more

Learn From Your Supporters Learning is best applied when it is a two-way street. A key platform of the Obama inclusive‘We’campaign was to learn from their supporters. Campaign managers noticed which Obama material was reposted on Flickr or YouTube. They also encouraged users to submit content saying what they did and what worked on their MyBO account. They also invited users to teach other. Action : Listen, watch and learn to improve your performance by letting your supporters share what works for them.

RAP11 : Can I Share?

PROFIT : If you’re going to provide your supporters with the tools to create then you’ll need to also help them share their results. This might be as simple as asking questions or leveraging comments. Or, it might be as world shattering as creating viral video hits or iconic posters.

ASK Supporters Questions

play help share

ADD

One of the simplest and most powerful ways to involve your supporters is to ask them a question. The ideal time to do this is when they are signing up. And, the closer this provides mutual benefit the better. When supporters signed up and were creating their MyBO Profile they were asked two key questions Why do you support BO? This was potent because it prompted individuals to share their motivation fuelling public support. Are you registered to vote? This was critical to ensure they could translate online support into the desired and ultimate offline act. Action : Find out what motivates your supporters by asking simple questions.

Leverage Comments

make it easy to share small make it possible to share big

One of the most under-rated elements of social media is the Comment. They can turn a one-way blog post into a conversation, turn a negative statement into a positive one and become the public pulse of your movement. During the Obama campaign an informal competition broke out as to who could comment first on new posts. Comments were self-moderated with readers vetting and flagging inappropriate content. Staff then reviewed the comments and the action where necessary. This supported the empowerment theme of the campaign. Action : Listen and respond to the feedback and comments of your community to enhance conversations, observe the pulse of your campaign and empower users.

Support User Generated Content User generated content was a significant part of the Obama campaign. The most famous example was Shepard Fairey’s Obama poster (we paraphrased his poster for the cover of this issue). Will.i.am also sparked a viral sensation by setting Obama’s Yes We Can speech to music prompting 26 million views on YouTube. Wallpaper and ringtones of Obama quotes were also created and shared by supporters. User generated content provided a constant supply of new material and was more valuable than an ad campaign at no cost. Action : Inspire user generated videos as a show of supporter power.

Action : Your Online Map

PROFIT : Here’s the summary of 27 actions you can employ in your online campaign today. Pick one to implement and profit from. Then another and another until you’re President of the Free World... Or you’ve achieved your goal.

spark rap add

where measure why

define speak join

play help share

Where are we going?

What are we talking about?

Can I play?

Marry Campaign & Structure

Define the Conversation

Enable Supporters to Interact

Design For Consistency

Create Meaningful Content

Leverage Creativity

Focus on What Matters

Lead by Example

Provide Clear Roles

Why are we doing this?

Can I say something?

Can you help me?

Tell Your Story

Connect With Email

Provide Training

Blog To Share and Include

Mobilize Up Your Ladder

Let Advocates Support You

Video Your Story Into Life

Go Neighbour to Neighbour

Learn From Your Supporters

Are we there yet?

Will you join with me?

Can I share?

Measure Engagement

Tap into the Existing

Ask Supporters Questions

Create Frequent Small Campaigns

Offer the Right Incentives

Leverage Comments

Analyse Everything

Provide Portable Engagement

Support User Generated Content

Want More?

PROFIT : Want more? Here’s some suggestions to deepen your thinking and sharpen your learning. If you like this RAP, the best way you can say thanks is to share what you’ve found with others on Twitter, Facebook, in your blog, face to face, by sending them a copy or directing them to our website.

Geoff McDonald is a former architect who loves reading books, mapping ideas and designing board games. The Ideas Architect

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