Republicans continue to show that their online strategies are stuck in 1999. They think the Internet is best used for "pushing" information to supporters.
Here's what they need to know: the Internet is a medium for active communication. Users like click, read and take action.
Take this example. The message gets points for brevity, but it's a classic example of what's wrong with the GOP's style of online communication.
Subject: RNC General Chairman's State of the Party Address
Friends:
Last week at the Republican National Committee's State Chairman's meeting in Columbia, South Carolina I spoke about the current state of the Republican Party and the importance of addressing the challenges of today. You can view this speech if you click on the link below.
http://www.gop.com/MultiMedia/MediaPlayer.aspx?Id=1150Sincerely,
Mel Martinez
Yep. That's it. Someone mocked it up in a Word document and then dropped it into a blast e-mail system. I can't remember the last time Mel Martinez or the RNC sent me a message, but I'm thinking it was last November - a reminder to vote and donate.
As typical with communication from a Republican, this RNC message lacks imagination, personalization and there's no active component that allows me to help the Martinez campaign or the RNC furhter their goals.
At least they included a link, right? Well, yes, but it's a link to a speech.
Z z z z z z z z z z z z z.
While posting video clips is all the rage, a lengthy clip of a speech won't bring the RNC into the Web 2.0 age. Instead, it points out their disconnect with how to use the tools of the Internet.
I read blogs and I know the new sport is to tell the GOP how bad they are at online communication. But I want to provide some pointers so that I can't be accused of just bashing without lending a helping hand.
1. Personalize your message - Write a message to me, using my first name and write about something I care about.
2. Be brief - Tell me immediately why I should read the message.
3. Be Engaging - Next, give me an action, like a link to click and tell me what to expect when I click the link. Finally, tell me why it is important to take the action soon.
These three ingredients are simple and important.
E-mail as a communications channel is burning out. We can get it back if the messages are relevant to the reader.
If we keep sending impersonal messages with lengthy video clips, readers will ignore email messages in greater numbers. So stop contributing to the burnout of the best medium for delivering relevant, personalized communication.
Comments
I would add to your list
provide periodic acknowledgement of feedback you have received. It is one thing to tell us things, it is more engaging when we get the feeling that we are being listened to.
This is one reason talk radio enjoys the success it has. It gives us the impression, rightly or wrongly, that we are being heard
Sen. Mel Martinez
As a Florida resident and a Republican, I can report that my friends of like persuasion no longer consider the Senator's positions to be representative of our Conservative beliefs. You correctly portray him as a big yawn. We cannot expect much from the NRC with him at the helm, and unfortunately we cannot hope to win much if he stays in charge.
Promises?
from "The Stolen Vote" by Rep. John Boehner, minority leader of the U.S. House of Representatives
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=21834
"We know we can’t solve Americans’ challenges in health care, retirement security, and education by taking more of their money and limiting their freedom. When we return in September, House Republicans will resume our task of building a new and better future through freedom and security, not bigger government. We will continue to rebuild and recommit ourselves to the principles of smaller, more accountable government that define our cause, we will not only earn back our majority; we’ll also do great things together for the American people once we’ve got it."
I think a good place for the RNC to start is to make sure our Republician Rep's and Sen's stay focused.
Don't lie, cheat or steal, but be the example you are suppose to be, do not stoop to the level of the Dem's.
Fight for the "right" do not compromise the true conservative values.