Last Presidential Election President Obama used Twitter in an effective way. It didn’t hurt to have one of the co-founders of Facebook helping him. Obama had many followers and followed many people (which is key). He used Twitter to promote exclusive content and participated in the conversation.
Since the field of Republican Candidates for 2012 is heating up we are going to take a look at who is using Twitter wisely and who doesn’t have a clue.
Grade F Jon Huntsman (Followers: 6,462 Following: 88 Tweets: 23) Huntsman present Twitter program is not only bad but embarrassing. Whoever is advising Huntsman on Social Media needs to go….now. It is the triple header of awful. Pathetic followers followed by few Tweets and poor Following. Not only is Huntsman not using Twitter in an effective manner these numbers make his campaign look ridiculous.
Grade D- Ron Paul (Following: 15,191 Following: 96 Tweets: 121) We did not except Ron Paul to be really into Social Media. Since he was born before electricity was invented to would be a large leap to expect him to using Twitter effectively. Ron Paul has a solid base. He has supporters that are passionate about his views. Twitter could be a cheap and effective tool for him to energize his base. His team is missing a great opportunity. They should at the very least look at what Michelle Bachman is doing with Twitter. Like Paul her base is committed to their cause and know their way around social media.
Grade D Mitt Romney (Followers: 59,986 Following: 217 Tweets: 486) It is great to have a lot of people following you but what are you doing with that resource? Following only 217 shows you are NOT having a conversation. And the 486 Tweets show you are not providing nearly enough content. Romney could and should be doing a lot better. His Twitter usage is making him look dumb and we all know Mitt Romney is not stupid. The other problem is small message verses big message. Romney seems to have a problem with small message (see Michelle Bachman’s review) and he is starting to look like the antimatter Hillary Clinton (and we all know what happen to Hillary in 2008).
Grade D+ Rich Santorum (Followers: 12,158 Following: 66 Tweets: 854) Obviously there are problems here. But I do like how the Santorum team is starting to use Twitter. 854 tweets is a good sign that they are sending out good content. The problem is that they are not following enough people. If they want an explosion of followers they should increase their following to a few thousand key social mavens (people who actively add content to the conversation that reflect their views) and start ReTweeting content (the best compliment you can give a Tweeter is a RT). Once people know you are in the conversation they will come flocking.
Grade C- Tim Pawlenty (Followers: 44,467 Following: 1,470 Tweets: 649) The Pawlenty team show some hope that they are starting to get it. The “Follower to Following” ratio is still off but heading in the right direction. 649 Tweets is not a bad start. Pawlenty Social Media team has to more cross promotion through multiply social media platform (Ping.fm is a great tool). Put something on Facebook…Tweet it. Goes to a rally…Tweet it. Good article in the news…Tweet it. ReTweet people that you are following that make great content. You are in the game but you need to try harder.
Grade C Herman Cain (Followers: 50,945, Following: 1,761 Tweets: 1,329) The Hermanator has done a good job in getting followers but a fair job in following back. Cain also has a nice grass root movement going on and Twitter is a perfect tool for him to use to expand his base. The 1,329 Tweets means that he is using Twitter to get his message out but if he empowered some of his followers that are true social media mavens by ReTweeting his grade would increase to a “B” in no time.
Grade C+ Sarah Palin (Followers: 603,919 Following: 116 Tweets: 985) Points for having over 600,000 followers but only following 116? That is just plain wrong. It just shows that the Palin Camp is not interested in having a conversation. If you don’t engage people your content will not be going viral. Palin just has to make a statement and most of the news outlets in the country are going to air it. But Twitter gives Palin the opportunity to speak directly to social mavens that would spread her message across the web. Her base uses Social Media very well and it would benefit her to increase your presence. The Palin Camp’s present Twitter strategy is a missed opportunity.
Grade B- Newt Gingrich (Followers 1,325,980 Following: 454 Tweets: 2,645) Newt, like his campaign, beats to a different drummer. Over a million followers he should be slamming Twitter. But following only 454 people is woefully inadequate. 2,654 Tweets is a good start but it is not really a conversation. More listening to his followers and less talking would be a good start. But we know Newt will be Newt.
Grade B+ Michele Bachman (Followers 62,532 Following: 17,536 Tweets: 775) It is not a surprise that Bachman gets the highest Twitter grade. Her campaign is starting to look like Obama’s in 2008 (in some alternate Universe) as Romney is looking more like Hillary Clinton (again some mirrored reality). Romney seems to running on big money and big message. Bachman is taking the more micro route. She is using Social Media and small groups of connectors that will relay her message to her base. This is very smart because it cost A LOT less than traditional “big message” and history has shown that early big three primaries (Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina) like the small message. Bachman knows her base. The Tea Party uses Twitter and other social media outlets very well. There are some great Tea Party Twitters out there. Bachman is definitely in the conversation.
The great thing about Social Media and Inbound Internet Marketing is that it not too late to change your strategy and it doesn’t cost a lot to do so. Plus the benefits are great. It will be interesting to see how the Republican Candidates for President move forward.
