2012 Presidential Election Gets Social

"In 2012, it is not enough for candidates to shake some hands, kiss a baby or two and run some TV ads. They also need to be posting funny little animations on the blogging site Tumblr," starts a New York Times post. "If the presidential campaigns of 2008 were dipping a toe into social media like Facebook and Twitter, their 2012 versions are well into the deep end. They are taking to fields of online battle that might seem obscure to the non-Internet-obsessed — sharing song playlists on Spotify, adding frosted pumpkin bread recipes to Pinterest and posting the candidates’ moments at home with the children on Instagram." Read more.

Comments to help you think: Do not the presidential campaigns of Obama and Romney resemble marketing campaigns for products/services? Of course they do. Each man is attempting to build confidence and trust so that one of them can "run" the country for the next four years. 

People build trust by sharing information, and that information starts off benign--such as a vetted playlist, bread recipes, or staged family pictures. The sites create the illusion that each man--reality  an annointed volunteer or paid staff member--has posted this material, thereby conveying the notion that the viewer becomes "closer" with each man. How does this play a role in today's election? 

For 90 percent of Americans who say that they will vote in the election, it does not matter, according to poll samples. They will hold firm in their opinions. Obama and Romney are chasing after the 10 percent who remain undecided--especially in swing states such as Ohio and Florida, which have a few dozen Electoral College votes. 

Remember your civics classes. Members of the Electoral College in each state vote for the president. They have 538 voting members. The results of the Electoral College vote determines the next president--not the results of the popular vote. As a result, a person running for President of the U.S. could lose the popular vote but win the election. It has happened three times (Adams, Hayes, and Bush Jr.). 

Each candidate, therefore, wants to win in the swing states to ensure that they have those Electoral College votes. Do you not think that marketers also must find certain consumers to efficiently improve market share (the percentage of sales for a particular product category) in a given region or country?