Since 2008, social media has expanded beyond the young user demographic and is continuing to enhance its personalization and interactivity. Which is why it turned the tables this presidential election, taking on a more proactive role by co-hosting debates, sponsoring town halls and creating new ways for voter/candidate communication. It’s awesome to see social media making a big impression that will forever change how future elections are ran. Thanks to their outreach, the 2012 elections are expected to be one of the highest voter turnout elections in U.S. history.

Just in case you missed it, here’s a quick recap of what social media has done for both candidates and tech-savvy constituents so far:

APRIL 20, 2011 – FACEBOOK TOWN HALL
Obama reconnected with the users responsible for his 2008 campaign success at Facebook’s headquarters. Moderated by Mark Zuckerberg himself, more than 1,700 questions to Obama were posted to the White House Facebook page and over 50,000 people watched the live-streamed event.

MAY 18, 2011 – YOUTUBE TOWN HALL
YouTube, owned by Google, created a channel for virtual debate. Users watch and decide which Congress members’ views they support before knowing which party the representative belongs to. The most supported videos are featured in the YouTube Town Hall Leaderboard. Congress members also respond to the top-voted user-submitted questions monthly.

JULY 6, 2011 – TWITTER TOWN HALL
Obama kicked off this event by making the first live presidential tweet in the White House. Twitter’s Executive Chairman, Jack Dorsey, then posed questions to Obama in real time that used the hashtag #AskObama. Radian6, Mass Relevance and curators monitored the tweets using Twitter’s search algorithms. Obama’s answers were condensed to 140 characters on @townhall and @whitehouse during the event.

SEPTEMBER 21, 2011 – TWITTER’S POLITICAL PAID ADVERTISING
Twitter allows candidates to purchase political Promoted Tweets, Trends and Accounts. Tweets feature a purple promoted icon and display a discloser line when hovered over. Unless you follow the accounts, the ads only appear on the top right corner of the UI, in trending topics and when you search for related topics.

SEPTEMBER 22, 2011 – GOOGLE/FOX NEWS DEBATE
Prior to the debate, about 20,000 viewers submitted more than 18,000 questions and 100,000 votes via text and video to the Fox News YouTube channel. As Google presented its public data and search trends in conjunction with debate questions, viewers voted on real-time polling questions and submitted comments as they watched. To top it off, the filing room was branded with Google’s logo and colors right down to the drinks.

SEPTEMBER 26, 2011 – LINKEDIN TOWN HALL
What better topic to discuss in a town hall hosted by the world’s largest professional network than job creation and the American economy. Similar to the Facebook Town Hall, CEO Jeff Weiner asked Obama questions from the live audience at LinkedIn headquarters as well as from more than 4,000 users in a specially created LinkedIn Group.

OCTOBER 6, 2011 – YOUTUBE POLITICS CHANNEL
Curated by Storyful, YouTube launched a channel that serves as the hub for all political videos by candidates, users, news networks, etc. You can also compare each of the major candidate’s YouTube stats including views, subscribers, video shares and amount of searches. While user-generated videos generate the most views, no one has been able to produce the same virality as the “Obama Girl” music videos.

JANUARY 8, 2012 (TENTATIVE) – NBC NEWS/FACEBOOK GOP DEBATE
Facebook is scheduled to co-host a primary debate on NBC’s “Meet the Press” moderated by David Gregory. There’s not much information about the interactive elements, only that this first-of-its-kind debate will be an innovative, multi-platform forum that will make history. Meanwhile, users can go to the Meet The Press and US Politics Facebook pages to share questions for the debate and interact with others.

Although we’d like to think the social media giants are facilitating these events entirely out of the goodness of their hearts, “their proactivity is backed as they hire lobbyists, form political action committees and nurture their relationships with lawmakers whose policy decisions affect the companies’ bottom line.” In other words, social media is using its power to “friend” politicians and reinforce its privacy issues, algorithms, advertising, censorship, etc.

Regardless of its corporate motives, this just means we’ll have an even better social experience and more marketing opportunities as it attempts to get government “approval” to develop its technologies further. We applaud social media for pushing its innovation (and politician friending) to bring the outdated practices of campaigning to the 21st century. By taking initiative to generate political conversation in the digital landscape, its shown its capabilities and proven itself a necessity for more than just elections.

In 2008, President Obama’s presidential campaign changed political marketing in various ways, but as a digital media agency we were intrigued with his use of social and mobile media to connect and garner support from the American people. After witnessing the overwhelming amount of success Barack Obama had with his voters, 2010 midterm election candidates on both sides of the aisle are embracing the power of new media, such as geo-targeted mobile ads, social websites and appealing designs that evoke a sense of sociability and openness, to connect with voters in time for election day.

Similar to President Obama’s mobile marketing efforts, candidates running in the 2010 midterm elections have stepped up their mobile advertising through geo-targeted mobile ads. Rep. Michele Bachmann used this tactic to target Minnesotans specifically at the state fair this past summer and as the Star Tribune notes, “campaigns are spending more of their budgets on sophisticated web ads that zero in on specific locations and demographics,” and rightly so. As we discussed in a past blog, mobile phones are a hyper-personal medium. Targeting smart phone users based on age, location, gender, search terms and residence can create awareness among groups of voters that matter most to a campaign’s overall success.

In addition to geo-targeted mobile ads, political parties have increased their social media use (of note, Republicans now hold eight of the top ten Capitol Hill Twitter spots, while 300 members of congress have turned to Facebook to stay in touch with the voting public) and taken steps to create community websites for constituents to interact with the political party and fellow voters. This past May, the GOP did this very thing when launching America Speaking Out. Its purpose is to solicit policy ideas from community members, who then vote for their favorite policy idea in order to create the GOP’s “Pledge to America.” The integration with Facebook and Twitter take this concept a step further as community members are able to share a policy idea and/or vote with their network of friends.

Finally, it doesn’t just end with new media channels. Design now plays an integral role in making sure the brand of a political party is open and inviting, encouraging a stronger social relationship. America Speaking Out moved in this direction with their website design and color palette in order to speak to voters who are unhappy with current leadership. Another intriguing web design change came from the Democratic National Committee. Armed with a new logo (reminiscent of Facebook and Twitter icons) and website redesign, the party’s new look was created to reflect what the DNC wishes to represent to America – “a community.”

Based on our observations of the new social media and mobile methods being used for the 2010 midterm elections quickly approaching, it’s obvious that new media is changing the face of political campaigning. With that said, we are confident that the new media tactics and strategies used today will empower politicians and political parties to expand their social reach by creating a network of supporters who will help spread their message to the American people.

Mindgruve believes this: RSS and traditional news sources in their current form are a dying breed, while entertainment and “valuable” content are getting easier to share. People are also spending more and more time on social networks, but rather than seeing a constant stream of mostly random, rarely significant tweets and Facebook updates, meaningful content – content that is shared by friends you trust – will rise to the top (it’s already a top driver of news media traffic). The remaining issue: money is key to making this work.

Offering consistently valuable content is a huge step forward for the digital world, but how do you do it without spamming your audience? We believe it should be done strategically, creatively and with respect for the users.

So, why focus on money and friends as it pertains to social media content? Simple. The two go hand-in-hand. If your friend suggests a story on the most recent Haiti relief efforts, you’re more likely to read it and share it again with your network. In time, as you spend increasing attention to specific outlets like Facebook, the less time you want to spend outside of it searching for content, resulting in a willingness to pay for the links that your connections suggest or you subscribe to. Content producers are more than excited by this prospect. Their goal now is to make content as easy as possible to share, while installing simple profit centers in which you can fund more content.

Of course, some people would prefer to keep their social networks cost-free. Invading “personal” space with requests to buy, buy, buy will likely cause revolt among certain audiences. Everyone has seen the Facebook backlashes and we wouldn’t be surprised if some individuals who are bombarded with media content dig their heels into the sand and say, “Enough!”

Ultimately, getting socially-attuned people to become early-adopters of the social media, media frenzy means taking careful steps not to overwhelm, while also providing a perfect balance of consumer cost analysis with content desire. It will be different for every single content provider (and each one is truly different) and a lot of fun to perfect.

Facebook promotion leads to increased brand interaction over the holiday season.

SAN DIEGO,CA – January 19, 2010 – During the 2009 holiday season, Mindgruve, a digital media firm based in San Diego, CA, launched a social media promotion that combined two popular holiday games – Secret Santa and White Elephant Gift Exchange – with a social media element. Through this effort, they were able to engage a large audience as well as provide them with a variety of gifts and discussions during a time when most agencies shut their doors.

Mindgruve posted an image of 16 wrapped presents on their Facebook page, along with a custom “Social Santa” tab explaining how the promotion would work. Any “fan” of Mindgruve could tag the gift they wanted with their name for a chance to win it.

“Our goal was to do something smart, simple and fun that encompassed our personality and philosophy. I think we achieved it perfectly with Social Santa. We engaged a large number of our peers and spread a little holiday cheer. The response was outstanding,” stated Mindgruve President, Chad Robley.

Mindgruve set the contest in motion through email as well as updates on their Facebook and Twitter pages, keeping fans abreast of the action. As people began to participate and discuss the promotion online, the popularity of the contest grew virally, increasing traffic, commenting and opportunities for interaction.

After one week, random winners were chosen and announced via email. To extend the campaign further, Mindgruve posted the unwrapped gifts with their respective winners and allowed the community to continue discussing the prizes, which ranged from old VHS tapes to gift cards to an iPod Shuffle.

As a result of the campaign, Mindgruve doubled their Facebook fans, sustained a multi-week surge of interaction through commenting and tagging, and participated in a series of meaningful engagements with their audience. Mindgruve looks to continue innovating internally and for clients with social media as it plays  an increasingly prominent role in consumers’ lives.

1. SEOcial Media
With the recent upgrades by Google and Bing to integrate Facebook and Twitter posts into search results, as well as the powerful new real-time and personalization functionality, creating a symbiotic relationship between SEO and social media will be key to getting results. With many clients already questioning the ROI of social media, this might confuse them even more, but here are some of the basics to get you started:

• The bigger your social media presence, the more your links and content become available for search engines to aggregate.
• The more frequently you update/interact on your social media – especially within popular/trending topics – the more likely you are to rise in the search results, including real-time results.
• Monitoring micro-trends in your social media space will give you insights for adjusting your overall SEO strategy – providing your audience with more relevant and “clickable” results.

The list goes on, and as Google and Bing refine their new functionality, it will become more clear to how to make the most of it. For now, start thinking of your social media as an extension of your SEO efforts and vice versa.

2. Let’s Go GEO
What’s true in real estate is quickly becoming true in digital marketing: Location. Location. Location. The increased use of smart phones, localized search, geo tagging and augmented reality has opened the door to better access your target with relevant information, helping you find them, when they want you.

The area most likely for a boom of growth is the use of smart phones. Applications like FourSquare, Yowza and Yelp provide a location-based way to quickly find just about anything you’re looking for, as well as deals attached to it. Brand-specific apps like myStarbucks add another layer, offering store locators based on a variety of criteria and can alert other Starbucks fanatics of your whereabouts.

On top of that, Twitter is getting in on the act with it’s new geo tagging API. This means that geo tags will quickly be as important as #tags for joining conversations. Recent statistics by the National Retail Federation state that 60% of consumers will use social media to locate deals and coupons. Combine that with eMarketer’s finding that 45% of social network users in the U.S. will be accessing their social networks from their mobile devices, and we believe that location is quickly becoming a key component of conversions.

3. Micro Content Is Big Biz
We know, Twitter was already a big deal in 2009, but this year, people are actually going to figure out how to use it. Additionally, Twitter is in the process of rolling out several business friendly features.

Let’s start with the obvious. The new paid brand accounts offer something that has been lacking for most companies (and their marketing departments): user analytics and improved feed-back functions. These additions, along with rumored ad space, should make providing relevant tweets to your audience a lot easier. Based on who they are and what they tell you, your Twitter now provides unlimited uses, such as a perpetual newsletter, talent recruiting, product/service launches, customer support, niche group building and contests.

Speaking of contests, “Tweepstakes” have become a proven source for increased interaction. And according to a recent Razorfish study, special offers (like contests) drive engagement, “consumers not only want to engage with brands, but engaging with brands is having an inordinate effect on affinity for brands and the likelihood to purchase.” Additionally, “of those surveyed, 64% had made their first purchase from a company as a result of a digital interaction…”

Whether you like it or not, in 2010, Twitter will be a key player in garnering a dedicated audience and encouraging them to partake in your products and services.

Of course, these are just predictions. The only thing that we are 100% sure of is that the landscape we work in changes daily, if not hourly, and we will continue to do everything in our power to bring industry-leading brand, digital and social media successes to our clients. Happy 2010!

SAN DIEGO, CA – In an effort to bolster tourism in a struggling economy, San Diego North has chosen to partner with San Diego, California-based digital media firm, Mindgruve. “We were looking for someone who could maximize our dollars and stimulate hotel occupancy. We have one of the greatest vacation areas in the country, if not world, so we wanted to make sure people found us on the internet when they were searching for vacation deals,” explained San Diego North Director of Marketing, Barbara Bovee. She continued “Mindgruve has a great track record of creating results-driven campaigns and that is exactly what we’re looking for.”

Focusing on travelers within driving distance of San Diego, Mindgruve is rolling out a comprehensive internet marketing plan that targets areas such as Phoenix, Las Vegas and Los Angeles, and encourages their residents to get away to San Diego’s northern coastline. “We’ve already implemented rich media ads, behavioral targeting and retargeting, as well as instituted an aggressive email marketing plan – all based around the trend of mini-vacations. The average vacation stay for people right now is only 1.8 days, so we want to make sure visitors make the most of everything our area has to offer in that time,” stated Chad Robley, Mindgruve President.

Looking to further engage active travelers, Mindgruve has also developed a Facebook fan page and Twitter account, which allows would-be vacationers to get a first-hand look at everything that is available to them. Barbara Bovee elaborated, “to us, it made perfect sense. Travel is often a very social thing to do. Not just during a trip, but also while planning it and then telling everyone about it afterwards. Through our social media presence, we’ve created a forum specific to our area where consumers can get the latest deals as well as share or plan their next adventure.”

About San Diego North

The San Diego North Convention and Visitors Bureau represents approximately 300 hotels spanning from La Jolla to Oceanside. By combining the efforts of these hotels to offer a cohesive message, San Diego North engages and incites travelers to explore the northern San Diego coastline and all the amenities it offers. www.sandiegonorth.com