The Canadian Elections and Web 2.0
October’s upcoming election is just around the corner and it’s exciting to see how the candidates are using the web, and Web 2.0 social marketing features, as a platform to generate interest, awareness and as a means of persuasion.
The use of social media by Barack Obama in the US Presidential elections is setting the stage for our Canadian candidates. With everything on the line, and the Prime Minister’s job at stake, let’s check in to see who’s doing what online.
And more importantly, who’s winning the Web 2.0 race.
(Note: this article does not supporting any Party or Campaign. We are simply stating which candidates are using Web 2.0 tools. These comments do not reflect any political affiliation by Fenix).
Stephen Harper is pulling out all the stops with this election and is using every social marketing tool available to send out his message. He has accounts with Facebook, FriendFeed YouTube MySpace, Flickr, not to mention two twitter accounts (English: @pmharper and French: @premierministre).
He’s got videocasting and podcasting features on the site, as well as the ability to watch videos and ads.
But is he winning the race? Not by a long shot.
Stephen Harper is using Web 2.0 features in his campaign, but he is treating them simply as a means of pushing his message to constituents. The problem? Social marketing dictates that these mediums are intended to encourage dialogue, interaction and communication. They are a two way street.
Stephen Harper is using social marketing tools as another medium to simply present his message – the conversation part of social marketing is missing. The idea is to engage users and not simply push messages to them.
Even his My Campaign site only offers the ability to write letters, fundraise and recruit supports. There are no blogging or online community tools, just the same tactics candidates have used for years.
Jack has something to offer., he has all the bases covered, and then some.
Jack has a Twitter account and is using a friendly style with his tweets. His tweets are also posted on the homepage of his campaign site showing a nice tie-in and cross-promotion of his social media activities.
The NDP website is, well….awesome. There is a whole section devoted to “blogging tools” which includes everything you need to promote the NDP in your blog and on your website. There are logos, photos from the official NDP Flickr account, banner ads and promotions – all available for you use and distribute. You can even use their nifty video tool that lets you post and share NDP videos online.
The NDP have a Facebook account with a decent following, but also have a Facebook app that you can install to share videos and gifts and get involved in Jack’s campaign. They are also using YouTube to feature their campaign ads.
AND, users can upload content to the Campaign site the Orange Room! This is the whole premise of social marketing – user generated content and two-way communication. In fact, the Orange Room is the NDP’s user generated hub for the campaign. Nice.
There was even talk in some media circles (CBC to be exact) that Jack’s team had scored major SEO points by ensuring any search for keywords including “conservative” and “Stephen Harper” among others landed on an ad for the NDP. I didn’t see this when I tested it, but perhaps the Conservatives sat up and took notice once they realized what was happening. In any event, I thought this was very clever.
If you’re a fan of the NPD, Jack is making it very easy for you to promote his cause and recruit more followers. AND he’s doing it the right way by using the power of the community. He’s making his information available to the community and letting them spread the word.
The Liberals campaign online, up until only a few days ago, was dismal. With only a Facebook page and a dated YouTube channel , they were falling fast behind the other the NDP and the Conservatives.
Since September 8th, the Liberals have upped their game and have added a Twitter account, Flickr gallery and a MySpace page with a Blog entry feed. They have updated their YouTube Channel ensuring recent video posts. They have also recently added a “Dwnloads” section to the main Party site that allows you to copy video code and feature Liberal video on your own site, along with Liberal banner ads and logos.
At www.thegreenshift.ca, their website dedicated to their main platform, offers little with respect to social marketing aside from the traditional “send to a friend” feature.
It is encouraging to see a shift in recent days by the Liberal party to make better use of their online environments and available Web 2.0 tools.
Green isn’t doing…anything. Elizabeth May is recently Twittering, but not in a useful, friendly, effective manner. And, she isn’t actively following anyone. The Green Party does have a Facebook group .
The Green Party site doesn’t actually incorporate any social marketing or Web 2.0 tools, which is odd, considering May won her right to debate based on social marketing tactics (specifically one very powerful Facebook group).
The Bloc is also doing …nothing. Again, Gilles recently started twittering apparently due in large part to Buzz Bishop’s encouragement, but this is not published to the Bloc site, nor promoted anywhere. Elizabeth May’s Tweets are also not published on her Party’s site, but at least the visual layout of the Green Party site is pleasing. The Bloc site …isn’t. AND it’s only offered in French.
The Bloc does have a Facebook group, as do all other parties.
Miscellaneous
Although they don’t necessarily fall into the category of social media, the following illustrates other “cyber campaigning” web tactics being employed by the Parties:
Liberals vs Conservatives: the Liberals have launched Wikipedia inspired Scandalpedia.ca; an anti-Conservative site
Conservatives vs Stephane Dion: the Conservatives have set up www.notaleader.ca; a Conservative driven attack on Liberal leader Stephane Dion.
Final Thoughts:
Where all parties fall short, in my opinion, is in the area of online community. Online communities have proven to be powerful and effective forces for engaging users, connecting individuals and sharing information. If you don’t agree, or are partly skeptical, think Facebook. An effective online community can harvest hundreds and thousands of like-minded users, and can become legitimate and credible mediums for swaying public opinion. None of the parties are using an online community approach, perhaps due to the time-constraint of the election. But this is where the opportunity lies to engage followers and persuade constituents, and set up a community that lives beyond the current elections.
Editor’s note: This article is not intended to act as a political stance by Fenix, or the employees of Fenix. We are simply stating what we see with respect to the leaders and their Web 2.0 initiatives. The Party sites may have evolved and changed since this article was written and published.
Sources: in part, or in whole, via the following references www.buzzbishop.com/blog, www.mynameiskate.ca., www.nowpublic.com/world/canada-votes-2008-campaigning-web-2-0-world.
