Social media, widely used in high-profile ways during the US 2008 presidential elections, is being used even more aggressively - and in more sophisticated applications - by politicians in this year's election cycle.
Though it is rare nowadays to find a politician who doesn't have a Facebook profile or web page, some campaigns are going a step further, using online behavioral targeting to identify voters and target them with ads when they visit other websites.
Targeting Online Behavior
This new type of targeting - by which campaigns use web-browsing behavior to aim ads at potential voters - is being used by at least a few major campaigns this year - and many have discovered that the technology is faster to deploy now than it was a year ago, and cheaper to boot, according to Richard Masterson (via the National Journal).
Masterson is chairman of CampaignGrid, the Pennsylvania-based online ad agency running targeting efforts for New Jersey gubernatorial hopeful Chris Christie, as well as Rep. Jim Gerlach, who is vying for the GOP's nomination in the 2010 Pennsylvania governor's race. "I think in the midterm elections you're going to see an absolute explosion," he said.
As an example of how behavioral targeting is being used by Christie, online visitors who visit the gubernatorial hopeful's campaign site to read about his stance on taxes may be later greeted with Christie banner ads the next time they browse a story on a related topic at another website - say an article on the Wall Street Journal site about tax reform.
Following in Obama's Footsteps
Not surprisingly, politicians are also focusing on online fundraising in this cycle after witnessing then-candidate Obama's success with this medium, writes Huffington Post. "If the 2008 presidential race taught us anything, it's that the Internet is one hell of a cash machine. Obama's ability to raise as much money as his campaign could reasonably absorb, in part by returning to the small donors who stuck with him again and again through the worst, was decisive."
Elected and Still Conversing Online
Politicians not up for re-election or election this year are also leaping into social media in increasing numbers. The number of Congresspeople on Twitter is growing and some are even starting to experiment with mobile apps. The Republican leadership in the US House of Representatives this week, for example unveiled a free application for the Blackberry to keep users up to date on the latest Congressional developments through their cellphones.
"There has been a huge increase in the number of local and state politicians getting involved in social media; and not just in a cursory manner, but in ways that have opened the lines of communication to an audience clamoring for transparency," wrote Josh Sternberg, founder of Sternberg Strategic Communications at Mashable.
According to Sternberg, one of the biggest adopters on the state level has been Massachusetts (D) Governor Deval Patrick, who maintains a Twitter feed, YouTube channel, Flickr stream, blog and of course, website.
UK to Investigate Behavioral Targeting
In other news about behavioral ad targeting, the UK's competition authority last month launched two studies that will investigate behavioral-advertising pricing strategies and if some pricing practices are potentially misleading to consumers. The aim of the studies is to give the country's Office of Fair Trading (OFT) a view of how pricing strategies and techniques are changing in e-commerce, the agency said.
