Thursday, July 19, 2012

The politics of Twitter

Earlier this month, we posted an infographic breaking down the political lean of different social channels. Here's one that does basically the same thing for Twitter. As confirmed in the last infographic, Twitter leans to the political Right.

While you're thinking about Twitter, be sure to follow us @PolitiKlout!

Click image to enlarge.
Via mainstreethost.com

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Targeting influencers on Twitter vs. brand advocates

Jay Baer’s Convince and Convert published this infographic which compares influencers with brand advocates on social media. Mediabistro's "AllTwitter" explains:
As the infographic explains, influencers are the high-tech version of celebrity endorsements. They are characterized by large followings and usually require an incentive – such as money or free products – to support your brand on social media. 
Brand advocates, however, are highly satisfied customers who take it upon themselves to promote your brand because they genuinely value it. They are trusted by 92 percent of consumers, while influencers are trusted by only 18 percent.
Though, Lauren Dugan goes on to say that this study shows that "influencer outreach is overrated," we would argue that the term "influencer" is just oftentimes misused or misunderstood. Certainly, as the term applies to national celebrities like Sean Hannity or Rush Limbaugh, influencer outreach will most likely prove fruitless.

But what about niched influencers (people who are "celebrities" about a specific topic - like Chris Brogan)? Or influencers within a geographic area (like a local newspaper, or a well-respected politico)? While it would prove a monumental effort and achievement to get attention from, or the endorsement of, a national-level celebrity, the same isn't necessarily true of local, relevant influencers.

We'd also argue that if brand advocates are trusted by 92% of consumers, they are influencers about that brand.

Favorable tweets or retweets from your local paper or a well-respected figure within your county's party could potentially have as much impact in a local race as anything you might receive from a national level celebrity any way, and they're a lot easier to acquire. As we say at PolitiKlout, targeting matters.

Still, it's important to understand the difference between a brand advocate (or ambassador) and an influencer.

Click image to enlarge. H/T All Twitter.

Friday, July 13, 2012

What's the most effective type of digital marketing?

Texting, apparently.

According to this infographic from Mogreet, 84% of Facebook news feed stories aren’t viewed, 71% of tweets get ignored and 88% of emails go unopened. Yet, 98% of text messages get opened. So, in theory, companies that market through SMS/MMS have a far truer reach.

Thank goodness PolitiKlout offers texting solutions in addition to social media outreach alternatives. But as a general rule of thumb, we'd advise that you not assume everyone's using the same platforms - and so a comprehensive digital marketing strategy is necessary.

Click on image to enlarge. H/T Mashable

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

The political lean of different social media

As the infographic (found on Mashable) indicates, users of services on the left of this chart are more likely to vote for Obama, while users on the right are more likely to be Romney supporters. Services higher on the chart have more politically engaged voters, while those on the bottom have more politically disengaged users.

Click image to enlarge...

The take-away here, is that the largest social channels (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Google+) are relatively politically centrist, and pretty politically engaged. Meaning, the oft-encountered myth that the internet is dominated by the political Left is just not true. These social channels are the new age battlegrounds for political hearts and minds, and any campaign would be ill-advised to neglect using social media to engage constituents.