The mid-term elections have been exhausting for most of us for a variety of reasons.  Whether you’re sick of emails or robo calls, or your job was on the line, chances are you are ready to take a well deserved breather.  I’m not going to talk about any specifics today…I’ll leave that to the pundits who want to dissect what went wrong or right for each candidate.  What I want to talk about is the social media echo chamber many of us witnessed this political season.

I have been one of the more active voices in Ohio advocating for the value of social media in government and, by relation, in politics.  But I must say I’m disappointed in how social media was used by all sides.  Somewhere along the line I think people got the impression that the Obama campaign used social media only to push messages.  To be fair, that may be somewhat true, but they also inspired people to share and push messages to their friends.  Even this week, did you notice how many people encouraged each other to vote on Facebook and Twitter?  The Obama campaign made things like this cool and exciting to participate in.

But what was lost on certain political staffers and advisors is how social media works best.  Things have changed in the past two years.  Social media participants generally expect more than one way communications these days.  They may follow your political tweet stream because they support you…but if you already have these votes, what are you gaining?  At most, perhaps a retweet here and there.  And your staff, who enjoy sharing every flaw of the opposing team, are surely quite vocal.  But they have hardly any followers, fans, etc.  And all of the ones they have are also the already converted.  So they spend most of the time talking to each other and getting each other hyped up.  This is the social media political echo chamber, and it’s not particularly useful for advancing your campaign.

Some politicians will wake up this morning and begin making the transition from campaigning via social media to the world of government 2.0.  Many more politicians are waking up this morning and know they have a few years before they make another go at any type of office.  Social media will continue to be a huge part of people’s lives, and campaigns should keep it central to their communications and outreach strategy.  But here are a few tips for building value through social media in the political world:

• Learn the space you want to participate in.  This does not just mean 6 months or 6 weeks before an election.  How do people communicate and what types of communications provide the most value to users?
• Figure out who to follow and how to target potential followers/converts.  Imagine instead of just tweeting to each other if you found people with actual concerns or questions in the social media space and reached out to them and answered them or engaged them in conversation.  Think how much more likely they are to go tell their friends about their experience.  This is similar to the idea of having a candidate knock on doors—but they don’t even have to leave their desk.
• Be real.  I understand that candidates or leaders cannot always participate on social media as themselves.  However, many other politicians do it.  Really.  Consider participating as yourself on a regular basis (even once or twice a week is a start!)  And learn to use a smart phone to update Facebook and Twitter.  It’s not that hard and people will think you’re more ”with it.”
• Social media is not just for the campaign trail.  If you want to build a lasting presence and relationship with people, make social media a part of your professional life, your campaign strategy, and your official use once in office.  Citizens are present on these channels 365 days a year and you will learn alot about yourself, the way you present your issues, and the way you govern.  It may spur positive changes on all fronts.

What have I missed?  I’m sure there are things you’ve noticed this season.  Please add your comments.