Political candidates and campaigns have several reasons for using Twitter. They may want to build overall public exposure, establish branding, share information and increase voter support. While Twitter is simple to set up and use, it’s not without its quirks. To attract and keep more followers, avoid these common Twitter mistakes.
Mistweeting from the wrong account
Many people have multiple Twitter accounts. They may have a personal account and another for a political campaign. If you run multiple accounts, make sure you are logged into the proper account before you tweet! This mistake is more common than you may think, especially in the business world.
Confusing a direct message and a general tweet
Former New York Representative Anthony Weiner learned the hard way that there are big differences between a direct message and regular tweet when a lewd photo was posted to his campaign Twitter account. The scandal eventually led to his resignation. The lessons? Make sure you know who you are sending your messages to – and never assume that electronic communications will be kept private.
Being overly emotional
A little emotion in your tweets is fine. After all, you don’t want to give the impression that you are a campaigning robot. On the other hand, too much complaining, vitriol and anger can become across poorly. And keep your language clean, no matter what!
Letting the numbers fool you
The quality, not quantity, of your followers is important. You’re running to win an election, not a social media contest. Having 1.3 million Twitter followers doesn’t really matter if they are all mostly fake. Honestly, do you think anyone actually compares the number of social media followers between campaigns and throws their support behind the more ‘popular’ candidate?
Being too ROI focused
Although marketing through social media is arguably measurable, it does not mean you should obsess over the traffic and retweet metrics. The intangible benefits from relationships and message promotion are more important. (But for those who are interested, a few tools to help measure your social media ROI include Tweetreach and TweetDeck.
Online Candidate allows you to easily integrate social media into your campaign website. Start a website for your political campaign today.
Related: Top Twitter Tips for Political Candidates
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