PR campaigns in US

 PR campaigns in US

Elections occur every four years; candidates always begin their PR campaigns for them to be heard by as many voters as possible. 2016 was no different; the candidates presented themselves as are required a year or so before the actual election day in November. To reach out to the voters, the PR campaign team ensures that the right information is put out there, and most importantly, the channel used to promote the candidate’s message is used. Campaigns are often in life with technology in place and innovations. 2016 was nit any different in respect to the past campaigns.

Donald Trump

Donald Trump used digital media and social media platforms to market for his brand. At one moment he is bragging, the next moment he is thanking his supporters for showing up on his rallies. Trump uses Twitter to vent what he feels should be said, but no one is saying it, this is according to a trump twitter follower. Some supporters loved how unfiltered he was with his words and emotions. Trump had mastered Twitter in a way no other politician could use it as a tool to promote his political campaigns. His tactics earned him a significant advantage in the press and the PR. President Trump used Twitter to create a buzz around him. Although Trump has the choice to use all the other channels, he chooses social media because he understands his audience well. He delivers the message most effectively with a mix of entertainment, which has helped make his messages going viral.

This was a success for President Trump; in fact, he was mentioned as the candidate with the most effective campaigns.

Hillary Clinton

Clinton used social media in the best way as compared to the other presidential candidates. Clinton has a whopping 5.6 million followers on twitter, about 920,000 followers on Instagram, and 2.7 likes on Facebook. One may say that numbers don’t mean anything, but for Clinton, she utilized the numbers on her social media platforms. For example, Clinton launched her campaigns on twitter and YouTube. She also took advantage of her numbers on social media to engage with her audience. Her social media presence also made her gain popularity and favor from the people. Clinton’s comments always went viral on social media; this showed how powerful social media platforms could be. Having raised more money than Trump, Hillary Clinton spend around $10 million on television ads in comparison to Trump, who spend approximately $6.4 million.

Aside from the social media world, Clinton was also using digital media through ads. According to a study, her popularity grew with the volume of ads and networks used to cover ads. Even Hillary Clinton has gone viral for her looks that are to show she is just like everyone else by posting her pictures on Instagram with different outfits. She also did share her interests with people on her Pinterest page. Similar to Trump, Hillary Clinton used her channels effectively to connect with her audience. Her strategy was successful despite her not winning the elections. Hillary Clinton the first woman ever to be nominated for the presidency.

Bernie Sanders

Bernie Sanders used content marketing in his 2016 presidential race. Unlike the other candidates who already had a large following on the internet, his on the internet grew once he announced his candidacy. His PR campaign focused on websites, blogs, social media, and articles. He said he took part in the content creating most of the time. His campaign focused on long-form content. The material on his website was well written and informative; it clearly states how Bernie would address the various problems.

Still, on content marketing, Sander’s PR campaigns included news relevant to Sanders’s policies, which was used to create an information feed on his website, which was known as the Democracy Daily. It also provided social sharing options. Also, to reach out to the millennials, Bernie Sanders indulged in the social media world, where he created ads on these platforms such as Facebook. Bernie Sanders was said to have the most aggressive political campaign on social media ever. Although the PR campaign team barely used social engagement in their strategy, they heavily invested in content marketing, which boosted Bernie Sanders. His approach, however, failed since he did not do it on the nominations part. He was not able to win the millennials who account for a significant number of the voters.

Ted Cruz

Ted Cruz mostly targeted on the millennials by using various platforms to reach out to people. This was somewhat evident when he announced his candidacy at midnight when most millennials are awake and actively on social media. Ted Cruz allegedly contracted out psychological data about the US Facebook users, which Ted would use to his advantage to know what his audience like and use it to promote himself on social media platforms. I think his strategy failed because of the alleged research method that he used. It raised a lot of privacy issues among people.

As mentioned, all the PR campaigns mostly use social media platforms, which have created ways in which political marketing is done and other channels for the candidates to interact with the voters. According to a survey conducted by the Pew Research center, approximately 44% of Americans accessed the information about elections on social media platforms. Trump and Clinton had 10 and 8 million followers on twitter, respectively. Pew also stated that the candidates posted 5-7 posts in a day Facebook and 10-12 tweets a day. Although they used other channels to market their brands, it’s clear that the campaign change with times.