Read on Twitter
Hey friends. Here’s a PSA to talk about social media marketing and LIST-BUILDING, specifically how it relates to political campaigns.
A Thread. 1/
A Thread. 1/
I’m sure you’ve seen the posts about the Trump campaign rally in Tulsa, and maybe more specifically about signing up for tickets on his website and then not showing up. 2/9
Here’s why that’s a bad idea: first of all, the rally is first-come, first serve. The tickets are meaningless. At best, you’re feeding his campaign numbers to parade around as “look how many folks are gonna be at our rally!” 3/9
But more importantly, and more insidiously, political campaigns can MONETIZE DATA. Every click through to his site, email address, every phone number. Yes, EVEN THE FAKE ONES. 4/9
Online marketing campaigns, both political & commercial, can make a LOT of revenue by selling off their lists. Every email address on there is a data point, and therefore a dollar amount. 5/9
Remember those goofy “How’s Trump Doing?” surveys? These are designed to Make You Mad. And when you’re mad, you share it, and more people get mad, and it spreads because those posts get more engagement and they get bumped up by the social media algorithms. 6/9
It’s a numbers game, y’all. Your outrage is being monetized. You’re not going to make 45 personally upset when you fill out a survey or sign up for rally tickets. It may make you feel like you’re sticking it to The Man, but I promise you’re not. 7/9
Instead, consider focusing your energy on positive resources: share your local BLM organizations and community aid networks! Share donation links and information! Share fundraisers! 8/9
In the digital age, ATTENTION IS CURRENCY. Stop paying the wrong people. 9/9
Here’s a 2018 article about it: https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/trump-campaign-selling-email-and-phone-lists-for-millions-of-supporters/
And another: https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2019/06/email-list-for-sale-2020-candidates-are-paying/
Sorry for being long-winded y’all, in a past life I worked in social media marketing and I just get RILED UP https://www.niemanlab.org/2019/03/one-year-in-facebooks-big-algorithm-change-has-spurred-an-angry-fox-news-dominated-and-very-engaged-news-feed/
Oh cool they’re already bragging about the inflated numbers and now thanks to that, considering adding a second event; these are the kinds of things that add momentum to a campaign and can attract fence-sitters to their side. https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/502570-trump-campaign-manager-says-300000-tickets-registered-for-upcoming-rally?amp
Nvm the fact that the entire pop. of Tulsa is only ~400k, or the BOK stadium capacity is just a smidge over 19k - people who were already uncertain won’t look that up. They’ll just see the reported numbers & go “WOW that many people are into this guy, maybe I should be too!”
Look, folks, if you don’t believe me, here it is from the horse’s mouth. BIGGEST DATA HAUL BY 10x.
