Posted on Nov 21.06 to Blogging, politics, political marketing, SEO, Web Development, Online Marketing, Search, New Media, Publishing |   

First, some statistics:

• In 2004, over 40% of Americans got campaign information online. (source)
• Another study said that in 2003, 68% used the net to keep up with political candidates, and 29% submitted their email address to receive more info. (source)
• In 2006 51% of liberals got election information online. (source)

More data:

• Internet Use and Political Information
• Internet Becoming an Important Factor in American Politics
• Details Come Out on Kerry Online Ad Campaign
• Online Political Ad Spend Going to Email, Not Ads
• Why the campaigns should advertise in your search results
• Political Search Engine Marketing

First, we heard about google bombing. Crude and inefficient, but potentially hilarious and powerfully grassroots. And then, of course, there was Howard Dean’s blog that almost won him the democratic nomination. In the past few elections, blogs have played an integral role in elections, uncovering scandal and debunking lies, but that’s the tip of what the online marketing iceberg can do for politics, even at a local level. With the rise of consumer generated media, there are a multitude of places candidates, parties, and organizations can turn to get their message out.

Here’s a few ideas:

• Blogging
• Wikipedia
• SEO
• Email
• YouTube
• Digg
• Indymedia
• Forums
• Viral Ads/LinkBait

I plan to research this area more in the coming weeks and months, so look out for my posts.