{"id":41789,"date":"2023-10-20T15:16:30","date_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:16:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/startupsmart.test\/2023\/10\/20\/three-social-media-lessons-from-someone-whos-seen-inside-a-us-presidential-campaign-startupsmart\/"},"modified":"2023-10-20T15:16:30","modified_gmt":"2023-10-20T15:16:30","slug":"three-social-media-lessons-from-someone-whos-seen-inside-a-us-presidential-campaign-startupsmart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/uncategorized\/three-social-media-lessons-from-someone-whos-seen-inside-a-us-presidential-campaign-startupsmart\/","title":{"rendered":"Three social media lessons from someone who\u2019s seen inside a US presidential campaign – StartupSmart"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Rahaf<\/div>\n

During digital strategist Rahaf Harfoush\u2019s first trip to Australia, she did some media appearances and discussed her experience as a full-time volunteer for the digital strategy team on Barack Obama\u2019s 2008 presidential campaign.<\/p>\n

In the following days, the media reported her thoughts with references to her as \u201can Obama adviser\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was so clear about my role, and I just remember staring at it and thinking: \u2018How is this happening?!\u2019\u201d she tells SmartCompany<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cEver since that experience, I\u2019ve always been very much aware of what is being said,\u201d Harfoush says.<\/p>\n

The experience highlights that while the internet can be a difficult place to protect your brand from detractors, it can also be hard to correct embellishments and untruths that happen by accident.<\/p>\n

In Melbourne this week for the World Marketing and Sales Forum, Harfoush spoke about the need to separate enthusiasm for technology with the actual strategic value that it can bring to marketing and outcomes. With plenty of experience in using social media strategy to drive people\u2019s actions, here\u2019s three of her top tips for getting the most out of your time spent online.<\/p>\n

1. Start with the heart \u2013 and an old school plan<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Too often businesses tend to skip steps when planning their online outreach, often because they\u2019re impatient to get started with shiny new platforms. Stepping back to write out a hard-copy strategic plan can save a lot of time later, says Harfoush.<\/p>\n

\u201cBe very, very clear about what it is exactly you want to achieve,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe rate of innovation is so fast that we get distracted by the technology instead. That\u2019s why I like the focus on \u2018heart centric technology\u2019 \u2013 that every tech should meet a human need.\u201d<\/p>\n

2. Pick the platforms that will build community<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In her own work and research, Harfoush has her own choices to make about getting the best bang for buck via social media platforms. She says the best approach has been working towards building a community.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe most important thing for me is to share my ideas,\u201d she says. \u201cI use Twitter a lot, because I like to engage a lot, and I also use Medium and my own website. Honestly, more than that I just don\u2019t have the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Harfoush\u2019s involvement in Obama\u2019s campaign has affected her own approach to engaging with readers, because in retrospect the approach is a good case study in using social media to actually drive voter actions, she says. Deciding what action you want customers or clients to take from your engagement online can lead to strong results.<\/p>\n

\u201cOff the top of my head, the [current] political campaigns have been quite great at strategy,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think Hillary [Clinton] has built a cross-platform campaign.\u201d<\/p>\n

3. Do a digital audit<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The mix-ups over Harfoush\u2019s involvement in US politics \u2013 she does not work at the White House, as some have reported, and is not a government adviser \u2013 have driven home for her the need for digital audits, which is something all small businesses should be conducting regularly, she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThrough no ill intent, people can be misinformed,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

In a blog post on her experience, Harfoush encourages all digital strategists to dig deep into exactly what is being said about your brand and whether it\u2019s accurate.<\/p>\n

This approach goes beyond positive or negative sentiment about your brand online, because it\u2019s important that audiences see you as truthful.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s also important to note that you need to manage ALL the information that is being written about your brand, whether it is good, bad or just inaccurate. A flattering post with a few semantic twists can cause as much trouble as someone slamming your product,\u201d she writes.<\/p>\n

The key lesson? Reach out to people for corrections if something is factually off, and \u201cGoogle yourself. Frequently\u201d, she says.<\/p>\n

This article was first published by<\/em> SmartCompany.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

During digital strategist Rahaf Harfoush\u2019s first trip to Australia, she did some media appearances and discussed her experience as a<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":60688,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,13,1,15],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41789"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41789"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41789\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60688"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41789"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41789"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.startupsmart.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41789"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}