Of every presidential candidate vying for their party’s nomination, Donald Trump is the champion of setting the media agenda. The Donald brings his agenda setting everywhere he goes, including the Twittersphere, which isn’t news to anyone following his campaign.
Rather than posting only platitudes or talking points, Trump actively engages with and shares tweets by his supporters and opponents, especially everyday voters with little social influence.
For example, Trump retweeted this post by @jak00seven, an unverified supporters with only 957 followers (and by first perusal, an eclectic and unfocused collection of tweets).
"@jak00seven: If you like how @HillaryClinton handled #Benghazi, then you'll just ♥ her as Commander-in-Chief #MakeAmericaGreatAgain"
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 7, 2015
@jak00seven is not a prolific social influencer by any means, but Trump’s attention to, for lack of a better description, “the little people,” makes his supporters feel heard.
Hillary Clinton and Marco Rubio would do well to follow Trump’s example and engage more with both their supporters and their opponents, although Clinton’s Klout score isn’t hurting at a healthy 94. Trump is currently at 87, while Rubio has a respectful 80.
Trump could use his Klout more effectively by posting a #ManicMonday status about the busy campaign trail, or perhaps a weekly #WomanCrushWednesday–not about the woman’s appearance, but about a woman whom he respects in business, politics or leadership. Considering his abysmal media treatment of women in the past, a tasteful #WCW stream might improve his general support among women.
Rubio could use #GoodNewsTues every week to share something positive happening in the world that has nothing to do with his campaign. A twitter feed that is consistently about one’s self becomes narcissistic and tiresome, even for a presidential candidate. Also, every candidate should use #FollowFriday to repay their most loyal supporters and perhaps give an endorsement to small businesses from their campaign stops. Considering the fact that these businesses are used as political fodder in almost every presidential campaign while rarely reaping any benefits, they deserve some recognition.
If we move to Instagram, Trump and Rubio could take a few pointers from Hillary.
She shares not only campaign photos with children in Hillary costumes and woman-power celebrity endorsers like Carrie Brownstein and Katy Perry, but throwback photos of her time as FLOTUS, endearing moments with her former POTUS husband, Bill, and a single descriptor in her bio: “Doting Grandmother.”
A photo posted by Hillary Clinton (@hillaryclinton) on Oct 11, 2015 at 8:26am PDT
Voters and Instagram users enjoy the “Days of the Week” posts, and candidates should embrace trending hashtags. Trump has a few throwback photos of himself in a graduation gown, but he would connect with voters on an emotional level if he shared a few photos of himself with his daughter Ivanka when she was growing up, or with his 9-year-old son, Barron. Privacy is one thing, but if he wins the presidency, his son will be in the spotlight whether Donald likes it or not. He may as well introduce his family to the world on his own terms.
The social media game can be intimidating, but with fully funded marketing teams at their disposal, there’s no reason these candidates shouldn’t reap every benefit of online connection.