Targeting older voters online: Google it, baby
In recent election cycles, political campaigns’ successful leveraging and integration of technology into their political, communications and fundraising work has been increasingly evident. However, many political operations continue to treat online as simply a box that needs to be checked, or something done just to communicate with younger voters. The prevalence of both conclusions is a pet peeve of all online strategists, but data that emerged this week suggests that the latter should particularly be so, with it becoming increasingly clear that it’s not just the kids who hang out online— more and more, it’s Mom, Dad and grandparents, too.
In the wake of Sen.-elect Scott Brown’s victory, his new media operation has garnered much praise and many headlines—and rightfully so. As of the day after the election, he had about 130,000 Facebook fans, and about 16,000 followers on Twitter. The day after the election, his campaign confirmed that Brown raised $12 million online in January, alone. Moreover, ABC’s Rick Klein reported that according to a Google representative, Brown’s Google advertising garnered him 65.5 million impressions in Massachusetts, or about 10 impressions per resident. LEK Consulting, iStrategyLabs and Nielsen data should confirm for those in any doubt that a great many of them will have been those older, more reliable voters. Under different circumstances, involving a less aggressive online effort, they might have voted for Martha Coakley—or, perhaps, not at all.
According to a study released this week by LEK Consulting in which 2,000 respondents were surveyed, Web users aged 50-64 reported using the Internet an average of 8.3 hours per week, whereas those aged 24-39 reported spending just 6.8 hours a week online. But what’s arguably more interesting, and important for campaigns to understand, is what these older web users do when they are online: More than their kids or grandkids aged 18-24, they “get information.” In practical terms, that means searching, which has two important implications for political operatives.
First, don’t ignore online media and bloggers. With Google continuing to heavily dominate the search-engine market and Google loving blogs, even those not reading Daily Kos or RedState routinely will find information posted there—and it could influence their votes and opinions.
Second, don’t ignore online advertising, or treat it as a second-rate priority: Search ads feature prominently and grab attention—and as every political operative knows, for as much as every campaign wants to engage and activate younger voters, even under the best of circumstances, they continue to represent a fairly small slice of the overall voter pie.
In 2008, the Obama campaign famously made a priority of turning out young people to volunteer and vote, just as they did taking the campaign online—and, to be fair, Obama did succeed in garnering overwhelming support from voters aged 18-29 (66 percent according to exit polls). However, these voters only made up about 18 percent of the total pool in that election, whereas voters aged 50 to 64 made up 27 percent. The bottom line is, it still pays to turn out the oldies, even if bringing younger voters onside early and locking them down as Democrats or Republicans can pay off over the long term.
The good news, too, is that there’s more than one way of reaching them online—it’s not just up to “the Google.” While the LEK Consulting study demonstrates that younger respondents spend more time social networking than do their older peers, increasingly, Americans outside the 18-24 age demographic are using Facebook and Twitter (the two tools campaigns most commonly ask about leveraging). According to data released last year by iStrategyLabs, the total number of Facebook users aged 18-24 grew by about 5 percent between January and July 2009. By contrast, the number of Facebook users aged 35-54 grew by about 190 percent whereas the pool of users aged 55 and up grew by a jaw-dropping 514 percent.
This trend is not confined to Facebook, either. As early as last March, Nielsen data had demonstrated that Twitter was gaining significant traction with users aged 35-49, with almost 42 percent of the site’s audience in February 2009 falling into this category. Meanwhile, the proportion of unique visitors to Twitter 55 and older was only slightly smaller than the proportion of those aged 25-34 (about 17 percent to about 20 percent).
As ever, the data tells the story: There is no demographic that cannot be reached online. Whether targeting the young, or the young at heart, campaigns should make new media a priority.
Liz Mair is vice president of Hynes Communications, where she advises on online communications and new media for political and public affairs clients, including Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s Freedom First PAC. She was the Republican National Committee’s online communications director in 2008.
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“Older people”, that alone reveals that Ms. Mair has failed already in underestimating her grouping as she believes she can target an age group.
She will learn as she grows “older” that intelligent people read and unintelligent people watch video. It is a completely different psychological profile, and, it is one which has “older people” smiling at a younger person’s thinking that a message can be gotten to them to sway their vote.
The example of Scott Brown in internet connections is invalid. He was a focal point due to other factors, namely the Tea Dunkers who drove this issue and are still driving issues. This then links into the Birthers who if one researches were formed by the original single cell movement of one Lawrence Sinclair, a homosexual handicapped Democratic male, who with Jeff Rense were the first force blocking Barack Hussein Obama, when the GOP was sitting on it’s Baldy Schmidt hands or the rest of the maniacs were praising Obama.
That is the reality of the “movement” as these “older voters” have been driving these issues and not the other way around in being targeted as they are too savvy to be sucked in by any media. They have played this game, saw Nixon brought down, watched Reagan trashed and seen Bill Clinton get away with crimes.
Barack Hussein Obama had record numbers of followers, but they immediately dropped in not viewing his videos online. The internet is not a medium of value without a group generating outside interest, and then that blogger group drives what the media and the public is discussing.
Mr. Obama had many planted shills around the internet “targeting older voters” in stalking them and challenging every post and blog with maniacal rants.
I know this as I was one of the few who was writing about all of this and being cheered by Americans as no one else was laying a glove on Mr. Obama.
All of these “experts” now rushing in to build on the efforts of these older voters who stormed the internet walls, in thinking they are going to target them, and make political fodder of them, have revealed their ignorance of the entire process. They have no idea that one blogger will post a story, 100 times faster than a newspaper, 75 times faster than CNN, 50 times faster than news site online, 10 times faster than a Rush Limbaugh, and will in information be driving the real news story of the day, because these older voters are speaking to the issues and can not be fooled by politicians.
Do not confuse 1 line comments with this group, nor the people who herd to the New York Times. If the older voters were on the Times, it would not be going broke. Matt Drudge drives stories as do Hannity and Limbaugh, that is the base structure of media hits online. The rest is the bloggers who then dig and post what no one else will say or touch, because bloggers are not being paid to follow the party line.
Some unasked for advice to Ms. Mair, you did Gov. Pawlenty no favors in this and are not doing the GOP any favors. As your being a young voter, I can point to several immensely offensive things you posted in your “target” which will now have Gov. Pawlenty if he makes it through to the presidential run, have these same “older voters” hearing from bloggers about Pawlenty has that Liz Mair targeting voters.
RRespectfully, there is a difference between what Karl Rove reveals and what he is doing politically. You need to take stock in what you reveal in attempting to appear you are in the Karl Rove or Dick Morris league, as you did yourself no favors for yourself or the people who pay you money to explain the internet circus.
“…intelligent people read and unintelligent people watch video.”
That’s false. Intelligent people do both. They read and watch. And don’t underestimate the power of visual satire. You don’t think that SNL sketches have an impact?
How much money does it cost to run an “online” campaign? With the recent Supreme Court ruling about campaign ad financing, would the great use of the internet creat a new viable candidate pool that doesn’t have the initially large amounts of funding to get going? Great article!
The older people have awakened and also have become internet savy.
One more thing that the Libs are getting beaten on: the internet. They were so proud and happy for a brief shining moment in 2008…
Good article Liz!