What Any Marketer Can Learn From The American Presidential Elections
As America's neighbours, many Canadians are extremely invested in the American presidential elections. With the notorious Donald Trump as a shockingly top candidate, this statement perhaps rings even more true in this election. The United States affects Canada in many direct ways, and in many diverse areas. And arguably this year more than any other, the American presidential elections are akin to extremely publicized, highly funded marketing campaigns. So regardless of your own political standpoint, there are multiple things that any marketer can learn from the current American presidential elections.
One of the largest aspects of marketing, as well as the presidential campaigns, is to identify and personify your brand. Your brand is everything. It tells potential supporters what you see as important, what you're aspiring to change, and what kind of leader you are. In marketing, as well as the current political campaigns, it is essential that you create a brand that people are interested in. For the presidential candidates and their marketing teams, it is of the upmost importance to address budding demographic trends. The people are responsible for who ultimately holds office, and the people are the ones who need to feel valued. This applies equally to marketing of all types: demographic, social, and economic trends are just a short list of developments that need to be addressed with a realistic plan.
Living in a society where technology is as big as it has ever been, presidential candidates have recognized the power of social media. All candidates run a Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Snapchat feed, and supporters and non-supporters alike flock to these sites. In today's fast-paced world, people want to see short clips and read short snippets to stay up-to-date on current political happenings. The same is true with general marketing. Building a large social media following can distribute your message, idea, or product across a previously unimagined range of people. People use their smartphones as an extra limb, and therefore are always available to read or watch a new piece of content. The social marketing teams for the current American presidential candidates are extremely effective. Although Donald Trump gets the majority of coverage, millions of people follow the other candidates, and stay up to date on their daily (or hourly) postings. You can apply the same social marketing tactics to your own enterprise, as the world of social media is by no means slowing down.
As a marketer, there are many things to be learned through the current American presidential elections. Whether you decide to stir the pot like Donald Trump, or command the attention of the room like Hillary Clinton, both candidates receive different forms of support through their marketing tactics. Although as Canadians we have no say in what the results of the 2016 American presidential election will be, we can still take away the strategies that current political marketing campaigns are demonstrating. In addition to using social media avenues, branding your product (or in the presidential election, yourself) is an important feature of successful marketing. Although we're about to learn a lot about America from the impending election results, we can also learn about what it looks like to run an effective and widespread marketing campaign.
