It’s a page right out of the Marketing 101 playbook: Find out where your target audience is, and go there.
When President Obama unveiled his proposal last week for making community college partially free for students, he did so where those prospective students can be found – on social media. By creating a video wherein he explains the basics of the program, the President was able to send out his message in one swoop across The White House’s Facebook, Twitter, and Vine accounts.
In no time at all, #FreeCommunityCollege was trending. The White House reported 6.6 million views of the Facebook video within 21 hours of the announcement, while Obama’s Vine video scored nearly 35,000 shares on Twitter.
Arguably the proposal would have gotten its fair share of mileage following the President’s State of the Union address on January 20, but not necessarily where it needs to be. While the talking heads and loud debaters would no doubt have been hashing it out in late January, the program’s key demographic may have missed the message altogether. By introducing the concept where its potential beneficiaries are found, The White House ensured the conversation was sparked by the group they wanted to hear it first.
Of course the topic was then fair game for Obama fans and haters, those who thought the program was a great idea and those who were incredulous. Again, the social media launch may have brought engagement full circle, generating interest in the State of the Union by a demographic who may not have otherwise tuned in. Maybe. Ultimately, only the ratings numbers will tell.
For the record, the Free Community College proposal calls for applicants to enroll in school at least half-time, maintain a 2.5 GPA, and make steady progress toward completing a degree in three years. Participating colleges would be required to offer academic programs that fully transfer to four-year colleges or occupational programs in high demand fields. The federal government would provide three-quarters of what is determined to be the average cost of community college.
Using social media to spread a message isn’t something new for President Obama. His 2008 campaign was the first presidential run to effectively use social channels as a tool to, among other things, draw in younger voters. Today, @BarackObama boasts tweets which are favorited over one million times. Michelle Obama may be even more comfortable in the social arena, readily using videos to promote everything from her healthy kids initiatives to support for military families.
By the time the gavel drops to mark the opening of President Obama’s State of the Union address on January 20, his Free Community College program will almost be old news. Almost. And that’s the point; the discussion is already fully underway.
Who knows? Maybe there will even be a live Twitter feed scrolling at the bottom of our screens.
Social media is more powerful than ever in spreading a message and engaging your target audience in real-time discussion. To find out how you can best utilize the many channels available, let’s talk. Defining strategy, audience definition, targeted communications – it’s what we’re about. Give us a call at 203.762.8833.
– BML
