Last spring, about a month before the European Elections, I wrote a short piece on online campaigning to the www.knowhow.gr which is our company blog. I suggested that the example of the US Presidential elections and the coming of age of internet and social media in Europe would have an impact on the way political campaigns are made, even if the core of the issues remain the same.
In the run-up to the Greek General Elections of 4 October this year, my current boss, Stathis Haikalis, made several observations on the state policy making and online communications in Greece. His seven key points – or recommendations – on online comms and policy to politicians were:
· Online communications need time and commitment;
· Honesty rules;
· Learning by doing is a good start;
· Taking advice from professionals makes sense;
· Online communications on politics need to maintain the passion of policy making;
· Being online is not free, nor cheap, but it can be very effective; and
· No to empty slogans, yes to dialogue.
Moving away from Greek debate, I have followed the UK Conservative stumbling on the EU issue in the run up to next year’s elections (which makes me feel sorry for those UK Conservative friends whom I know to be pro-Europe). What’s at stake are those age old 3+1 issues I already mentioned in my spring post. As for the way in which the campaign is going to be affected by Twitter and other means of internet-based tools, my former boss and the head of Edelman in Europe, David Brain, explains this eloquently. It seems to reinforce the view that the next successful campaign will be as authentic as the candidate, as authentic as any brand to which the meaning is given by the consumer‐voter.
At a more general level, while the European political campaigning online is still behind the US, but picking up speed, there’s really no considerable difference in the way that politicians and their staffers use internet as a policy making tool. In September, StrategyOne, Edelman’s research arm, surveyed 396 seniors staff members from key capitals in the U.S. and Europe to determine the perceived value of the Internet as a tool for policymakers to connect with local residents and communities; determine the credibility and trust associated with social media networks; and compare the Internet’s influence on policymakers internationally.
The full results are here, but let me highlight some of them.
First of all, it is clear that online information plays a role in getting grips with and shaping policy positions. This is the case in the US as well as in Europe. Also, on average, some 40 % of staffers use blogs to monitor policy news, policy opinions and to reach constituents. However, politics is personal. Therefore, face-to-face meetings are still essential. Altogether 90 % of respondents think that personal meetings are effective way of communicating with constituents. Online communications can supplement this: according to the survey, Facebook is being used by two thirds as a proxy for face-to-face communications with constituents. In terms of effectiveness, the US Congressional staff rank digital communications’ impact highest, European Parliament staff second highest and the German Bundestag staff third. French and UK Parliamentary staff are next. It is no surprise that the first three are also the three most active users of digital communications themselves.
Secondly, politics is local. Typically, apart from checking emails, the first point of information for staffers in the web is local/national newspaper website.
Thirdly, there is a gap in online communications between professional use and personal use. While staffers employ lots of web2.0 tools for personal use, most remain at web1.5 in policy role. In addition to this, the perceived effectiveness of online tools in reaching members remains low (apart from email). This, in my opinion is the crucial issue. If the politicians and their staffers can be helped in bridging the personal and professional as well as digital and face-to-face, we would take a major step in redefining the public affairs and lobbying toolbox.
