Written By:
James C. Wong, Co-Founder & General Partner of Empowered Ideas
In April, I was asked to speak about Email Marketing Best Practices at the 2010 Politics Online Conference in Washington, DC.
The purpose of this conference is to focus attention on emerging internet technologies that would be beneficial to politicians and political organizations seeking to spread their information across all channels.
It was an honor to be at a conference with so many of the behind-the-scenes campaign managers and strategists.
These are the geniuses that have driven some of the most successful political campaigns in the history of our great nation.
I was asked and sponsored by AOL to speak on a panel about Optimizing Your Emails, Building Your List and Getting People to Click on Your Links, one of the largest sessions of the 2-day conference, with the exception of the keynote speakers of course.
The panel discussion was moderated by Taryn Rosenkranz (DCCC), and paneled by:
- Christopher Massicotte (NGP)
- James Wong (iContact)
- Justin Premick (Aweber)
- Chris Lundberg (Salsa Labs Inc.)
@CommunityMGR‘s Tweet Stream Archive from #POLC2010
- Politics Online Conference in Washington, DC for @iContactCorp & @AOL. Stay tuned 4 LIVE Conf. tweets! – Photo: http://bkite.com/4k45l #POLC
- Keynote: Secrets of WhiteHouse.gov – D. Almacy (WH Internet Dir), D. Lytel (Clinton WH), & R. Klause (Bush/Obama Web Mgr). #POLC2010
- While Obama can say (“as a citizen”) go to RedCross.org; using government resources to create a website link is a legal issue. #POLC2010
- WhiteHouse.gov’s primary purpose is to inform, be transparent, and archive the trends, presidency, and the pulse of the US Gov. #POLC2010
- Avg tape length was 20mins., therefore there’s 30-60secs missing btwn tapes. = your answer to the “missing tapes.” #Conspiracy #POLC2010
- White House Web MGR @robklause had a 500GB HD w/ 8yrs of Bush WhiteHouse.gov activities; transfered to the National Archieves #POLC2010
- Obama’s Social Media & Press Strategy has circumvented the Trad. Press. Press Sec works for Obama, not Press. Press must adapt! #POLC2010
- Other than the PRESS, the Obama Admin. targets info to the people, & LISTENS to them. WhiteHouse.gov redesigned due to a Blogger! #POLC2010
- Next Session: Track D – How Augmented Reality, GPS, & Smart Apps will be Used in 2010 Elections… #POLC2010
- Aug. Reality is the transition from simple engagement to the emersion of the audience into community on and offline. #POLC2010
- FYI: The Augmented Reality Session at the Politics Online Conference is being filmed by #CSPAN. Look for TV footage coming soon! #POLC2010
- Augmented Reality: Politics Online Conference. Adam Blum, John Craig, Will Hurley, & Matt Lira. #POLC2010 – Photo: http://bkite.com/4k7ad
- RT @jcberk: City selling bonds used augmented reality so smartphones could view artist’s rendering of future building. #POLC2010 #FTW!
- “People buy the shovel, but they want the hole,” via @wHurley. Software is just part of it. Software + Content + Purpose = Value. #POLC2010
- Aug. Reality has skipped over Virtual Worlds like 2ndLife. AR is about bringing Online into the Offline where the ppl are. #POLC2010
- AR is about getting your MSG to the people, not getting ppl to come to you. Mobile Tech is a much better standardized medium. #POLC2010
- @JustinPremick: “At the end of the day, 1K email subscribers is far more valuable than 1K Facebook fans or Twitter followers” #POLC2010
- People used to create content for 1-way broadcast, but AR allows for bi-directional feedback from crowds. Optimize UR apps 4 this! #POLC2010
- Trippi: Establish your community early so they’re ready to be activated when needed. #polc #polc2010
- Next Session: The Parameters of Mobile Websites & Political Integration. Jed Alpert, Kevin Bertram, Vance Hedderel, & Daniel Odio. #POLC2010
- “Web Traffic didn’t surpass FTP Traffic until 1995.” – I still remember the old Bulletin Board Systems, lol! #POLC2010
- Mobile Pyramid: SMS-Limited by ~160 chars; MOBILE WEB-Ltd by Tech but more features; APPS-Full Features, Ltd only by SmartPhones. #POLC2010
- Integration of Mobile Applications Panel Session at the Politics Online Conference. #POLC2010 – Photo: http://bkite.com/4k9yd
- Establish goals and purpose for your mobile app. It’s unwise to engage blindly. Gather feedback and design accordingly. #POLC2010
- Mobile Strategy & Goals are important to measure success. Use SMS, Mobile Web, & Apps by targeting specific audience segments. #POLC2010
- There is not currently an International Short Code Standard. Expect to work with Aggrigators per country. Segmentation is a fact! #POLC2010
- Use #DeviceAnywhere to cost-effectively test your Mobile Web and Applications on a wide range of mobile devices. #POLC2010
- Speaking on a Panel about Optimizing Your Emails, Building Lists, & Getting People to Click on Your Links. #POLC2010
- Great crowd at the Email Optimiziation Panel Discussion at #POLC2010. It was an honor to speak w/ such talented & knowledgable colleagues.
- Now attending the panel on “Reaching & Engaging Minorities.” Panelists: Bill Meierling, Dalia Mogahed, Matt Reyes, & Navarrow. #POLC2010
- Matt Reyes: Amongst Hispanic Communities, young ppl prefer English w/ only occasional & subtle hispanic content. #POLC2010
- Keep one foot in the “mainstream” while maintaining a foot in their native culture. Be respectful and seek out Online Communities. #POLC2010
- Engage w/ geographic awareness; both country of origin and current physical location. Diff areas will dictate preferred language. #POLC2010
- Dalia Mogahed: The Muslim Community contains multiple networks: National, Informal Networks (Bloggers), and Local Community ORGs. #POLC2010
- Multi-Cultural/Racial Messaging should relate; be cautious not to silo entire groups. Also consider Connected vs. Non-Connected. #POLC2010
- “LoFi” still works. SMS accounts for a majority of data traffic amongst minorities. Existing lower tier technologies still work! #POLC2010
- Grassroots campaigns are meant for non-connected audiences. Success requires a hybrid on and offline campaign. Get LOCAL, Be REAL! #POLC2010
- Digital Literacy should be integrated into Campaigns for minorities to boost ACTION by Non-Connected Audiences. Education is KEY. #POLC2010
- @MattEnergy If you or your CEO have any questions about Email Marketing Best Practices, feel free to contact me anytime!
#POLC2010
- Next: Tools of the Future: #Microsoft Unveils Tools for Advocacy & Campaigns. #POLC2010 | Thx again 2 @iContactCorp & @AOL 4 having me here!
- Over 40 tweets, almost 9 hrs, a Panel Discussion, and 3 full iPhone battery packs later; I’m still here @POLC2010, LOL! Then dinner w/ @AOL.
- Honored to meet Keynote Speaker, Brad Hunstable, Founder of Ustream at the Politics Online Conf. #POLC2010 – Photo: http://bkite.com/4klx6
- Check out the Aol. Booth at the #POLC2010 Conference, and thank them for sponsoring the Coffee breaks. The Aol. coffee mugs are great!
- Session: Which SM Tools & Sites Will Live and Which Will Surely Die? Panel: Microsoft, David All, BeeKeeper, Shiny Heart Ventures. #POLC2010
- Mark Drapeau of Microsoft talking about Ning’s positive potential, even while ditching free sites. Thinks Vimeo is a dying tool?!?#POLC2010
- What makes SM Communities Stick? Viral Loops; Games; User Experience; Integration w/ where the ppl are; Communication (esp Email!) #POLC2010
- Chat Roulette being discussed as a case study of what fundamental concepts work. Imagine a C.R. discussion w/ local politicians. #POLC2010
- Internet is a Social Interaction medium. Success depends on integration. YouTube allows for Social = Survival. Vimeo, not as much. #POLC2010
- Early Adopters moving on from Twitter, but majority of new users are sticking around. Communication mediums are yrs long cycles. #POLC2010
- #Aol. used as an example of brands that have successfully survived by EVOLVING (ie: Dialup to Communities to Advertising) #POLC2010 #FTW!
- Shana Glickfield: Reach the MOST amt of people, using “LoFi” like Email & SMS, still works & penetrates every population market! #POLC2010
