NOTE: Shortlink for this article is: http://wp.me/pXBON-178
Boy, you can’t throw a stick these days without hitting someone who’s got some kind of social media activity going on. And it’s not just the technology or CPG marketers who are getting into the action.
Perhaps taking a lesson from the success of Barack Obama’s use of social media in his election campaign, Canadian politicians have started their own efforts in this area.
A few months ago, the leaders of the two largest political parties in Canada — Prime Minister Stephen Harper of the Conservative Party of Canada, and Michael Ignatieff, leader of the Liberal Party of Canada — held events that heavily relied on social media.
Comparing the two is very interesting and there are some clear lessons to be learned.
NOTE: I’m in no way endorsing either of these two parties or their leaders, and I have no political agenda here. I’m not a member of either political party. But these two events do lend themselves to analysis and learning. That’s my objective.
Event 1 – Prime Minister Stephen Harper takes questions on YouTube
YouTube and Google Moderator were used to allow people to propose and rank questions that would be asked of the Prime Minister. Over 1800 questions were submitted and voted on. A recorded interview with Google’s Chief Financial Officer, Patrick Pichette asking the Prime Minister questions was posted on YouTube under the TalkCanada channel. I’ve embedded the interview below.
Event 2 – Canada at 150 Conference lead by Liberal Party Michael Ignatieff
A 3-day conference entitled “Canada at 150: Rising to the Challenge” was held in Montreal from March 26-28.
The conference had invited speakers who discussed topics on a number of themes, and also answered live questions from across Canada submitted via email, Skype and Twitter.
There was a live audience of paid attendees at the conference who also asked questions of the various panelists.
Mr. Ignatieff spoke at the beginning and end of the conference but sat in the audience otherwise.
The whole event was streamed live over the Web via their website, and there were many local meetings held across Canada over the weekend where people could watch the panels and speakers in Montreal, submit questions and discuss issues.
And obviously recordings were posted on YouTube after the event.
Comparing the two events
It’s important to note that these were two very different events, held by very different political parties and for very different reasons. BUT, there are valid comparisons that can be made from the social media perspective and what it means to use and benefit from social media.
Prime Minister Harper on YouTube
The Stephen Harper YouTube event was recorded and not live. It was no different than an interview or “fireside chat” that could have been delivered via television or radio for that matter. The Globe and Mail newspaper had an interesting take on event.
Lesson: Putting videos on YouTube does not mean you are “leveraging social media”.
If you listen to the interview and know a bit about Canadian politics, the responses, such as why does Canada not have an elected Senate, on legalizing marijuana, or the Prime Minister’s views on another separation referendum in Quebec were very simple in nature, given little additional information and insight into the topics.
Lesson: Social media can help reach new audiences, but you need to be authentic and open. Save stock, scripted answers for mainstream media sound bites.
One question on the Canadian military’s role in the potential mistreatment of Afghan detainees (a hot topic in Canada at the time) was met basically with a repudiation of the question and a somewhat rambling answer that avoided the intent of the question.
Lesson: Social media are most valuable for authentic bi-directional communication, not for simply broadcasting controlled messages
Overall response to the event was not very positive. Even the usually supportive newspaper, the National Post, ended a “review” of the performance with this line:
And so, YouTube Interview with Prime Minister Harper ends not with a bang, but with a whimper. As with many government performances of late, a disappointing finish to an otherwise well-meaning effort.
Canada @ 150 Conference
Hailed by Mr. Ignatieff himself as an example of 21st century democracy (I personally don’t agree with that claim), and a starting point for conversations about future of Canada, the conference was in many ways the polar opposite of the Stephen Harper event.
Instead of a single speaker with pre-screened questions and a recording of the answers, there were many speakers, live streamed over the Web and live questions via email, Twitter and Skype.
As mentioned earlier, there were over 50 sites across the country where people could go and discuss issue with local members of the Liberal party as well as other individual people. At each of those sites the live stream from Montreal was projected onto screens so all could listen.
A moderator at each site took questions from the audience and conveyed them to the conference in Montreal, but of course people could email, tweet directly on their own.
Lesson: Social media tools should support live human conversations whenever possible, not act simply as a replacement for them.
The Twitter hash tag #can150 was very active during the conference and for several days afterwards with lively responses to the conference, as well as debate on whether the conference was successful or not. Sadly, there is little happening on Twitter a few months later WRT that that event.
This is one place where I believe the Canada @150 conference failed with it’s social media activities. The event hailed as the start of conversations about Canada’s future provided no real means to continue the conversations once the conference ended.
Lesson: Social media provide the means to create ongoing connections with people. For any ongoing project, use them to create and build communities of people who can help move your project forward.
And finally…
It’s been several months since these events, and neither Mr. Harper nor Mr. Ignatieff has followed up with any additional social media activities beyond Twitter and Facebook.
Prime Minister Harper: @pmharper, http://www.facebook.com/pmharper
Michael Ignatieff: @M_Igniatieff, http://www.facebook.com/MichaelIgnatieff
It’s interesting to note that Michael Ignatieff is currently on an old style cross-country summer bus tour to meet people across Canada. Nothing like actually meeting people face to face in their own local environments. You can follow it on Twitter under #liberalexpress.
Even if you aren’t familiar with Canadian politics, are there other lessons people should be aware of when using social media?
Saeed