Marketing Strategy to Secure a Ron Paul Nomination

[jsingh1022]

Background on myself: I have aided in marketing campaigns for several Fortune 500 companies: Pepsi, Proctor & Gamble, and Coca-Cola. I have a combination of knowledge in new media, social dynamics and marketing message. I believe these three can help Ron Paul secure victory in this election.

Marketing as it relates to politics is tied to the narrative from the media and the public. The media has the ability to heavily influence the public's opinion. This fact is especially true with what I think of as "casual voters." These are the people who see what's being talked about in the news and form their opinion.

The "casual voter" theory is evident with the fleeting support of Bachmann, Perry, Cain and Gingrich. Note that the media gave these candidates a surge of coverage and they subsequently polled high percentages with the public.

I believe Mitt Romney and Ron Paul have had the most consistent support. Mitt Romney is a safe candidate. His outer image is presidential and his "policies" are not controversial.

We know why Ron Paul has consistent support. It's because of us. We are raving fans. We are so rabid that we are beginning to influence the media's narrative. We have seen new headlines in the news media touting Paul as the winner of Iowa.

This is attributed to:
1.) Paul's consistent message
2.) His supporters unwavering ability to repeat his message over and over.

So back to the main point. What does a marketing expert have to say about how Paul can continue the "tipping point" we have been witnessing.

The objective is to influence the narrative in the public. When you speak of Paul, you should speak of him as winning Iowa and top 3 in New Hampshire. One of the final hurdles is these people who are like "you know, I like him, but I don't think he's electable." That is a mainstream media narrative they have been fed. We can change that.

Digital Marketing

I will list of what I believe to be the most effective digital marketing methods for RP. The digital medium is a big reason we are winning. More people get their news from the Internet and not TV.

1. Leaving comments on news stories. This is extremely effective for a number of reasons.

a. People trust their peers before they trust the media. Readers more often than not will read the comments on the story to see what peers think.

b. Authors will read these comments to influence their future stories. I have seen many writers change their tone on Paul because of the comments people are leaving.

c. Leave positive comments about Ron Paul winning Iowa and New Hampshire and his consistent message of liberty.

d. The stories with the most comments will often appear on a "Most Discussed" category on the website.

The easiest way to do so is search Ron Paul on Google News.

2. Talk about Ron Paul on Twitter. I'm sure many of you folks are not even familiar with this very simple and popular website. It is the 7th most visited website in the world.

a. Ron Paul was the #1 trending topic during the CNN Debate several times. This happens when enough people are writing a Tweet that says "Ron Paul."

b. I have found it very effective to Tweet at news pundits and journalists. Often times they will respond. They usually see what you say. Use @username to tweet at another user and use #RonPaul or #RonPaul2012 to denote a topic. Click Retweet on other people's tweets about Ron Paul.
If you want, follow me at http://twitter.com/jaystarbun Here is a thread with everybody's Twitter handles

3. Sharing. Post videos/articles on Facebook, Twitter, and email.

4. Create content. "Content is king" is the golden rule in digital marketing. Write articles and create videos.

5. Comment bomb YouTube videos. Upvote comments about Ron Paul on popular political videos.

6. Vote up Reddit stories. Highly effective. Here is an ongoing thread.

7. Networking on Google+ and Facebook. Join Ron Paul related groups and events. Here is a Google+ organization thread.

Word-of-Mouth and Direct Marketing

Word of mouth marketing is the most effective. I covered digital first since that is my specialty.

1. Talk to people about Ron Paul. I told my family and friends at Thanksgiving and they told me about one of their cousins who is also a rabid Ron Paul fan. Subconciously, they are now wondering why people are so crazy about this guy. They will research him. Canvassing is highly effective.

2. Wear T-Shirts. Conversation starters and you are walking billboard.

3. Sticker bomb your city. Ron Paul's site sells stickers very cheap. If you work in the city stick them in random places like I do. If you stick them in the right places, thousands of people will see it and start wondering. Obviously be respective of public property.

4. The phone program is great.

5. Direct mail campaigns. The super voter bomb is a great example.

6. Print your own collateral. See AlexMerced thread on printing cards.
===
I hope you find value in this post. The media's narrative has shifted as evidenced in the latest headlines about Paul winning Iowa. The shift will continue. I believe we are at the tipping point.

The media always wants to be right. Despite their bosses telling them to not talk about Ron Paul, they will have to if they see him winning Iowa.

 

[harikaried]

The objective is to influence the narrative in the public. When you speak of Paul, you should speak of him as winning Iowa and top 3 in New Hampshire. One of the final hurdles is these people who are like "you know, I like him, but I don't think he's electable." That is a mainstream media narrative they have been fed. We can change that.

I wonder if it would make sense to introduce people to Ron Paul by pointing out that he's leading in Iowa. For people that might have heard of him but don't really know his positions, they might be encouraged to ask for more information given it looks possible for him to win Iowa.

 

[AlexMerced]

I do most of those things and can agree to their effectiveness.. this thread should be stickied.

Heres a couple extra tips

- Try not to be positive and negative in the same communication so don't slam a candidate then go ROn Paul (creates resentment among supporters if that candidate which they'll then associate with Paul)

- Ron Paul Communication should be Ron Paul communication about the benefits of Ron Paul regarding his viability, integrity, etc. (don't mix in any truther, anarchist, etc. messaging unless it's on a specialized blog for the audience and be clear that whatever movement is distinct from the Ron Paul campaign even though they may have some similar interests or goals)

- The goal isn't to make people policy experts but to get their email on the campaigns email list

 

[FA.Hayek]

wow, good advice.. seems like everyone on these boards are doing some of these things, if not all

 

[jsingh1022]

I wonder if it would make sense to introduce people to Ron Paul by pointing out that he's leading in Iowa. For people that might have heard of him but don't really know his positions, they might be encouraged to ask for more information given it looks possible for him to win Iowa.

Ya, I think it would be very effective to introduce Iowa. I usually start with key points: more freedom, less taxes, limited government, less spending. I mean, how can a rational person hate on things like that? Usually we are just trying to get over the crap the media feeds people. I was telling my family at Thanksgiving and they joked about Ron's Gold Standard policy. I had to inform them that the Federal Reserve is a private bank

@AlexMerced thanks for your positive comments. I added your Twitter and Google + threads to the main post.

 

[milo10]

The most important marketing technique I can share is knowing how to frame objectivity.

I will say something like

"He's probably going to win Iowa but not New Hampshire."

That is actually an honest statement that I can back up, and what I did was I conveyed that Ron was going to win Iowa in a very matter of fact way that is more believable because I also said that he would lose New Hampshire. I am giving the appearance of objectivity. Not just the appearance, of course, as I think that is exactly what we are looking at right now.

This may not be your style, but I also say things like, "I fucking hate politicians, but he's a genuinely decent man. I've never really seen anyone like him in terms of consistent voting records, and always doing what he believes." This is objective in a slightly different sense, as I come off as someone who is really predisposed against politicans, but like what he is doing. The sense that you get is that Ron is someone really unique.

You would never, ever, ever hear someone describe Romney or Gingrich in that way.

#############

Another thing that is oddly effective with some people who think Ron is way out on the edge: mention Rand. "His son Rand was recently elected as a Senator." I don't know if it's the Kennedy family, the Bush family, or most likely just celebrity culture in general, but noting that another family member has one of the highest elected offices nationally grants a certain legitimacy to Ron.

############################

Final thought: If you sound too much like you're selling or proselytizing, it won't have much weight. They might agree just to placate you or change the conversation.

 

[satchelmcqueen]

sticky this [lease

 

[Aratus]

^this^ STICKY THIS THREAD
OH HUMBLE ADMIN PEOPLE!!!

 

[Heman5up]

Mentioning RP jokingly in comments

I think strong sell for Ron Paul turns people off. I often go to google news to get my news and pick one on top which is where everyone else goes. I try my best to squeeze in Ron Paul name casually in a sincere comment on the article. Idea is to get people thinking about whats the root cause of the issue and then associate solution with Ron Paul as a after thought so people don't consider it a sell. For example, I posted following for NYT article on Pakistan killings.

Pakistan does not seem to think this is an accident but is protesting that this is attack on their sovereignty. This is serious if there is public outcry against US involvement in Pakistan for all other operations.

Ron Paul warned about bombing Pakistani terrorists with civilian casualties as collateral damage can cause civil tensions between public and Pakistani government. This incident will definitely not help the situation. Obama needs to be extremely cautious and diplomatic here.

 

[milo10]

Heman, that is an awesome example! That type of casual referencing is the best way to convey Ron Paul as someone authoritative, generate interest, and get the message across.

 

[CaptUSA]

Word-of-Mouth and Direct Marketing

Word of mouth marketing is the most effective.

Great post. I wish I could double-rep you for this^!

Word of mouth, word of mouth, word of mouth. Nothing else works as well. If you haven't talked to at least one new person each day about Ron Paul, you aren't helping enough. We have lots of people supporting Ron Paul. But still he gets the "unelectable" tag. If a person hears good things about Ron Paul from a couple of sources, they will begin to believe that they should look at him. I know I plant seeds all the time. My hope is that for every one that I have talked to, they get another person somewhere else in their life saying the same thing. Once this happens, the whole "unelectable" thing will vanish.

But this doesn't work online. It only works face to face.

 

[FA.Hayek]

Word of mouth is key! If you're not from Iowa or New Hampshire, or some of the early primary states, phone banking is the way to go!

 

[jsingh1022]

Ultimately we have become the mainstream media for Paul. Look at his steady rise in the polls without the mainstream media coverage. We are doing an amazing job so far and need to continue pressing harder. The Iowa and New Hampshire polls are showing the fruits of our labor. I have a feeling the Super Voter Bomb can lock up Iowa for Dr. Paul.

 

[Aratus]

we are the rEVOLUTIOn newly if we be grassroots