Step it up

[caption id="attachment_3774" align="alignleft" width="150"] Roy Cooper[/caption]

by Thomas Mills, Politics NC, April 2, 2015.

Ted Cruz and Roy Cooper have something in common. Both got punked by parody web sites using domain names that their campaigns should have owned. TedCruz.com leads to a site promoting Obama’s immigration policies. RoyCooperforGovernor.com goes to a parody site indicating Cooper would take us back to the days of Mike Easley and Bev Perdue. Both sites will quickly show up in Google searches for either Cruz or Cooper.

In today’s world of internet snark, parody accounts are inevitable. Neither site will have a bearing on the outcome of elections. The only people paying attention to these shenanigans are partisans. Smart campaigns, though, don’t make them easy. They buy up domains associated with their candidate. 

For Cooper, the episode shows a weakness in a fledgling campaign that can’t afford any. His social media presence is lacking when, at this point in the election cycle, it should be his primary method of communicating. His target audience is not the 6 million or so people who will vote in 2016, but the handful of activists and political junkies following the campaign. They are all on Facebook, twitter and other social media venues. 

Cooper announced early that he would likely challenge Pat McCrory next year. In doing so, he generated enthusiasm and gave Democrats a reason to get excited and get behind a leader. However, the enthusiasm has died, replaced by grumbling. Cooper needs to reinvigorate his supporters and the Democratic base. He needs to provide a vision of what Democrats will do, not just what Republicans have done wrong. At this point in the cycle, social media is the vehicle to deliver that message. 

Cooper’s error was certainly not fatal. It’s probably not even lasting as long as his campaign learns from the mistake and makes adjustments. Real social media campaigns cost money but they are investments. Cooper should be able to reach and motivate activists, raise low-dollar contributions and create opportunities for earned media. If he does that, the social media team will pay for itself as well as generate more income and interest.

Beating an incumbent governor is never easy. Pat McCrory has obviously learned from his early mistakes and is moving to the center while criticizing the abuses of the legislature. To win, Cooper needs to run a near-flawless campaign. He can’t afford careless errors like this one. He needs to step it up.

http://www.politicsnc.com/step-it-up/