Final Brownback: FINALLY an update to the blog!

Well, the campaign finally updated the blog -- must have been Central time last night. There is now a thank you to all the people who worked on the campaign on the "Brownbacker" blog. This has also been ported into the MySpace site.

Hmmm...the blog. The one thing that is supposed to be continually updated and the most current. THREE DAYS LATER finally a post that tells people he is no longer running. Um, folks, not the best way to focus the social media.

Oh, and by the way, the main Brownback website -- still no notice! Just that ambiguous splash page message.

Brownback update part II: A splash page says thanks, nothing else is done

Well, as of tonight, Sunday, October 21 at 7:51 p.m. Eastern Time, the Brownback campaign site has been updated to show a thank you on the splash page -- but a click through brings you right to the site. The blog still looks like it did the other day (only three comments about the end of the campaign), and there is no update on the MySpace either. So if you go to the sites, at the moment you really aren't clear that the candidate has really dropped out of the race.

One interesting note -- on the MySpace there is an ad from the Huckabee Campaign! Opportunity knocking for another conservative candidate to see if they can get the Brownback supporters.

PCSMA Update: Brownback's Yellow Brick Road Comes to an End

Today, Senator Sam Brownback announced that he would no longer be a candidate for president.

Today I'm ending my candidacy. My yellow brick road just came short of the White House this time," said Brownback, who was flanked by a small group of supporters as he announced his decision from the state capitol in Topeka.

When one's campaign ends, how does it get handled on the campaign website?

A quick examination of the Brownback website tonight at 7:25 p.m. Eastern time revealed that there was NO update or information that showed the Sen. had announced he would be no longer running. NO mention of it on his blog either (by the way, a more updated blog with a url that wasn't available when I did my first analysis!) -- only the media alert from yesterday.

So it looks like, at the moment, no one is attending to the needs of the online community that is left behind. I'll check back tomorrow to see if there is a change/redesign/message.

We'll be getting more of these...it will be interesting to see how the others respond.

Presidential Candidate Social Media Analysis #2: Sam Brownback (R)

Social Media Analysis: Sen. Sam Brownback (R)

Sen. Sam Brownback has the following:

1. Website: http://www.brownback.com/


2. YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=Brownback4President


3. MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/sambrownback


4. Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=570885455


5. FlickR: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sambrownback08/


6. Blog: http://www.sambrownback.goingon.com/

He has an email newsletter you can sign up for on the website.

Let's go a bit deeper, shall we?

Website: We start with the splash page designed to get people to sign up for the email info BEFORE we even read about the issues. Stupid. A collage of pictures is NOT going to get me to sign up for things for my email. Information will. I did sign up though. Haven’t gotten anything yet. Not even an auto responder “Welcome to my Campaign and Thanks for your Support” email. Anyway, onto the site itself. A lot going on when you come into the site, but it’s very easy to navigate. News right on the home page (did I mention already how much I like that!) And look…he’s got a book too! (Perhaps we’ll find out that writing books is another way to market yourself for the presidency). But…where’s the social media? Scroll…scroll… (Lot’s of news here)…scroll…Oh wait! There it is! It’s akin to having your very important news below the fold in the lower left hand corner of the newspaper. Um…not great placement! The social media options should take more precedent than the Book. Oh…no RSS feed on that news listing or for updates on the site at all. I like the “get right to the info” insert on the homepage, but other than the blog, Brownback is not really pushing the social media on his site in any aggressive way. Even the video on his site is not linked through YouTube – it’s a separate (albeit cleaner and more polished) service.

YouTube: Mix of different videos – he’s got his personal message up. Gee…why isn’t it on his website? Or linked through Facebook? or MySpace? Basic listing of a mix of videos anything from the simple non-professional to the clips from debates, etc. 484 subscribers.

MySpace: Pretty basic MySpace site. Another nice, neat and clean site that has video – um…but it’s not of him…it’s of a piece from the weather channel about skiing in Colorado. Hmmm… (anyone in charge of CONSISTENCY here Sen. Brownback?) He does have that great little blog application that comes with an RSS Feed (I wonder if his MySpace interns are talking with his Website Team?) He’s got issues tags going and a list of news releases. No music though! Total friends as of today: 11062!

Facebook: So the Web folks at Brownback’s site didn’t link to the PUBLIC Facebook page, so um…when you click on the link you go to the login screen – the one that says you must be a member! Oops! They should fix that! On the main Facebook section, he’s got some applications running – pulling in the YouTube and he has a connection to the Newsvine Election ’08 which is nice. He links to his website and to his YouTube. Nothing super exciting here, but providing some information and some linking. Doesn’t look like they have an “official” Sen. Brownback group – lots of unofficial ones though. If they do decide to set up a group (and they should) they better get creative and make it begin with “A” like “Americans for Sam Brownback: The OFFICIAL Facebook Group” why? Because groups are listed in alpha order and it is wicked hard to go through them all to find the official one. 2,136 supporters as of today.
Flickr: Standard list of campaign type photos from the heartland! Waving and smiling. No comments going on that I can tell.

Blog: Ok, so here’s where it really fell down. Brownback’s blog is developed in the “goingon.com” network which is an open space. So, this isn’t really bad or anything, although it looses the polish of one that is incorporated into the site. There’s widgets and tag clouds…standard stuff. It’s the content that is very poor. If I was grading this, it would fail. What’s here? News releases and Speeches. Not that in itself is bad, but there is a place for a news release and speeches and a blog is not it, UNLESS you are commenting on them or quoting them. I said it for Biden and I’m going to say it again – if you have time to pull off a 1 minute video for YouTube, you should have time to post something in your own blog. If you aren’t, then you should have staff that are. Using the open platform here means you have more of a discussion forum – someone even asked for cheap hotel rates so they could volunteer. The link to his website is all the way at the bottom. 175 members.

Search Results: As I searched for Sam Brownback the results were interesting to say the least. At Google his campaign comes up number one in Organic search and his Sen. site is ranked third. Great for the campaign. Of course, the sponsored ads are a hoot! Guess what is number one? Not Brownback! It’s MITT ROMNEY!! So a little extra bidding on those key words there eh Mitt? I’m surprised Brownback’s campaign isn’t on this one. It’s like Mitt taking out a banner ad on the Brownback website! At Live, his senate site comes up first, then WikiPedia.com, then news and then his campaign site. He has no sponsored ads (and neither does Mitt!). At Yahoo! the campaign comes first, then the senate and then WikiPedia.com. MySpace shows up a bit further down. Sponsored ads are a mix, but no Mitt!

Recommendations: Well, there are some good things going on for Brownback on the web – natural search placement is high (top three in the top three), and the website isn’t too bad. But from a social media perspective he is doing poorly. Little linking is going on, and it’s hard to get from one to the other (hint: social networking and media means, connection…connection…connection!). By far the worst however is his blog. If you really want to use a blog in a campaign, make a commitment to it. Make it personal. Integrate it in your website and do more than post speeches! It’s a great way for constituents to interact with the candidate and key staffers, and the campaign doesn't have to pay a lot of money to do make it happen! Opportunity lost.