In part 1 of this blog series, I decided to begin with forums. Why forums? Because it is where I see the most and biggest mistakes from political candidates and their staff. In coming posts, I’ll tackle blogs, Facebook, twitter and the rest of the social media community.

Forum Users:
Every community has local political forums. For the most part, users on these forums are hyper political animals. They love politics, sure, but they love having a place to “hear” themselves and their political opinions even more. As my father is fond of saying, “everybody’s a political consultant.” He’s right, particularly in an election year, everybody is an expert and forums provide the perfect place to vent, argue and attempt to have an impact. Let’s look closer at the types of political forum users.

5 Types of Political Forum Users:

1. The “Expert” – the guy who watches a lot of political news and enjoys the arm chair quarterback role in local elections.
2. The “Evangelist” – party loyalists who will stop at nothing to defend their particular ideology. They love forums because they love to argue their case.
3. The “Insider” – this is the person who claims to have the inside information that nobody else knows. He/she usually refuses to give up their “sources” but will claim to be absolutely trustworthy.
4. The “Peacemaker” – the one who is constantly attempting to tone down the rhetoric and get people to be more civil.
5. The “Antagonist” – usually, these users don’t care what the topic is, they simply like to antagonize, usually with personal insults, to get people riled up.

And yes, there are just “regular” users on political forums as well, but they don’t normally last very long as the 5 types of users will ultimately become too laborious for them.

If you consider these 5 types of users, you can quickly understand why political forums can be a waste of time for a political campaign. You can’t really please any of them, but more importantly you can’t change any of their minds. Even the peacemaker is steadfast in his ways, he’s just more civil about it. Remember, political forums are not places for political discourse in the pursuit of greater understanding. Understanding this will save you a lot of time and headache.

There are some social media “gurus” who will disagree with me on that. But those guys don’t work in the world of politics. We’re not talking about competing reviews on a dishwasher here, we’re talking about emotionally charged political know it alls. And I’m not talking about national campaigns here either. We’re talking about local and state-wide races where people know each other and personalities clash. There are opportunities online for discourse, it’s just that political forums are rarely on the top of that list for political candidates.

Having said all of that, there are times and places where it is necessary to engage in political forums. As I already noted, it’s important to monitor them at all times, but there are instances when you have to dive in. But there are rules…

The 5 “No, Nos” of Forum Interaction:

1. Don’t, EVER, make your first post a diatribe. Remember, social media is about discourse, it’s not a place for you to make a grand entrance. If you’re going to post, do so slowly. Read, listen and think. Do that for as long as you can before posting. When you do post, keep it simple and non aggressive. Try to become part of the community.
2. Don’t lie about who you are. If you’re the candidate, say it. If you work for the campaign, say it. If you don’t and you have suspiciously accurate “inside” information, you will be found out. The people on these forums have been on them for years – you’ll stand out one way or the other. Make sure you stand out for being honest.
3. Don’t allow family to take up your case. If there’s one thing people want to see from their leaders, it’s that they can stand on their own two feet. If you’re getting beat up online, and you decide you just have to counter the rumors – do it yourself. Don’t let your daughter do it or your husband do it or your wife. It’s all about you.
4. Do not counter rumors with rumors. It’s tempting to do this, I’m sure. But if there’s a whisper campaign out there against you, don’t battle it with half-truths yourself. Doing so will immediately (and I mean IMMEDIATELY) call into question your own character.
5. Don’t get in a pissing match. Sorry for the french, but there’s no better way to say it. Political forum users are relentless. I promise you, they have more time than you do. They will not back down, ever. Make your point, say your peace, but don’t get into with these people. You won’t win and you’ll end up “saying” something you’ll regret.

Now, some of you are probably wondering by now about these whisper campaigns. Someone has to start them, right? And some of these campaigns are successful, right? Yep and yep. If a whisper campaign is started, it should NEVER come from anyone associated with the campaign. Not a staffer, not a contributor, not a consultant, not a vendor. I’m not condoning the practice of anonymously tearing up someone’s reputation online, but if you’re going to do it – don’t be stupid about it and always assume that the “anonymous” user will be found out. If they’re not – great. But if they are, you’d better be sure you’re not on their speed dial.

Using Political Forums, Positively

1. Forums can be used to place announcements and news. However, these should be done by someone who is already an established member of that community. There’s nothing that ticks off forum regulars more than a flack.
2. Monitoring forums can lead to opportunities for real discussion. Though it may be temporary (until the nut jobs take over), there can be opportunities to jump in. At times, real people ask real questions. It’s rare, but it does happen. These are sometimes opportunities where a candidate or senior staffer can actually jump in with their first post. Something like, “Hi everybody, I’ve been reading this forum for some time and I thought I’d jump in today to answer this very important question. I’d love to hear your feedback…”
3. Monitoring forums can lead to strategic clues. There have been many times where I have been tipped off to something by monitoring forums. Most of the “inside” information is B.S. But sometimes, there’s some truth in there. Once, a user casually remarked how he saw the candidate in front of a school with a TV crew. Someone replies that they saw the candidate too – but this time at a park with a bunch of kids. That’s great information – I know that they are working on an ad about education. I’ve been tipped off to news stories, past mistakes of the opposition, polls in the field, and more. If possible, we monitor every day. You never know what you might read.
4. You can identify and utilize supporters on forums. In the insane arguments that happen in political forums, it’s easy to tell where most people stand. If you find users who consistently take up your cause, you can send them a private message thanking them and asking for their help as a volunteer. If they are passionate enough about the campaign to battle the crazies for you, they’ll probably be flattered to actually work for you.
5. Always assume there’s more to it than meets the eye. I hate to say it, but this is politics after all. These forums are owned and operated by someone. Presumably, that person is interested in politics. Put two and two together here folks – unless the owner/operator is the world’s first true independent, he/she has a political leaning and will use the website to that end. You’ve heard about campaigns “owning” some of these kinds of websites for a reason – it’s true. So, unless it is you who “owns” it, assume the worst.

So, to sum it up – political forums can be a valuable resource if utilized correctly. But as valuable as they can be, they can be even more dangerous. Take your time, move slowly and deliberately if at all, knowing there are probably better social media avenues to make your point.

Next up, Facebook…

About The Author: Robert J. Munson is a marketing and public relations strategist based in Baton Rouge, LA. His firm, RobertJMunson, specializes in modern marketing strategies including social media marketing, content marketing and corporate social strategy. Follow Robert J Munson on Twitter.