Thursday, October 24, 2019

This week, we're sticking with the 2020 digital debate (which got a little more heated), a reminder that Twitter politics aren't representative, should you be worried about local Fake News, and how do you hire for the agency of the future?

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In the News
2020 Digital Panic?
 
Following last week’s discussion, sparked by a New York Times op-ed, more observers weighed in on the state of the digital race in 2020. 
 
On Sunday, the New York Times wrote, “That campaigns are now being fought largely online is hardly a revelation, yet only one political party seems to have gotten the message," while Axios wrote, “As the 2020 election inches closer, Republicans continue to enjoy the digital edge they seized in 2016.” Chief among concerns is that Trump is using a long runway to build an unassailable online lead among key voters. ( Trump Campaign Floods Web With Ads, Raking In Cash as Democrats Struggle, New York Times / Trump is maintaining his digital lead in the 2020 campaign, Axios) 

Takeaway
While no one can argue with the scale of the Trump digital campaign, the idea that Trump is building an unassailable lead among key 2020 voters is wrong. The table below shows the geographic breakdown of the Trump Campaign’s spending on Facebook, broken out by the Cook Political Report’s Electoral College ratings. The story of the spend is very different than the media narrative. There is no particular focus on the states that will decide the election - in fact, 50 percent of the spend is concentrated in Solid Democrat and Solid Republican states that stand no chance of switching. 
The numbers indicate that Trump is operating an extremely large digital fundraising campaign, with the spend higher in areas with more Trump supporters. The lack of any concentrated spend in swing states means that despite smaller budgets overall, some democratic groups, such as GSG client Priorities USA, are actually outspending Trump in several key battleground states. 
Politics On Twitter
 
This week, Pew announced findings that 10 percent of Twitter users create 97 percent of political content. 
 
While more than a third of users have posted at least once about national politics, a small groups of dedicated politics tweeters represent the vast bulk of the conversation. The study also found that this politically engaged group over indexes among people who disapprove of President Trump. ( National Politics on Twitter: Small Share of U.S. Adults Produce Majority of Tweets, Pew Research Center)

Takeaway
This finding from Pew reinforces the importance of not just listening to the sum total of online conversation, as this will produce a skewed impression of what people care about. When we approach social listening, particularly around political and social issues, we always begin by not just asking what is being said, but also who is saying it. By looking at the conversation among distinct groups, we can alleviate the problem of just hearing from a few overactive accounts. 
 
To learn more about our approach to social listening check out some of our recent blog posts here:
 
Fake News Goes Local
 
A local researcher finds a network of right wing publications masquerading as local news.
 
The network of more than 40 sites, which went by names including Lansing Sun, Ann Arbor Times, and Thumb Reporter, were discovered by Matt Grossmann, director of Michigan State University’s Institute for Public Policy and Social Research. They published local news stories with angles that criticized local Democrats, and promoted the links widely on social media. ( Dozens of new websites appear to be Michigan local news outlets, but with political bent, Lansing State News) 

Takeaway
The line between journalism and advocacy has become increasingly blurred. From sponsored content to entire outlets managed by companies and organizations, drawing lines around “legitimate” content is harder than ever. However, sites like these should be recognized for what they are - paid advertisements. As Rachel Davis Mersey, executive director of the Media Leadership Center at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, tells the Lansing Sun Journal, “any kind of politically slanted information which people think could be from a reputable news source really compromises the quality of discourse we have in this country.”
From GSG
The Agency of the Future
 
GSG CEO Jon Silvan recently talked to the PR Council's Agency of the Future Podcast team about the most critical elements of creating lasting client relationships.
 
The key: recruiting and retaining the best talent. Listen to the full podcast here. ( Highly Motivated Talent Deserves the Right Clients with Jon Silvan, PR Council)
 
This week's Impressions was compiled by Luke Partridge .

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