Newt Gingrich announced his intention to run for president in 2012 not by an exclusive interview with Fox’s Chris Wallace, or with an appearance on The Tonight Show. He took his message to the people and made headlines through his Twitter feed and a video posted on Facebook. This is definitely a first for a major mainstream political figure. Not only did his candidacy Tweet get a big response from his followers and social media political pundits, but the mainstream press picked it up and ran with it.
Gingrich’s tactic follows a precedent set by the candidates in the 2008 presidential race (see our April 8th CGPR Blog, Social Media and Political Campaigns), and it is now essential for any candidate running for office to have a well thought out and innovative social media strategy. (more…)