10 pieces of social media advice for the politicians of the world

On September 28th, 2011 Henriette Weber wrote:

As some of you might know, Denmark has gotten a new prime minister, who,  these days is assembling the new government. In a lot of ways it speaks of change. One of the things we're pretty excited about is that it's the first female prime minister that Denmark has ever had - it's ace and we love it. 

However, even though before the election social media was buzzing with promises of stuff that the politicians would do after the election, for some parties (some of the ones that are currently in negotiations about the new government) social media has been all quiet on the western front. Kind of as if they've been running a campaign and they've gotten a lot of likers and followers and now we are not important anymore. The thing that bothers us, is that in the two latest elections they did the same thing - bla bla bla bla bla - and then silence. Nothing. Kind of like running away from a promise of closeness that you gave to your best friends. Or not calling your mom everyday as you promised.

Anyway we have translated the advice into english so the politicians of the world gets a social web recipe of how not to fuck  around with the people who love you - it's just stupid. So if you like, here's the press release in english and in danish. and here's the story in Urban - the danish newspaper.

here it is peeps:

10 tips for politicians in regards to social media

1. Live updates bring excitement, personality and reactions. The morning after the election Margrethe Vestager posted a mobile picture on Facebook from the bus she sat in on the way to a secret meeting. More of that!

2. Lars Løkke used Facebook to say thanks in regards to his election defeat - a wise move. If you are only active when it is a good thing they're missing out on the respect it also creates with interaction the negative situations.

3. The best way to outdo your constituents' expectations is to be personal. Provide answers to inquiries, person to person and take everyone seriously as individuals. This is Democracy 3.0.

4. Listen to what is happening out there and be proactive in discussions. Both in regards to the big media, but also on blogs, twitter and the like. Could one imagine, for example. Villy Søvndal put a comment on a personal blog, which discussed his future as a minister?

5. Be proactive in digital relationships and take your inspirations seriously. A polititian can also send a friend request, it need not only be the other way.

6. Use social media to talk about your visions and dreams for the future. It builds identity, and identity is, more than anything else, that which makes people choose one or the other.

7. Implement a social web strategy for how to deepen relations with your surroundings. How many hours can you or your staff spend on direct dialogue with voters?  How many should you use?

8. Answers to personal messages and emails. It has been, in this campaign, not uncommon to 'unchoose' a candidate because you could not get through to them. Show respect, and answer when someone asks.

9. Show up for various events - and use digital as a catalyst to get people to meet up with you. Do you record videos when you're out?  Are you taking pictures?  Voters like to follow along if they can actually see you out and about in the local environment.

10. Blog. Reflect on your life. Tell voters about the processes of everyday life as a politician. It builds value on top of all that election hype.