In angling for the leadership of the federal Liberal Party, which will be determined this weekend, Justin Trudeau seems to be mimicking Barack Obama's social-media strategy during his first presidential campaign: engage and mobilize voters on every online platform to show the public a relatable candidate who deserves their vote.
"We've been capitalizing on what Justin's been doing on his own," said Suzanne Cowan, a communications volunteer with Trudeau's campaign.
Kady O'Malley, CBC's Parliament Hill reporter, said Trudeau was one of the first members of Parliament to craft his own messages on Twitter, rather than sending out a feed of press releases or canned content.
Last fall, Trudeau discussed his views on the use of social media and the internet in politics at a Facebook event in Toronto.
"The new public square is online," Trudeau said.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper had the same percentage of good followers as Trudeau, while Obama, whose account is the fourth-most followed in the world, mustered only 25 per cent of good followers.
It's clear Trudeau loves Twitter and understands how social media can help politicians, said Rahaf Harfoush, author of Yes We Did: An Inside Look At How Social Media Built the Obama Brand.
A young, relatively unknown U.S. Senator Barack Obama and his presidential campaign team revolutionized the use of social media in political campaigning in 2008, said Harfoush, who volunteered with Obama's new media team for three months during his first presidential run.
They opened Facebook, Twitter and YouTube accounts — followed by millions — for Obama and his wife, Michelle. Obama's new media team created a personable, accessible online presence for him, posting photos of everyday activities and reaching out to minorities on lesser-known networks such as BlackPlanet.
The most recent batch of fundraising numbers released by Elections Canada show a similar pattern for Trudeau, who has raised about $1.3 million Cdn since last October. His team said Trudeau's donors offer an average of $155, and more than 3,000 people gave $20 or less.
Like Obama, Trudeau focuses not only on gathering mass followings across multiple social networks, but also on being authentic.
On Twitter, Trudeau sends out a mixed bag of tweets ranging from witty political humour and campaigning to family photos and geeky outings.
While Obama started a White House blog, launched We the People petitions and began sending out his own tweets, Harfoush said she felt their social media campaign "kind of dropped off" following his election.
Harfoush speculated that was because Obama's new media team was more restricted after entering the White House.
Cowan said it's not only possible but necessary for Trudeau to continue using social media to engage with the public if he is elected.
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