5 Ways President Trump’s First 100 Days Impact Digital Marketing

It’s been 100 days since President Trump was elected and whether you voted for, or against, him, his actions have been swift, impactful and have left a mark on the digital marketing industry. Let’s take a look the Top 5 Ways President Trump’s First 100 Days have impacted digital marketing.

1. Twitter – President Trump’s Preferred Communication Tool
2. Online Viral Videos
3. Facebook Feeds and Feuds
4. Virtual Reporter Integration
5. Digital News Consumption

Is President Trump making waves? Yes. And he’s also creating new opportunities for the digital marketing industry. If you look for closed doors, you will find them. If you look for open ones, you will find those. Here’s to finding the open doors in Trump’s First 100 Days.

#1: Twitter – President’s Trump’s Preferred Communication Tool

?President Trump is the first President to leverage social media as the preferred choice of communication. He’s leveraging it to reach his 28.6M followers, voters, non-voters, immigrants, foreign dignitaries, foreign officials, and it’s working. He’s getting attention.

Regardless of why President Trump chooses Twitter over press conferences, mainstream media or interviews, it’s a groundbreaking change for America and the world. The leader of the free world is communicating first, and most, via social media. Who would have predicted that 24 mos. ago? I clearly remember sitting in a boardroom not too long ago defending social media’s relevance to a company to keep the miniscule budget it had. I have a feeling many social media professionals are happy he’s tweeting like crazy, if only to have less budget battles.

Twitter may want to send him a thank you note for the pick up in news coverage, PR and stock price (NYSE: TWTR). Since he’s taken office their stock has increased 4%; it could be due to a recent deal with Bloomberg to launch a 24/7 streaming video channel or Mark Cuban’s investment. Who knows which led to the other, Trump’s tweets leading to the stock increase or the Bloomberg deal and Cuban investment as a result of the earlier stock increase? Either way, it’s great for those of us that use Twitter for business.

#2 – Online “Viral” Videos

The Trump Administration likely had no idea they were going to be a viral hit when they took office 100 Days ago. There’s no way to know if a video, or person, is going to be a viral hit. I’ve been in digital marketing for 15+ years, worked on countless videos and 2 of them were viral hits. If there were a formula, it’d be selling faster than BOGO Free Christian Louboutin shoes. (FYI: those are the red sole shoes that cost $675+/pair. Get the jist?)

I can’t say the Trump Administration is happy about being viral video hits but it’s drawn quite a bit of attention to the work they’re doing, and the saying goes that any PR is good PR. Here are a few of the most popular videos featuring the key characters:

• Kellyanne Conway discussing Trump & Putin (played by Kate McCinnon)
• Sean Spicer’s press conference re: travel ‘ban’  (played by Melissa McCarthy)
• President Trump’s initial calls to foreign leaders (played by Alec Baldwin)

#3 - Facebook Feeds and Feuds

In the past 100 days Facebook feeds have been filled with politically charged posts. Let’s be honest, they were filled with political posts prior to that. Once the election was done and President Trump was in office signing EO’s and taking action, things heated up.

Friends began to de-friend each other over political posts or comments. New grassroots political pages popped up and activity increased. It’s the first time we’ve seen politics so active on social media that, in cases, it overran real-life friendships. If you’re thinking that Obama was the first to embrace social media, you’re right. However, the level of engagement, response and activity was more from his pre-election campaign and less post-election or individual driven.

What’s that got to do with digital marketing? It means more consumers are on Facebook and they’re spending more time on the social network as well. How many more and how much longer?

• The average time spent per Facebook visit is 20 minutes (Source: Infodocket)
• 1.86 Billion monthly active users (Facebook MAUs), a 17% Y/Y increase (Source: Facebook 2/1/17)
• 1.15 Billion mobile daily active users (Mobile DAUs), a 23% Y/Y increase (Source: Facebook 2/1/17)

While this might clog your personal feed, it’s great news for a business. Your business page, posts, and ads have a better chance to be seen, clicked and liked.

#4 - Virtual Reporter Integration

Press Secretary Sean Spicer has taken his fair share of hits, thanks primarily to his inability to pronounce foreign leader’s names and lack of familiarity with major historical events. For a man with his list of credentials, education and military service (he’s currently a Commander with the U.S. Navy Reserve), he sure knows how to blunder.

He has also embraced digital media by integrating reporters nationwide, from smaller media outlets, via streaming, during his press conferences. Washington, D.C. press conferences are no longer only for D.C. correspondents and that’s a glimmer of light for those looking to get information, and answers, from the Trump Administration.

#5 – Digital News Consumption

It’s no surprise that the relationship between President Trump and the news media is strained. With his regular claims of “fake” news and liberal news media*, it’s bound to be stressed which is good for those of us in digital. Why is that?

• 83% of U.S. adults think the relationship between Trump and the media is generally unhealthy (Source: Pew Research Center, 3/2017)
• 73% of U.S. adults think the tensions between the two are getting in the way of Americans’ access to important political news (Source: Pew Research Center, 3/2017)

When Americans see an unhealthy relationship with tension getting in the way of important news, they look for an alternative. Turn off that TV, discontinue that newspaper delivery and pick up the tablet and smartphone.

They’ve lost trust in CNN, The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal? Good for us. We’ll step up and deliver it through independent news outlets, blogs, social media, influencers, email and the like…and we’ll put ads on all those too!

*50% Independent, 28% Democrats, 7% Republicans (Source: American Journalist Study)