Social Media….
It HAS BEEN pointed out that Joe Biden is more comfortable interacting with a small group of people, not big rally crowds….
So?
Right now…
His handlers are trying to combine their bosses wants with the needs to get the ‘campaign message’ out…
It seems to be working….
SLOWLY…..
President Joe Biden’s recent battleground state campaign tour didn’t draw major crowds. But critically for the Biden campaign, it did produce a lot of content…
….
And Biden didn’t even hold a rally during his swing through Michigan — but he did have a private chat (and issued a playful golf challenge on an indoor putting green) with a local pastor and his son.
The Biden campaign says there will be a time when holding big public rallies with its most ardent supporters will be important, even as he’s unlikely to outdraw former President Donald Trump. But right now, rally turnout among the die-hards is less important to it than the disengaged voters who have soured on Biden’s presidencyand could decide the election. And the campaign is focused on reaching them with digital content, especially content produced outside Washington that showcases personal connections and Biden’s empathetic side.
Biden’s campaign hopes to reach those people through their own social media and what is known as relational organizing. The strategy relies on an army of volunteers and paid campaign staffers not just to knock on doors and make other voter contacts but also to tap into their own personal networks, especially online, to share information — news articles, images and videos — that carry the campaign’s message to people otherwise tuning out political outreach.
“One of our core tenets of this campaign is that people talking to their friends and family is one of the most important things that they can do. And getting content that gets shared is a huge part of that,” Biden deputy campaign manager Rob Flaherty said in an interview.
If those below-the-radar conversations are to make a difference for Biden in the election, giving supporters things to talk about is paramount. That’s why an arm of the Biden campaign digital team has been traveling with the president for weeks, recording planned, intimate voter encounters with him focused on particular issues while keeping watch for golden unscripted moments to amplify.
The day after his State of the Union address, Biden’s first stop wasn’t a public campaign rally but the home of Jack Cunicelli, one of the owners of a Philadelphia-area restaurant that remained open through Covid-19 and beyond in part because of funds through the American Rescue Plan, the first major legislative initiative of Biden’s presidency. Biden and first lady Jill Biden met the extended Cunicelli family and sat down for pizza.
The stop got coverage from local and national media at the time, including follow-up interviews with the family. A month later, the campaign released a nearly four-minute video, narrated by Cunicelli, with more behind-the-scenes material, including a discussion of his daughter’s favorite books, the chickens they keep in the backyard and even mutual acquaintances of his family and the Bidens….