Every Politician Should Add Medium to Campaign Strategy

In the age of rapidly changing social media platforms, Medium is the best spot for politicians to convey a message on social media. The politician need not be an author. He or she can simply hire a ghostwriter to convey the proper message. We’ve seen how damaging Twitter can be. Trump often shoots off incoherent tweets. Trump isn’ the only one to get caught up in the moment on Social Media. I’ve been upset and made some offensive, ignorant comments. That’s why Medium is a great platform to avoid the heat of the moment shots that are so common on social media. As a politician, you can rise above the fray. Writing for Medium takes time. And to present a polished piece, you need to read and edit. Often the act of reading and editing will offer insight as to what you are saying and how it may be perceived. Not always, I am proof, as I admitted in this piece. Medium offers politicians a way to speak to constituents and present a polished thoughtful piece.

Two months after publishing my first article on Medium, I wrote an article that was curated in Politics.

According to Shannon Ashley, in her article, What I’ve Learned From a 60% Curation Rate On Medium, “Curation on Medium means that your story has been distributed through one or more topics on the platform. Medium may include your story in a daily digest email, or simply prompt your story to come up more frequently in the app and website to readers interested in those topics.”

The article I published was about a local candidate for state rep and her Grassroots campaign. It was shared widely on Medium and by the candidate, her friends, and the campaign. Down ballot candidates, without the usual publicity of bigger campaigns, can utilize Medium as a tool for name recognition.

According to Wikipedia, “In politics, name recognition is the ability a voter has to identify a candidate’s name due to a certain amount of exposure through various campaigning methods.”

We all know the names of the presidential candidates. But how many of you know the names of judges or local prosecutors? If you are a candidate for one of these down ballots elections, Medium is a great method to get your name in front of a voter. You can do it in a polished way, without the potential back and forth other platforms provide. You can provide a reader with platform issues, personal background, and without any swing from the media, which we are always accused of having.

Here in Michigan, Covid19 has caused candidates to shift from traditional forms of campaigning. Door knocking and parades are out right now. Medium should be considered a valuable option.

A few weeks ago, I noticed political heavy hitter Barack Obama, started writing for Medium. Last week, I stumbled on Joe Biden’s campaign. Perhaps due to the more cerebral nature of writing verses, making funny Ticktoc videos, The Medium platform is something politicians feel people will take more seriously and is less likely to damage a campaign.

Medium provides politicians with the ability to present a polished message to constituents. It provides all important name recognition for a campaign and is a platform people tend to take seriously. With people like Barack Obama and Joe Biden writing for Medium, it provides legitimacy for a campaign. I have not added Republicans to the list because I have yet to find any writing. But Democrats are considered Progressive which is defined as, “a person advocating or implementing social reform or new, liberal ideas.” Don’t let your campaign get left behind. Get ahead of the trend and utilize Medium for your campaign.