If I was advising Joe Biden on how to increase engagement with the American people, I’d suggest the following four things be done as soon as possible.
First: Publicly apologize to Anita Hill and indicate policy changes.
Women are upset their only choice to unseat the incumbent is to vote for Joe. They deserve better.
Last April, Hill explained to the New York Times why she was “deeply unsatisfied” by his private apology and what needs to occur.
Here’s the background.
“The focus on an apology to me is one thing. But there needs to be an apology to the other witnesses, and there needs to be an apology to the American public, because we know now how deeply disappointed women all over the country were about what they saw — and not just women. There are women and men now who are just — really have lost confidence in our government to respond to the problem of gender violence…”
“…I cannot be satisfied by simply saying, “I’m sorry for what happened to you.” I will be satisfied when I know that there is real change and real accountability and real purpose to correct the issues that are still there.”
Source: Jezebel, April 27, 2019
Second: Give people hope.
Barack Obama campaigned for President in 2008 under the motto of hope. Remember the Shepard Fairey poster?
Joe needs to be genuine on social media so people can like him.
While older generations know him from years’ past, the youth don’t really know much about him. And, people who are considering third-party voting or on the fence about the incumbent need to swayed to vote Joe.
He should take walks with a selfie stick, showcase his favorite ice creams, share cooking recipes, and show his home so people can see “Uncle Joe” in his natural element.
The recent video with Joe, his wife, and granddaughter is a great step in that direction, but the 60-second video thanking front-line workers is better. It’s already been liked over 50,000 times on Facebook and Twitter. It needs to be everywhere else.
Third: Reach out to people with clout.
His team should be contacting podcasters, YouTube personalities, Twitch creators, and Facebook group owners for daily live videos. His presence doesn’t need to be lengthy, as 5 or 10 minutes is sufficient.
Joe’s appearance on the Desus & Mero late-night talk show was great. I especially enjoyed the bit near the end when they talked about Gatorade flavors.
I think he should contact every zoo and aquarium as most of them are holding daily Facebook Live videos. Imagine if an episode with penguins has Joe on a screen, and the penguins are looking at him. That’s quality (and shareable) TV and it introduces kids and their parents to Joe.
Because Joe’s YouTube channel has 42,000 subscribers, imagine if he’s interviewed by someone such as Jimmy Donaldson with 34 million subscribers. There are many Joes on YouTube but only a handful of Jimmys.
Fourth: Measure everything.
If a particular posting gets more likes, comments, or shares than other postings, that first posting should be reproduced over and over and over.
It’s obvious that people know Joe’s name, like him, trust him, and respect him. But how many people are talking about him? I don’t refer to the media. What percentage of online chatter is positive? Are there common celebrities or brands mentioned positively alongside Joe’s name? Can those brands be approached for a partnership? What tactics are being used to persuade people creating neutral and negative sentiment? How many November voters are seeing Joe reply to their questions in virtual town halls, videoconferences, and Reddit Q&As?
As I wrote the other day about how I consume the news, I want Joe to do something so remarkable that all of my friends are talking about it.
P.S. Thanks to Julia for sparking me to write this. Also, thanks to Michael Stokes for the campaign photograph.