The importance of the Internet in American politics continues to grow, and now an effective online presence is essential to candidates and advocacy groups. While the online environment is slowly moving past websites as the central method of communication, and as “word of mouth” is becoming the primary decision driver, blogs and social media have become the primary tool for online marketing.

The interconnectedness of our lives has changed why we go certain places, buy certain things and even support certain ideas. We live in a world where people are now sharing everything they do through text, pictures and video. Every single second, posts go out on social media networks, which in turn will be read and shared, reaching thousands of people with the click of a mouse.

Using social networks, we talk to people and constantly interact throughout the day, every day. We drive supporters back to our web tools, recruiting volunteers, Facebook fans, Twitter followers and donors. We find brand activists and use them to promote our message across the web. Through blogger outreach and social media engagement, we give activists the weapons they need to fight our war.

In many cases, people are already talking about you. Some comments are positive, while others are negative. Using new search tools, we monitor websites and social networks for activity about you. We leave blog comments, tweets and Facebook messages to respond. If the messages are positive, we begin a dialogue with the user in an attempt to recruit him/her as an activist. If the messages are negative, we push back with the truth.

Constant web monitoring allows us to make the necessary adjustments to better promote the message, answering questions and fact-checking what people are saying. We pour through website, advertising, email and social network statistics to figure out what is working and what’s not, allowing us to maintain or pivot strategies.