To prepare for President Obama’s final State of the Union address, the White House marketing team is pulling out all of the stops on social media. As NPR’s Scott Horsley reports, “The White House will try to offset the shrinking television audience for [the State of the Union] by using every tool in its digital toolkit: Twitter, YouTube, even Snapchat.”
While the messages outlined in President Obama’s address certainly stoke enthusiasm from supporters, they also serve as fodder for the candidates vying for the White House in 2016. In this post, we use the TrackMaven software platform to surface trending content about the State of the Union from the White House and the 2016 presidential contenders. We also analyze the overall impact of the State of the Union on social media.
The State of the Union on Social: What’s Trending?
Here are the most engaging State of the Union posts from the 2016 presidential candidates on social media. Whether you agree or disagree with the sentiments expressed, odds are there’s something for marketers to learn from the way these campaigns drum up conversation on social. The engagement score is measured using the TrackMaven software platform.
- This tweet from Rand Paul saw 7 times more engagement than his average tweet:
I just yelled, “you lie” really loud. Good thing I’m not there. #SOTU
— Dr. Rand Paul (@RandPaul) January 13, 2016
- This tweet from Hillary Clinton saw 6 times more engagement than her average tweet:
Seven years of progress. We need to build on it—not go backwards. #SOTU pic.twitter.com/LlLjQi2AS4
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) January 13, 2016
- This tweet from Ted Cruz saw 5 times more engagement than his average tweet:
Tonight’s speech was less a State of the Union and more a state of denial. #SOTU
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) January 13, 2016
- This tweet from Jeb Bush saw 4 times more engagement than his average tweet:
Safer? ISIS on the rise. North Korea testing nukes. Syria in chaos. Taliban on march. This president is living in a different world. #SOTU
— Jeb Bush (@JebBush) January 13, 2016
- This tweet from Ben Carson saw 4 times more engagement than his average tweet:
While President Obama is complaining about global warming 10 of our American sailors are held in Iranian custody. #SOTU
— Dr. Ben Carson (@RealBenCarson) January 13, 2016
- This tweet from Ben Carson saw 4 times more engagement than his average tweet:
Mr. President, let’s not be concerned if we offend our enemies, let’s pay a whole lot more attention to how do we protect our people. #SOTU
— Dr. Ben Carson (@RealBenCarson) January 13, 2016
- This tweet from Ben Carson saw 3 times more engagement than his average tweet:
President Obama should be talking less about global warming and more about how we can defeat #ISIS and protect the homeland. #SOTU
— Dr. Ben Carson (@RealBenCarson) January 13, 2016
- This tweet from Rand Paul saw 3 times more engagement than his average tweet:
My response to the #SOTU address. https://t.co/sfUk6AsFY3
— Dr. Rand Paul (@RandPaul) January 13, 2016
- This tweet from Hillary Clinton saw 3 times more engagement than her average tweet:
America is better because of @POTUS‘ leadership. Proud to call him my friend. Let’s build on his progress. #SOTU -H pic.twitter.com/c8pn7VktTh
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) January 13, 2016
- This tweet from Donald Trump saw 3 times more engagement than his average tweet:
The #SOTU speech is really boring, slow, lethargic - very hard to watch!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 13, 2016
From the Republican field, Ben Carson led the pack with the greatest number of viral zingers in response to President Obama’s address. Predictable soundbite-spewer Donald Trump was relatively quiet in his responses on social media, criticizing the speech’s entertainment value rather than specific policy points:
The State Of The Union speech was one of the most boring, rambling and non-substantive I have heard in a long time. New leadership fast!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 13, 2016
From the left, Hillary Clinton‘s commentary on the State of the Union centered around consensus for democratic ideals; her team’s top tweets vocalized praise and support for the President. Bernie Sanders, however, was also relatively quiet on social media, despite having the most engaged Twitter audience among the 2016 presidential contenders (see below). He chose instead to share his response via a single soundbite after the completion of the address:
NEWS: Sanders Statement on the State of the Union Address https://t.co/nca8kzwcYc pic.twitter.com/HOwVYhrWH3
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) January 13, 2016
The State of the Union on Social: Facts & Figures
- In 2015, @WhiteHouse saw 10 times greater follower growth as a result of the State of the Union: On Twitter, the White House saw a surge in followers as a result of the 2015 State of the Union address. The handle saw 0.8 percent follower growth on the day of the address, 10 times greater than its average daily gain in followers.
@WhiteHouse Twitter Follower Growth: January 2015
- The @POTUS Twitter account averages 45,000 interactions (retweets and likes) per tweet: To put that into perspective, look at the fight for attention amongst the leading 2016 presidential candidates. Bernie Sanders is the pack leader, with only 3,200 interactions per tweet on average.
2016 Presidential Candidates on Twitter: Average Interactions per Tweet (2015)
- Television viewership for the State of the Union is shrinking, but social engagement with 2016 #SOTU content is growing: The top Facebook post by the White House from the 2015 State of the Union garnered 30,000 interactions (likes, shares, and comments). In 2016, the White House has already garnered over 70,000 interactions with multiple #SOTU posts on Facebook.
2015: Top White House #SOTU Facebook Post (30K interactions)
“We are still more than a collection of red states and blue states…we are the United States of America.” —President Obama #SOTU
Posted by The White House on Tuesday, January 20, 2015
2016: White House #SOTU Facebook Posts (70K+ interactions)
“I want us to be able when we walk out this door to say we couldn’t think of anything else that we didn’t try to do—that…
Posted by The White House on Monday, January 11, 2016
“Since I took office seven years ago in the midst of crisis, I don’t think I have ever been more optimistic about a year…
Posted by The White House on Wednesday, January 6, 2016
The White House’s growing commitment to digital marketing could explain why. As Engadget reports, in 2016, “the hype machine for President Obama’s final State of the Union address is in full swing.” Clearly, the hype machine is working.