Twitter Revolutionizes The Way Political Campaigns Raise Funds

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Twitter is now playing a vital role in the way presidential candidates reach voters. Candidates now are seen live tweeting on the micro-blogging platform (live-tweeting debate has become the norm), and tweets by candidates are constantly making headlines. Now for the first time in election history, presidential candidates are able to use the micro-blogging platform to raise funds. This is seen as the best way to target today’s potential donors, says a report from Adweek.

Twitter makes it simple to donate

Twitter’s donate buttons work by letting candidates tweet links to approved Square accounts or $Cashtags, which, with the tweet, automatically crunch “donate now” buttons. By clicking the button, users can go to the page with payment options. When the process is complete, donors will have the option to tweet about their donation.

Candidates can raise money promptly and in real-time during debates and other large-scale events by using the donate buttons. People paying attention to the current news, live events and breaking news are most likely to make a donation. Twitter has surely made it easy for supporters to donate quickly as people are known to change pages as soon as they lose interest, the report says.

Also the micro-blogging giant has made it simpler to target high-potential donors. Each individual has a unique Twitter profile, and candidates can better reach individuals who have donated previously using these insights. Campaigns can target such users with more personalized Twitter content, like by a direct message.

Much more than a political tool

Also the people donating are likely to share news of their donation with friends and relations on the micro-bogging site, and this can incite others to donate as well. A study by The New York Times found that 84% of consumers share content on social media to show their support for an issue or cause.

Therefore, Twitter’s donate button will help them share their support by automatically generating a tweet for them once they’ve made a donation. Users naturally have more belief in content from their peers than content generated by a political candidate, the report says.

Twitter’s social fundraising platform is much more useful than being just seen as an essential tool for the 2016 presidential candidates. Apart from politicians, the tool can be used by nonprofit organizations and politicians at all levels to raise money by engaging more supporters.

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