April 28th, 2020

You’re probably wondering why would a political operative or campaign staffer follow advice from Joe Exotic, star of the Netflix hit documentary series, “Tiger King?” Joe’s ally, Bhargavan “Doc” Antle, explains: 

"Do you know the power you have if you search Google around the world and you’re the first choice every time?"

Doc and Joe recognized the immense power of online-search results in the exotic cat world; Joe not only took control of his own first-page results, but those of his rival.   

COVID-19 has destroyed the traditional political campaign playbook. Rallies, handshakes, baby-kissing and in-person fundraising events are now gone. With social distancing expected through the current election cycle, campaigns must rally their troops – voters, donors and volunteers – digitally. 

Online search is where those folks will meet your candidate, be introduced to the campaign and its platform. In fact, 93% of online experiences start with a search engine, making digital expertise and the ability to ‘own’ page-one results like Joe Exotic mandatory!

It is critical that a candidate’s page one search presents the candidate and the campaign in the best possible light. Twitter, Facebook and Instagram are important, but most voters first learn about candidates and donate to their campaigns via online search. Search engines drive 300% more traffic to sites than social media. What do voters and donors find when they search for your candidate or campaign? What about your candidate’s opponent? 

Whether a 10-term incumbent or a first-time candidate, campaigns must ensure that online search pages display their candidate as high up the search ladder as possible and that their profiles are strong, compelling and have staying power. Campaign managers must also monitor and track political rivals. 

The David Holden for Florida campaign in the state’s 19th Congressional district, employs a new technology, Lightbox Search, to monitor and manage its search results. The platform helps campaign staffers keep their war room digitally ahead of both their primary and general election opponents. 

 “Lightbox instantly tells us what websites, content and news releases work and don’t work, and it even ‘scores’ our page one results. Lightbox gives us an immediate snapshot of our progress or challenges, and we can track results over time. This technology came along at a critical time for us.”

– Allison Sardinas, campaign manager for David Holden for Florida.

Only Lightbox combines so many sources of critical data in one easy-to-use platform that gives campaign staff an instant snapshot – and deeper analysis – of how their candidate, or opponents, appear in search. And Lightbox users don’t need to be SEO or SEM experts to ensure their candidate’s online profile is strong and compelling. Lightbox even provides an overall score for even easier understanding of a campaign’s online strength.

“Lightbox allows campaigns to analyze search results and provides actionable insights, empowering staffers to take charge of their candidate’s online profile,” said Jesse Jacobs, CTO, Lightbox Search. “Our technology allows campaigns to quickly and easily provide key search snapshots of their candidates and opponents and identify opportunities to improve these results.”

The technology, originally designed for corporate communications and currently used by agencies, financial institutions, legal firms and others, offers campaign staff the ability to save, or archive, search results every hour, day or week, so they can track their online reputation over time. Another unique feature allows them to see how location matters. Even in an urban Congressional race, results will differ from zip code to zip code.

So, while you may not want to follow any other aspects of Joe Exotic’s unique (cough cough) “business” strategies, do take a page out of his playbook when it comes to the importance and power of owning online search results. Let your candidate and campaign be the first choice every time!