The value of social media campaigning versus doing the ‘full Grassley’

DES MOINES - Social media has introduced dramatic changes to the way presidential candidates campaign.

But in Iowa, the state that starts the presidential nominating contest, the classics of one-on-one campaigning cannot be replaced, veteran campaigners say.

'Nothing beats one-on-one conversations. Nothing beats door-knocking. Nothing beats phone calls,” said Brad Anderson, who directed Barack Obama's re-election effort in Iowa in 2012 and worked on John Edwards' 2008 campaign, during a recent episode of Iowa Public Television's 'Iowa Press.”

Elections experts credit Obama's 2008 and 2012 campaigns with having skillfully capitalized on social media strategies.

'Social media has changed the game. Not as much as people think,” Anderson said.

In the digital era, campaigns use social media to deliver the candidate's message, woo potential voters and engage and sustain supporters.

Candidates - or their handlers - can speak to voters through Twitter and Facebook without a filter, even to engage their competitors. Anyone who follows Donald Trump's Twitter account knows this well.

But when it comes to locking in supporters, especially in Iowa, nothing can replace direct interpersonal communication, Anderson said.

'There have been a lot of people smarter than myself that have done studies on this, and there is no question that the most effective way to campaign, especially in Iowa, is door-knocking,” Anderson said in an interview. 'It's both in terms of persuasion, as well as in terms of turnout. So nothing beats door-knocking. Second is phone-calling. And then all the other stuff comes after that.”

That's why even as candidates and campaigns attempt to maximize social media's reach, they still pound the pavement in Iowa and other early voting states.

'I think people like to hear directly from their neighbors. And when you have a conversation with someone, you can tell your own personal story and you can talk to them more individually about their story,” Anderson said. '... As I've learned over the years, sharing your personal story while you're supporting a candidate and hearing from others is hands-down the best way to get someone invested in your campaign.”

Eric Woolson, who managed Mike Huckabee's victorious 2008 campaign in Iowa and has worked for numerous other campaigns, cautioned that barnstorming the state is not an impenetrable Iowa caucus strategy.

That warning comes from a man who is credited with making campaign stops in Pizza Ranch restaurants an Iowa caucus staple.

'For some candidates, the only way to win is the 99-county tour and being out there with voters, whether it's because they don't have a lot of money, whether it's because they're unknown,” Woolson said.

'That said, that doesn't guarantee that you're going to win anyway. It may be their only option. It may be their best option. But it doesn't necessarily mean they're going to win.”

Anderson, who is supporting Hillary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic race, said the early stages of Democrat Bernie Sanders' campaign provided a clear example of social media's potential influence on presidential campaigns.

'When the Sanders campaign first started, they had a couple staffers on the ground, (and) they were getting 2,000 people in Davenport from a Facebook post,” Anderson said. 'So, when it comes to early organizing and getting people to turn out at events, I think social media really has played an important role in Iowa. Certainly for the Sanders campaign.”

That does not change the best way to reach and retain supporters, Anderson said.

'But when it comes to getting people to turn out on caucus night, getting precinct captains, getting people to volunteer, all the things that matter in an Iowa caucus, there is nothing that beats one-on-one conversations,” he said.