Online ad spend: Small percentage of total US political ad spend

Indian politicians were awed by Obama’s online Presidential campaign but here are some details of their upcoming mid-term polls,

• Total ad spend will be $4.2b
• Online ad spend will be a mere 1%, approx $42m
• 25% increase in the online advertising budget for campaigns compared to the last major political round in 2008
• Online campaigning has matured beyond webpage placeholders and email blasts
• For gubernatorial (governor) elections candidates spent about $100,000 on search ads
• Facebook is very much part of the online ad campaign. Budget depends upon the size of the population of the state
• The killer medium is still ’email blast’

Indian politicians could use the tips given in the article for a carrying a successful online campaign,

• Tagging
• Google bomg
• Email
• Facebook
• Display ads
• Twitter