Note to candidates: relax, be yourself

Mindy Finn, Republican Web strategist

It may be impossible for a leopard to change its spots, but coming across on You Tube as sincere and charismatic appears to be just as challenging for some politicians and presidential candidates. A successful digital campaign is contingent upon a candidates ability to relax and be him or herself.

Mindy Finn agrees that candidates’ who are able to be themselves and come across as sincere will have the most effective campaigns.

“The Internet and the nature of it reveals the truth and reality of who an individual is and shows every single flaw,” she said, during an short interview at this year’s Personal Democracy Forum conference.

When asked what he considers to be the total package, when it comes to digital campaigning, James Kotecki, a digital campaign video critic, identified successful digital campaigns as those offering a candid behind-the-scenes look at the campaign, interactivity, relaxed appearance by the candidate, candidates ability to be him or herself and multi-way communication with public. Kotecki also added that although there are candidates out there doing it right, they struggle to keep the dialogue going.

Go behind the scenes 
The video below of the prank that Mitt Romney’s son pulled on him offers a glimpse of Romney behind the scenes just having lunch until he answered the call, which was intended to be a comic stress-reliever for Romney.

Relax, be yourself
McCain appears very relaxed and shows a little personality at the end of his response to a question about whether his age will interfere with his ability to be an effective president. We’ll keep watching.

Talk back via video and keep it up
Even with the great strides that candidates have made, their ability to keep the conversations going is still a challenge. They’re responding but consistently, which is key in rounding out the elements that make a well rounded digital campaign. Kucinich is one of the most noteable to date. Here one that despite its obvious flaws still offers that personal tone of a one-on-one conversation.