No, not every politician or candidate is making the mainstream news like Congressman Joe Wilson and not every candidate is seeing a surge in donations, because of an unforeseen national issue, but every candidate should be prepared for it and have an online game plan in place ahead of time.
In this world of 24/7 online politics and with breaking news going live via Twitter instantaneously, you need to have the team and the technology in place to respond immediately.
Things to be prepared for:
1. Hackers: What will you do if malicious activists succeed in nearly shutting down your website, at a time when thousands of people are logging on to donate to your campaign? If your campaign or cause becomes an overnight, national political sensation – people are going to pay attention to you (for both good and bad reasons).
2. Distributed Denial of Service Attacks (DDoS): Just yesterday, CompleteCampaigns sent out this message to its customers warning them of a Distributed Denial of Service Attack that may have impacted many campaigns' ability to receive financial contributions.
We are writing to inform you that CompleteCampaigns.com was the target of a Distributed Denial of Service attack (DDoS). The attack was focused specifically on our FundRaiser processing system. Fortunately, we were prepared and able to move quickly to prevent most disruptions brought on by it - we're reaching out today to let you know exactly what was impacted and where we are in the process.
Sure, many of these issues are out of your hands, but what will you do to immediately work to resolve the problem?
3. Get your message out: Lastly, you need to be prepared to get your message out through social media and online networks. Have the ability to get your candidate or organization on camera, and online, and soon.
Have your list of "3am volunteers" – those online activists and friendly bloggers who are ready and able to share your message with their readership on a moment’s notice. Build these relationships ahead of time. In situations like these, there is no time to begin the process. The process needs to be already in place.
Like the infamous title of Harvey Mackay’s bestselling networking guide, “Dig your well before your thirsty” is an important mantra that every conservative campaign, cause or organization should take to heart.
Are you prepared?
