Goodbye Liberal Party
In a recent article about the Coalition’s appeal to young voters it was revealed that in a short amount of time the Liberal/Nationals face oblivion for being largely out of touch with the younger generation; by completely failing to understand the needs of youth, technology and its uses.
Having worked on campaigns for the Liberal Party in the past—and a former card carrying member—I’ve found their stance on technology especially disturbing. The comparative contrast of Labor’s fantastic Kevin07 (now KevinPM.com.au) online campaign left the Libs battered and bruised.
One would have expected that they would learn from their mistakes encountered in the crushing defeat, although it seems that they’re completely missing the point of it all.
It is very simply about engagement.
Whilst Malcolm Turnbull and Joe Hockey seem to be quite active on Twitter (and making it very public that they are) the party’s technology front ends there.
By comparison the Federal Liberal Party’s website is bare, poorly designed and not very accessible, whereas the Federal Labor Party’s website is uncluttered, information is clear, and although it isn’t the prettiest website on the internet it certainly does the job.
Federal Comparison
When we compare the two NSW state websites we see the difference is even greater; Labor have a very fresh, appealing website that represents them in ways that their actions certainly don’t. The Liberal’s website is like the reincarnate love child of an Internet Explorer 5.5 only website. Primary colours nor excessive amounts of flash certainly aren’t effective.
NSW Comparison
It really is time for the Liberal Party to get with the program. It’s no longer excusable to not have an appropriate digital presence; especially when trying to communicate with as many constituents and members of the general public at any one time. Creating a valuable and user rich experience online is no more expensive than printing fliers to reach the nation—if not cheaper—and a great way to engage and convey your message.
The task of self education on the topic of technology, social media and the Internet might seem daunting, it really is much simpler than it seems. An independent consultant would easily be able to cover how the party can effectively use;
- Twitter, to communicate effectively and en masse
- A decent, flexible content management system
- A simple network of blogs, aggregated content and collaborated messages
- Opening up to moderated feedback from constituents in an online capacity
In a time where consumer [constituent] engagement is a highly sought after commodity, it will be easy to slip between the cracks and to be forgotten about completely. If the Liberal Party want to avoid extinction, they’re going to need to catch up quite quickly.
Comments
Twitter: