Transcript of Twinterview with @PatrickRuffini

Thank you to @PatrickRuffini for participating in my first ever Twinterview! Stay tuned for the announcement of my next Twinterview guest!

Here is a complete transcript of the Twinterview:

@JordanRaynor: We are LIVE with @PatrickRuffini, Partner @engagedc and most recently a Senior Online Strategist for @BobMcDonnell. Thanks for joining us!

@JordanRaynor: @PatrickRuffini Thank you for sitting down with me. The @engagedc team ran an incredible online campaign for @BobMcDonnell in VA.

@PatrickRuffini: Great to be here, Jordan!

@JordanRaynor: How many new organic email sign-ups did the McDonnell campaign accumulate? Where did the majority come from? Online ads?

@PatrickRuffini: The campaign had 187,000 e-mail addresses. Search marketing & banner ads on sites like Drudge were a strong component of this

@JordanRaynor: The McDonnell campaign raised $1.25 million online. Approximately what % of that came directly from email solicitation?

@PatrickRuffini: About a third. Walk-in donations to the site were surprisingly strong, esp. after the thesis attacks. Thank you WaPo.

@JordanRaynor: Thank you indeed. What do you think is an effective non-fundraising email to direct fundraising pitch email ratio?

@PatrickRuffini: About 1 in 3 or 4, moving to 1 in 2 in the critical weeks before the election when it matters most.

@JordanRaynor: Much has been made of how the McDonnell campaign went mobile. What was the most successful aspect of your mobile strategy?

@PatrickRuffini: We experimented a lot with mobile. We were able to get very granular with it so I got updates from the Alexandria field office

@PatrickRuffini: I would say this local targeting was a highlight. We also experimented with assigning GOTV phone calls through SMS, also a win

@JordanRaynor: Interesting. I love the Redskins ticket give away you all implemented in exchange for cell #s. Was that effective?

@PatrickRuffini: Yes, it grew the list considerably. Also use at live events was key, particularly the GOP convention

@JordanRaynor: @IsCool wants to know how successful fundraising via SMS was for the campaign?

@PatrickRuffini: Candidly, that is one area that's still emerging. Mobile better for message distro and field than fundraising, at least now

@JordanRaynor: Good to know. Let's talk online advertising.

@JordanRaynor: McDonnell spent 7.5% of ad budget online. What % of a campaign’s advertising budget should be spent on online ads in 2010?

@PatrickRuffini: 7.5% is a start. Big brands moving to 10-15%. 10% of TV ads being skipped over. More than 10% of media consumption is online.

@JordanRaynor: The McDonnell campaign launched a Google advertising network "surge" in the last 12 hours of the campaign…

@JordanRaynor: …Would you recommend a “Google Surge” for candidates at the presidential, state-wide, congressional and local level?

@PatrickRuffini: Yes -- exposure it gets you for the $ is far better than TV. Blogs buzz about the full court press effect, sure sign it works.

@JordanRaynor: Was the “Deeds On the Ropes On Taxes” video (http://bit.ly/4Fsv5) the biggest moment for the McDonnell campaign online?

@PatrickRuffini: It was huge. Our grassroots' response to the WaPo thesis attacks was also huge. (cont)

@PatrickRuffini: But if you had to pinpoint a turning point where Deeds effectively disqualified himself, that was it

@JordanRaynor: Let's talk social networks. Why did the campaign decide to create a custom social network (McDonnell Action) with Ning?

@PatrickRuffini: We needed a way to connect our super-volunteers and roll them into the organization immediately (cont)

@PatrickRuffini: Before McDonnell Action, phone trees used to mobilize volunteers. After a mix of groups/events on the site & email.

@JordanRaynor: Which social network provided the greatest value to the campaign? Facebook, Twitter or your custom McDonnell Action (Ning)?

@PatrickRuffini: That's a tough one. Facebook was biggest with over 30K fans. But we could do more with McDonnell Action volunteers.

@JordanRaynor: How many Facebook statuses were “donated” to the campaign for GOTV efforts on Election Day?

@PatrickRuffini: Close to 1,000 -- which we estimate reached about 80,000 Virginia voters

@JordanRaynor: Interesting. Did the campaign have any relative success fundraising directly from Twitter and Facebook?

@PatrickRuffini: Decent success around deadlines. But main sources were 1) walk-in traffic to site, 2) email, 3) Google AdWords

@JordanRaynor: What new technology would you like to see a political campaign experiment with in the 2010 cycle?

@PatrickRuffini: 1) iPhone apps with GPS geolocation & voter ID, 2) Hyperlocal Twitter activity by field offices

@JordanRaynor: Twitter rock-star @nansen wants to know what are the top 3 online items campaigns must have/do?

@PatrickRuffini: In no particular order, 1) robust web platform that scales and captures enthusiasm, 2) video, video, video 3) email strategy

@JordanRaynor: Moving away from McDonnell for two questions...

@JordanRaynor: Thanks for reading Plouffe’s book for the rest of us. What’s the biggest online lesson you learned from the book?

@PatrickRuffini: Bottom line: Actually believe your grassroots can do it. Don't underestimate them. Make them a key part of the team.

@JordanRaynor: What’s your biggest criticism of Obama’s online campaign?

@PatrickRuffini: It was metrics-based to the point of being paint-by-numbers. They once didn't change their homepage for 3 weeks b/c it worked

@JordanRaynor: Lastly, what single accomplishment are you most proud of with McDonnell’s online campaign?

@PatrickRuffini: Lesson: No one silver bullet. Consistent execution across the board was the hallmark of Obama '08 and McDonnell '09