Gavin Newsom Case Study: Facebook for PR, Branding, and Press Room

Mayor Gavin Newsom’s Facebook Profile

Summary: Mayor Gavin Newsom & the Personal Brand

There has been a lot of talk on the need to develop the “Personal Brand” and to help build connections to the audiences, customers or even voters via Social Media.

While there is a lot of theory and experimentation, one great example of this has been the Facebook profile of Gavin Newsom, the Mayor of San Francisco. This posting will breakdown and identify what the folks behind Newsom’s profile have done so well.

Quick Background on Social Media and the Personal Brand

Todd Defren and his SHIFT team have developed some interesting approach to apply Social Media as “connection builder”, such us with their Social Media Press Rooom (plus a must see powerpoint).

On the Personal Brand side, there is are two thought leaders I’ve been following Rohit Bhargava, who has written extensively on it, and Brian Solis who recently wrote on how to approach Facbeook as a “Personal Brand” builder.

Gavin Newsom’s Facebook Profile: Social Media Press Room and Brand Builder

Mayor Gavin Newsom’s Facebook profile, or who we call “Mayor McDreamy” at our office, is the first live example I’ve seen of taking “Facebook as Brand Builder” in a well executed way. While the profile is of Mayor Gavin Newsom, it is positioned as a profile for “Act Locally SF”, which is the official campaign group for Gavin Newsom.
The profile makes it feel very transparent on what Gavin Newsom’s interests and passion are and what he is involved in through simple “Notes” postings, “Group” associations, video, photos – the whole shebang.
At the same time, it is also an active profile: As his friend on Facebook, I’ve seen his status message change at least once a week (e.g. “Gavin Newsom is Proud of San Diego’s Mayor”) and received invites to charity events that he is involved in.

Let’s further break down the components that make the profile work:

Using Groups and “Causes” Application:

• Shows what Gavin Newsom is compassionate about, give a glimpse beyond what he cares about beyond local issues, such as “Doctors without Borders” and “Free the Jena 6″

Using the “Kyte” Application for Video Distribution:

• Use the “Kyte” application, to show videos of Gavin Newsom that also link back to his own video channel on kyte

Using “News” and “Post Items” to Inform the Community

• “Notes” and “Posted Items” acts as fliers on everything from what events Gavin Newsom is attending to job openings/volunteer opportunities

Flickr Photos on what Gavin Newsome has been up to

• This one is pretty self-explanatory

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