60 Comments - MrJM - Tuesday, Aug 26, 14 @ 9:23 am: I think I speak for many when I say, “I’ll vote for Quinn for Illinois but that doesn’t mean I’m gonna like it.” – MrJM - Broke Anderson - Tuesday, Aug 26, 14 @ 9:25 am: “Somehow, this is all Paul Vallas’ fault.” - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Aug 26, 14 @ 9:25 am: * Frerichs for Illinois: 3,004 likes * Tom Cross: 4,108 likes @FakeMikeFrerichs - if you add how talk I am to the # of likes I’m behind, I would be leading by a whole head #HeightJokeShortOnLikes - PublicServant - Tuesday, Aug 26, 14 @ 9:26 am: Spot on MrJM - CircularFiringSquad - Tuesday, Aug 26, 14 @ 9:26 am: Now we can look at “rentals” PQ: zip Mitt Rauner: Lots….Welcome the latest— John Anthony (R-Rental) bet he will welcome the votes keeping the income tax high and adding $600 million in new sales tax. - Cassiopeia - Tuesday, Aug 26, 14 @ 9:26 am: Quinn is just not very likable and actually becomes more unlikable the more you know him. - OneMan - Tuesday, Aug 26, 14 @ 9:27 am: Heck @PatQuinnsBrain has almost as many followers… https://twitter.com/PatQuinnsBrain - Gator - Tuesday, Aug 26, 14 @ 9:28 am: I don’t need to “like” Quinn on social media - I get 500 emails from his campaign a day telling me how horrible Rauner is. I’m tuned-in more than enough. - Doug - Tuesday, Aug 26, 14 @ 9:28 am: Rahm Emanuel 46,900 followers - CircularFiringSquad - Tuesday, Aug 26, 14 @ 9:28 am: BTW we surprised to see Billboards Cross so far down the list. Remember he had those groovey web sites so beloved by Capt Fax and it led to some many smashing wins…..Brent, Brent! Fire, Aim, Ready - Doug - Tuesday, Aug 26, 14 @ 9:29 am: Sorry, that was for the Mayor’s parody account, his actual account has 91k followers - OneMan - Tuesday, Aug 26, 14 @ 9:30 am: * Sheila Simon: 2,550 likes Who knew there were that many banjo players in Illinois… - Grandson of Man - Tuesday, Aug 26, 14 @ 9:30 am: I think Rauner’s campaign has done a very good job with social media, ever since the primary. Rauner’s social media campaign was so good that I was watching what I thought were obscure Greek music videos or some other music on YouTube during the primary, and a Rauner ad popped up at the beginning of the videos. - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Aug 26, 14 @ 9:31 am: “Quinn Crew, how do you explain your lack of ‘Likes’ on Facebook?” Response? “The likes aren’t smaller, they’re more selective…” - Streator Curmudgeon - Tuesday, Aug 26, 14 @ 9:32 am: My guess is you can hire PR firms who have an army of paid “likers” who can up any account for a fee. I don’t think Rauner’s numbers prove anythiing. - Easy - Tuesday, Aug 26, 14 @ 9:33 am: I missed how many likes for MJM site? - Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Aug 26, 14 @ 9:35 am: Where is the “Lesser of Two Evils” button on Facebook? - Anonymous - Tuesday, Aug 26, 14 @ 9:38 am: If you want an example of where number of Likes doesn’t seem to equal much, take a look at Mark Kirk’s. I’ve never seen so many negative comments on a pol’s page before. - W.S. Walcott - Tuesday, Aug 26, 14 @ 9:39 am: Maybe Rauner is paying $5 per “like.” Most state employees will hold their noses and vote for Quinn, but liking his campaign Facebook page is a bridge too far… That’s tens of thousands of votes, but very few “likes…” In November they’ll still count votes, and not “likes” Either way, it’ll be close. - A guy... - Tuesday, Aug 26, 14 @ 9:40 am: It’s more of a sense of the comprehensiveness of the campaign Rauner is running. He knows how close Brady came, and his team is leveraging every area Brady fell short. There’s plenty to work with. - Anonymous - Tuesday, Aug 26, 14 @ 9:40 am: Respectfully, the article wasn’t talking about Facebook likes. It’s talking about data analysis and coordinating targeted media and field strategies. - Anonymous - Tuesday, Aug 26, 14 @ 9:43 am: Cassie, I’m sure the one thing you’re an expert on is not being likeable. - VanillaMan - Tuesday, Aug 26, 14 @ 9:44 am: People who care about their social media are over five to one for Bruce Rauner over Pat Quinn. Consequently Quinn supporters are comforting themselves with excuses and jokes. Those won’t win this election. Negative campaigning against an opponent few knew before their campaign, isn’t something to “like”. So there is no incentive to go it. - Yellow Dog Democrat - Tuesday, Aug 26, 14 @ 9:44 am: Streator Right. Rauner paid consultants to Li. - Try-4Truth - Tuesday, Aug 26, 14 @ 9:45 am: Rauner is buying “likes” in social media ad placements (promoting his posts, etc.). It’s not a viral movement by any stretch of the imagination. - Rich Miller - Tuesday, Aug 26, 14 @ 9:45 am: ===It’s talking about data analysis and coordinating targeted media and field strategies=== Yes, I’m aware, which is why I wrote: There’s plenty the campaign can do with Facebook users who are not Quinn “likers,” - James - Tuesday, Aug 26, 14 @ 9:45 am: Facebook likes are extremely misleading. You can give Facebook money to promote your page and attract more likes. However, there is a lot of speculation that these likes are actually generated by low-wage workers in “click farms” that operate out of less-developed countries. More telling would be what % of either candidate’s likes actually engage with the page, either by liking other posts or commenting on them. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2014/02/10/this-blogger-paid-facebook-to-promote-his-page-he-got-80000-bogus-likes-instead/ - JP - Tuesday, Aug 26, 14 @ 9:45 am: Smart campaigns aren’t spending their dollars on fan acquisition anymore. Thus…fan/like numbers aren’t that meaningful. EdgeRank is making it VERY hard for you to reach those folks anyway. If I were to tell advise a campaign, it would be take all of your social dollars and use them to promote your posts - so people…and with targeting, they’re actually the right people - actually see your content. - Big Joe - Tuesday, Aug 26, 14 @ 9:45 am: I agree with MrJM. Many people that will vote for Quinn don’t use Twitter. I don’t, and most of my friends don’t either. I’m voting AGAINST “Ruiner”, as a union member. Don’t need anybody’s Twitter advice. - Rich Miller - Tuesday, Aug 26, 14 @ 9:47 am: ===Rauner is buying “likes” in social media ad placements === That’s like saying Quinn is buying votes with a radio ad. C’mon. - Frenchie Mendoza - Tuesday, Aug 26, 14 @ 9:48 am: The other view — and one I increasingly hold — is that Facebook is becoming largely irrelevant to a large — very large — demographic. Social media, in general, is important — I’ll admit that — but the growth and expansion of social media has forced it to splinter and bifurcate into platforms that *are* relevant to specific demographics. Facebook has lost most of its luster — and apart from enabling users to keep in touch with their (loosely defined) “friends” it’s (IMHO) a mish-mash of commercial and the barely relevant. I realize a lot of media folks will disagree with this (mostly because media is just beginning to understand and leverage social media so there’s a vested interest in protecting the value of essentially valueless social media) but anyone — or any media outlet — that puts serious stock into button clicks is moving into (again, IMHO) essentially bogus territory. “Liking” something may form the basis of what purports to be authentic “journalism” but that seems a pretty tiresome, shaky path to me. I don’t click “like” buttons anymore, but I’m certainly gonna vote for Quinn. And so what? - Anonymoiis - Tuesday, Aug 26, 14 @ 9:49 am: ==If you want an example of where number of Likes doesn’t seem to equal much, take a look at Mark Kirk’s. I’ve never seen so many negative comments on a pol’s page before.== You don’t have to ‘like’ a public page to comment on a status it posts. Number of likes is important, though in the sense that it gives you free advertising to that number of people whenever you post something it’s front and center on their page, and to all their friends if they like, comment on, or share your status or picture. Rauner also has a lot of sponsored posts and ads on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube that show up no matter if you like their page or not. Much bigger social media presence than Quinn - Try-4Truth - Tuesday, Aug 26, 14 @ 9:54 am: No, Rich, it’s a little different. If the metric is “How many “likes” equals a good social media campaign”, then we have to ask the question, where do the “likes” come from? And, you posted the “likes” on this page saying that Quinn was somehow behind in social media campaigning. That may be true, but many associate these “likes” and “followers” and “views” with a ground swell of support. It’s generally not true anymore. Rauner can buy exposure to a certain audience, and then increase his “likes”. It doesn’t mean he’s better as social media. It means he’s got lots of money. It would be interesting to see the metrics page of each campaign’s Facebook page. It would tell us which exposure is “viral” and which is “earned”. - MrGrassroots - Tuesday, Aug 26, 14 @ 9:55 am: On another race, the one for Mayor of Chicago: Bob Fioretti has 4,473 “likes” Karen Lewis has 2,103 “likes” (not certain if this is an official page) Rahm Emanuel has “78,891″ There are two ways of increasing “likes” and increasing “followers” One way is to buy them and that is not necessarily a sure thing (unless you buy them from one of those unscrupulous services that will sell you phony “likes and “followers’). I am surprised that Rauner doesn’t have more with his money. Maybe not a priority. The other is to work at it. No secrets to success here. Post something compelling three times a day and space them out a bit. Surely Quinn has at least three events a day he can tout. The other point is that nothing is too mundane. Stay positive. More posts, more “likes.” Compelling posts will result in even more “likes” - Try-4Truth - Tuesday, Aug 26, 14 @ 9:55 am: Oops, I meant paid not earned. Sorry. - OneMan - Tuesday, Aug 26, 14 @ 9:59 am: The funny thing is I see those ads on Facebook saying ‘like my page’ for both Rauner and Durbin so does that make Durbin’s number suspect too? Also was curious how many of by FB pals like each, excluding the political folks, Rauner leads by about 2 to 1, however at least one of the non-political Rauner likes comes from a guy I know will not vote for him on of the Quinn likes comes from a huge fan of Democrats who lives in Dyer Indiana… - walker - Tuesday, Aug 26, 14 @ 10:02 am: Grandson: ==”I think Rauner’s campaign has done a very good job with…”== There are a dozen ways to complete that sentence. - Try-4Truth - Tuesday, Aug 26, 14 @ 10:03 am: Not suspect, it’s just not telling of a large, on-line, groundswell of support. That’s all. - OneMan - Tuesday, Aug 26, 14 @ 10:04 am: Well over 1,000 people like both… Want to see more on that… Just type People who like Pat Quinn and like Bruce Rauner In the Facebook search box - Anonymoiis - Tuesday, Aug 26, 14 @ 10:10 am: ==Well over 1,000 people like both…== So at least 1/6 of Quinn’s likes are people who also like a Rauner. I’m guessing a good chunk of those likes are media people and pages, and political junkies from different States. Click on some of the comments and you’ll quickly find some aren’t from Illinois - Frenchie Mendoza - Tuesday, Aug 26, 14 @ 10:15 am: This blog is one of the exceptions, but I’ve stopped looking at anything “social” that includes comments. The comments range from vile to really vile to just plain dumb and uninformed. Again — I think Facebook is largely — if not completely — irrelevant by now — at least if a campaign is using it to derive metrics. And — finally — I suspect Rauner voters are like folks who stick bumper stickers on a car: they not only have an opinion, but they want it to be heard. Hence, the sticker on the back of the car and the virtual “like” Me, I’ve long since learned to keep clear of any car that has bumper stickers on it — even if it’s something largely benign like “My other dog is a nutty poodle” or whatever. People who use bumper stickers are usually slightly — or largely — north of the “I’m a jerk” line. I’d like to think that Quinn folks don’t have to “like” or bumper stick. They’ll just vote, thanks. - Stuff happens - Tuesday, Aug 26, 14 @ 10:15 am: Facebook likes really don’t mean much. A better metric is Facebook’s ‘Talking About This.’ Rauner might have 6x more likes, but only 3x more engagement from visitors to his page. Often that indicates a purchase of ‘likes’. Rauner has had a 55.2% decrease in new likes this week over last, whereas Quinn had a 12.1% decrease (he couldn’t match last week’s Saturday spike). Interesting that Rauner’s likes are from 45-64 year-old people, whereas Quinn’s are from 25-34 and 45-54 year-olds. Wish we had geographic data. I’ve often wondered what would happen if a third-party bought a whole bunch of likes for a candidates page. Would it harm them, or hurt them? They’re roughly $.10/like. - Yellow Dog Democrat - Tuesday, Aug 26, 14 @ 10:17 am: @Try4Truth: People are not being paid to like Rauner’s page. Rauner is paying to reach more people. You may indeed be correct that Rauner’s support is a mile wide and an inch deep. But on Election Day, it is the guy with the most votes who wins, not the fella whose voters cast their ballots with the most intensity. The real advantage for Rauner is that social media like online advertising enables Rauner to repeat his memes very frequently. I have already seen the Rauner ad blaming Quinn Madigan for blocking term limits five times. - Anonymoiis - Tuesday, Aug 26, 14 @ 10:19 am: ==Again — I think Facebook is largely — if not completely — irrelevant by now== Facebook marketing is bigger now than it has ever been - Try-4Truth - Tuesday, Aug 26, 14 @ 10:22 am: YDD, yes, you are correct. He is not paying people to “like” his page. Please try to understand what I am saying. If you have the money, promoting posts and paying for social media advertising is a great way to increase your on-line presence. But, it doesn’t mean that people are running to Rauner’s FB page because they love the guy. Hey, it might even work and he gets elected. That’s not what I’m talking about here. I’m just pointing out that it’s not a viral campaign. It’s a paid campaign. That’s all. - A guy... - Tuesday, Aug 26, 14 @ 10:33 am: T4T, simply take it for what it is. In this particular venue, just this one being illustrated here, it’s an apples to apples comparison. No more. No less. The numbers are what they are. No serious person should conclude it “adds up” to victory. But it does “add up” to opportunity. There is a higher level of intensity among Rauner supporters than Quinn supporters at the moment. The more that continues, the more it will appear like a symptom of victory. It’s way too early to conclude anything more than that. - Grandson of Man - Tuesday, Aug 26, 14 @ 10:43 am: We can recall the Obama Campaign’s reported social media success in 2012, as well as the Romney campaign’s social media failure right around election time, when its program didn’t work right, and volunteers couldn’t reach campaign headquarters or offices when they had problems and were trying to get voters to the polls. There will likely be a lot of old fashioned GOTV door knocking. That’s where the Quinn Campaign can do better, with union members and others working neighborhoods to GOTV. - Yellow Dog Democrat - Tuesday, Aug 26, 14 @ 10:44 am: T4T - They may love Bruce Rauner, they may not. The data does not tell us that. But yes, given that Rauner was virtually unknown a year ago with no organization, he has spent a lot of money to compensate. - Black Ivy - Tuesday, Aug 26, 14 @ 10:44 am: Gosh! The truth kinda hurts, but facts do’t lie. If social media is indicative of voter disenchantment, then Governor Quinn is in trouble. That being said, I do not underestimate his willingness to do whatever it takes to hold on to power. By any means necessary, right? - ash - Tuesday, Aug 26, 14 @ 10:58 am: Pretty simple — I don’t “like” Quinn on Facebook because I don’t like what he has done with pensions. I don’t like him on Facebook because I don’t like him as governor. Trust me, my FB page is covered with opportunity to click like — just refuse to do so much like I refuse to put a check by his name in November (Rauner either). - Matt Belcher - Tuesday, Aug 26, 14 @ 10:58 am: ==Gosh! The truth kinda hurts, but facts do’t lie. If social media is indicative of voter disenchantment, then Governor Quinn is in trouble. That being said, I do not underestimate his willingness to do whatever it takes to hold on to power. By any means necessary, right?== Perhaps, this whole conversation in a microcosm. - Statesman - Tuesday, Aug 26, 14 @ 12:20 pm: Rich- you are missing the point. He’s doing it in ‘coalitions’. He’s failing miserably to connect. His latest photo-op at the JRW game at the Kroc center smacked of I need a picture with some people of color! He is doing historically poorly with Hispanics. If his anemic “Latinos for Quinn” is any indication, https://www.facebook.com/latinosforpatquinn He is stinking it up here too! No Obama Bureacrat like Marty Castro can help him here! He has failed at keeping relationships open with the black and latino community (at least when he wasn’t throwing $55M around the neighborhoods)! - Try-4Truth - Tuesday, Aug 26, 14 @ 1:10 pm: A Guy, See, but the numbers aren’t the numbers. Social media marketing is not the same as TV or Radio or Billboard or whatever. Good for Bruce, he’s got more FB followers. The 2012 challenger to Scott Walker in the Wisconsin recall election (Tom Barrett) has over 65,000 “followers”. That metric tells us nothing. I don’t want to argue about this, but, it seems to me that people want to equate social media exposure to support. That’s not the way it works in 2014. It is an opportunity for Mr. Rauner, yes, for sure. But, that’s all we can read into this. Look, I’m not a huge Quinn fan. Rauner, I like even less, so I don’t know how I’m going to vote. But, it aggravates when false meme’s are allowed to perpetuate. That’s all. - Abraham Froman - Tuesday, Aug 26, 14 @ 1:23 pm: ====to hold on to power. By any means necessary, right?====== I dont expect PQ to be looking out the window w a rifle anytime soon, but go ahead and pretend if that helps you sleep during election season. First rule of power is to stay in power but we arent in Niccolo Machiavelli’s time period anymore and few, if any, leaders in a democracy maintain power from fear. MJM may be the last of that machine politics era and Chicago is slowly getting away from it too. Check your tin foil hat, it may be a little to tight. - wordslinger - Tuesday, Aug 26, 14 @ 1:54 pm: I don’t know why people give up their information for free to those databases. What do you get out of it? Insipid tweets from politicians? - ChinaTown - Tuesday, Aug 26, 14 @ 2:07 pm: Hard to imagine a more meaningless metric. Rich, it is “buying” likes when you throw money at FB for certain types of ads. Yours are organic and built over time. I’ll guess most of the pols above are too, given their #s vs. how long they’ve been around. But any one of those pols listed could add 10k likes at ~$1.50 a pop. That’s not a vote and it’s not a persuasion tool. - Kerfuffle - Tuesday, Aug 26, 14 @ 3:04 pm: Capitol Fax for Governor! - Yellow Dog Democrat - Tuesday, Aug 26, 14 @ 4:01 pm: @Chinatown: Again: the Quinn campaign is arguing that Obama, Durbin, Emanuel and every other person who advertises on Facebook for Likes to grow their audience is daft. What metric should we be using then? - A guy... - Tuesday, Aug 26, 14 @ 4:19 pm: === Try-4Truth - Tuesday, Aug 26, 14 @ 1:10 pm: A Guy, See, but the numbers aren’t the numbers. Social media marketing is not the same as TV or Radio or Billboard or whatever. Good for Bruce, he’s got more FB followers. The 2012 challenger to Scott Walker in the Wisconsin recall election (Tom Barrett) has over 65,000 “followers”. That metric tells us nothing. I don’t want to argue about this, but, it seems to me that people want to equate social media exposure to support. That’s not the way it works in 2014. It is an opportunity for Mr. Rauner, yes, for sure. But, that’s all we can read into this. Look, I’m not a huge Quinn fan. Rauner, I like even less, so I don’t know how I’m going to vote. But, it aggravates when false meme’s are allowed to perpetuate. That’s all=== T4T, I’m not finding any disagreement here. - Yellow Dog Democrat - Tuesday, Aug 26, 14 @ 6:05 pm: @A guy: Just because Rauner has more Facebook likes and more Twitter followers does not mean he is going to win. Glad we are finally all in agreement! Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.