Great debate. About to be on #Hannity. Please help me for final Ames Straw Poll push & give what you can here bit.ly/p0E4lk #iacaucus

— Tim Pawlenty (@timpawlenty) August 12, 2011

Governor Tim Pawlenty’s campaign never quite had the time to figure out how to use Twitter, so they are a great resource for what not to do. After the third Republican debate, in Iowa, the Pawlenty campaign got really excited about a couple of things all at once. First they talk about a debate, then a TV appearance, then the Straw Poll, then donations, all with a tag for the Iowa Caucus. What?

Don’t overshoot your message by trying to include too many ideas in a single tweet. Think one tweet, one idea. Anything more is difficult to read and understand in 140 characters. If you have multiple ideas you want to get across, use multiple tweets!

This was Pawlenty’s worst performing tweet of the day, with one-third the retweet count of his twenty-four hour average. That’s not only because it is confusing. For example, the trending tag at that time was, unsurprisingly, #IowaDebate. None of the people tracking that tag for the debate would have seen this tweet. By mixing issues, Pawlenty never fully capitalized on any single one.

This tweet also assumes a lot of context from the reader; they have to know about the debate, the Ames Straw Poll, and the Iowa Caucus. What if a user didn’t catch the debate, or hadn’t heard of Ames? They would be lost, and most likely uninterested in donating money to something they don’t understand. That destroys the end conversion of raising funds.

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To be clear. I believe in evolution and trust scientists on global warming. Call me crazy.

— Jon Huntsman (@JonHuntsman) August 18, 2011

Governor Jon Huntsman still claims the most shared tweet ever sent by a Republican presidential candidate, racking in over 4,900 retweets. The result? A 55% increase in new followers and incredible mainstream media attention over the next week.

What made this tweet pop? It was pithy, funny, and sarcastic; all at once. If you don’t have the right voice, your message will never be heard, and Twitter employs its own language. Remember, this is a social network. Users love getting the news, but also want to be entertained.

Be succinct. Short phrases work better than long sentences. Just because you have 140 characters does not mean you must or even should use all of them. Using “to be clear” and “call me crazy” are far more effective than a tweet along these lines: “While you may think I am crazy, I want to be clear that I believe in evolution and trust scientists on global warming.”

Sarcasm works. It is one of the most common and effective forms of humor on Twitter. Be careful, don’t be an asshole, and make sure that the joke translates into 140 characters. Also avoid whining. Nobody likes a Debbie Downer. Surveys have shown negative sentiments and complaints are among the most disliked type of tweets. For instance, we’ve found that tweets containing :( get fewer retweets than those that include :) in them.

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Twitter epitomizes all that is right in America: transparency, dialogue, and an open forum for citizen debate. God bless social media.

— Gov. Buddy Roemer (@BuddyRoemer) October 11, 2011

With Twitter spurring political upheavals across the globe, it’s become clear this new medium for mass social communication will fundamentally alter the political process in the United States. Yet most political campaigns, while spending millions on television and online advertising, have failed to fully leverage the platform. Twitter is the single most powerful tool in this era of new media campaigns.

Political journalists, strategists, candidates, and junkies all flock to Twitter, it is their platform of choice. These users comprise a politically hyper-engaged audience who mold the conversation nationally. While not everyone is hooked into their Timelines, yet, all the key influencers are present and active. They come for the breaking news stories and real-time updates, by the second. Politics changes rapidly, news churns out constantly, and the only thing faster is Twitter. Any candidate that doesn’t participate will be left behind. You can’t wait until the next morning anymore.

Most people use Facebook for their social life and Twitter for their political life. No other platform has become such an obsession of the politically engaged, and the media most of all. How many times have you seen tweets on cable news? Twitter has become an easy and essential source of content for bloggers and newspapers moving to embrace their digital presence. We are witnessing a Twitter-fueled news cycle, the lifeblood of campaigns.

Twitter also provides an avenue around the media, who are not always every campaign’s best friends. While influencing the mainstream conversation is important, Twitter provides a direct channel to supporters and constituents. Tweeting personally adds a human touch and accessibility to otherwise distant candidates. This sense of connectedness to the campaign is essential to raising funds. Done correctly, followers don’t just translate to donations, they can also become effective fundraisers.

Campaigns can advertise major events and appearances. Strategists can test-drive themes and messaging before using it before a wider audience. Metrics can provide leading indicators of polling. Townhalls can bring an underdog out from obscurity. The list of benefits goes on and on.

Understanding the potential of Twitter is essential to investing the resources to leverage this evolving and transformative platform. Campaigns make a fatal mistake when they treat Twitter like any other social media status-updates or as merely another tool for mass broadcasting. Stay tuned for the next 99 rules, which will demonstrate the power of 140 characters.

Tweet us why you think 2012 will be the Twitter Election.

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