On Twitter, Republican Candidates Struggle to Compete with Obama's Million Dollar Campaign

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Qorvis Communications

Sep 15, 2011, 02:51 ET

Obama Twitter account valued at $1.3 million, more than all GOP candidates combined

Romney running neck and neck with Perry

WASHINGTON, Sept. 15, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Qorvis Communications, one of the fastest-growing integrated communications firms in the U.S., today released an estimated Twitter Valuation Analysis of the candidates for president of the United States. This Twitter Valuation Analysis is the first in a series of monthly reports to track the progress of Campaign 2012 on social media.

Qorvis compared the number of followers and frequency of tweets for President Barack Obama, the eight leading Republican presidential candidates, and former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. The number of followers and frequency of tweets were used to calculate an estimated number of impressions generated by each campaign Twitter account in the month of August. Qorvis compared the metrics of these Twitter accounts with the cost of a direct mail or online advertising campaign of a similar size and reach, to calculate the monetary value of each campaign Twitter account.

The study was conducted by Wyeth Ruthven, a senior director at Qorvis and a former press secretary to Congressman Lloyd Doggett and the South Carolina Democratic Party. While at Qorvis, Ruthven has led social media campaigns for a variety of defense, energy and sovereign government clients.

"Incumbency matters. Whoever wins the Republican nomination will have to compete with President Obama's million-dollar Twitter campaign," says Ruthven. "In number of followers and frequency of tweets, President Obama laps the field. Governor Rick Perry's Twitter feed has grown 50 percent in the past month and is poised to give Mitt Romney a run for his money online. Meanwhile, Huntsman has overtaken Bachmann on Twitter in just the last two weeks and that may be an indication of where the race is headed."


Twitter Account

Followers

# of Tweets, August 2011

Value

@BarackObama

10,033,453

103

$1,333,240

@NewtGingrich

1,328,533

37

$169,827

@MittRomney

89,232

45

$11,461

@GovernorPerry

83,469

23

$10,580

@TheHermanCain

68,046

96

$9,005

@RonPaul

58,409

85

$7,681

@JonHuntsman

32,261

50

$4,156

@TeamBachmann

29,929

87

$3,940

@RickSantorum

24,311

81

$3,190

@SarahPalinUSA

655,887

22

$83,090




Qorvis offers Twitter Valuation Analysis to its clients to improve their social media campaigns and more accurately measure return on investment. Qorvis will work with clients' existing social media platforms to accurately measure the size and quality of their followers, the number of impressions their tweets generate, the reach and "re-tweetability" of social media messages, and the number of engaged followers who are actively sharing clients' messages within their own social networks.

About Qorvis Communications, LLC
Qorvis Communications is one of the nation's largest independent, integrated communications firms. Formed in August 2000, Qorvis provides its clients with expertise in the areas of public and media relations, advertising, public affairs, investor relations and financial services communications, grassroots campaigns, Internet-based campaigns, digital media strategies, online reputation management, and research and opinion surveys. For more information, visit www.qorvis.com, contact [email protected] or follow us on Twitter: @qorvis.

SOURCE Qorvis Communications