Twitter: Now Accepting Political Donations
Years ago, political contributions were seen as something done by super PACs, Corporate America, and the wealthy. In 2012, the stereotype was broken and political campaigns began to see a new wave of contributions flow through their bank accounts.
Small dollar donations have become the new strategy in fundraising and the acceptance of online donations has made it possible. In 2012, small dollar donations fueled President Obama’s reelection campaign racking in $690 million digitally. From Facebook to the candidate website to text message voters can donate to their favorite candidate from the comfort of their iPhone.
In 2012, the big excitement was text messages donations. They’re ingenious. By texting a code to a number the user can donate as little as $5 and it will be charged to their phone bill. The premise of accepting text message donations was to engage the grassroots community who want to play a role by donating whatever they can afford to the campaign.
Three years ago that was seen as cutting edge, but as of Tuesday, the game has changed, again. Twitter announced it is partnering with electronic payment service Square to enable anyone in the U.S. to make a donation directly to political candidates or causes through a tweet.
Since 2008, social media has become a staple of the political process, and while campaigns have leveraged digital strategies to entice supporters to click donate, Twitter has upped the ante by removing the redirect and accepting political donations directly on their site.
According to Twitter, “This is the fastest, easiest way to make an online donation, and the most effective way for campaigns to execute tailored digital fundraising, in real time, on the platform where Americans are already talking about the 2016 election.”
Political campaigns can sign up for the service through Twitter’s partner, Square. Once they’re verified, they can tweet requests for donations alongside a link, which will show an image with a large “contribute” button. Twitter users can click the button and enter the amount they’d like to donate and their debit card information, along with information required under Federal Election Commission rules. Donors are given the option to tweet about their decision.
By keeping the user on Twitter’s app, it removes the barrier and allows the user to not have to worry about a redirect. The concept is sleek and modern, and has the potential to disrupt other social media outlets and how they’re seeking contributions from their users. Twitter’s latest partnership and launch of the $Cashtag has indelibly shaped the 2016 elections for better or worse.