Frank Strategies: The Blog

Congressman Buck McKeon Gets It

Big kudos to Congressman Buck McKeon of California, who recently posted video of an unscripted, impromptu tour of his Washington office on his official website. In the video, Congressman McKeon introduces viewers to his DC staff — the woman who sets up Capitol tours for constituents, the legislative staff, interns – even the New Media guy, Robert, who shot and edited the video. I’ve attached a screen cap below, but check out the video here.

This is the kind of thing that every Member of Congress should be doing. As the Obama transition team has already figured out, cheap, quick, unscripted videos are a great way to give your key audiences a peek behind the curtain and to put a human face on what you’re trying to accomplish.

The constituents who received Congressman McKeon’s video in his e-mail newsletter now almost certainly feel a closer connection to him and his staff, and are more likely to give him the benefit of the doubt the next time a political opponent inevitably tries to portray him as the Prince of Darkness. Members of Congress who don’t start using unscripted online videos to humanize themselves and enfranchise potential voters are ignoring a very powerful tool… at their own peril.

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