Let These Publishers Help Determine How You Vote Today (and No … This Isn’t [All] About Polls)

We’ve seen just about everything this election season: stances on important topics regarding social rights and the economy, Tic Tacs, leaked tapes, a plethora of pantsuits, Saturday Night Live parodies and celebrities stumping for their candidate of choice. From the serious to the sarcastic, there has been no shortage of entertainment and, for publishers, every opportunity to capitalize on #Election2016 to earn new readers and maintain the ones they already have. But we’ve also seen a lot of online polls. Whether it be projected election results or how much Hillary Clinton’s email scandal matters to you, those following the election have had just about every opportunity to voice their opinions online via polls. It’s no wonder--the format is easy to share via social media and embed on-site before and after a related article. With 35 percent of people between the ages of 18 and 29 saying social media is the most helpful source of information on the 2016 presidential election, formats that are easy to share and make readers feel like they are part of real-time discussions are of the utmost importance to publishers. But which media outlets are going beyond the poll to provide above-average election coverage and create deeper relationships with their audience--all while achieving upticks in social engagement? Take a look at these recent examples and let them help influence your choice at the voting booths: Battleground To showcase both candidates’ fights to win over the battleground states, CNN created interactive maps so readers can decide who will win on a state-level while simultaneously showcasing the weight of electoral votes for each state. As reference, you can choose to review the 2008 and 2012 election results maps to see which states were red (solid Republican) and blue (solid Democrat). Or start your own map from scratch to predict who will take each territory later today. You can also play around with the 2016 map CNN created, which showcases where they predict states are now, and then you can change it based on your own predictions. Creating your own map offers a fun piece of content to play around with as states’ results roll in, or, if you think your state might steer in the opposite direction of your desired outcome, it might push you to get out and vote. Copycat? Melania Trump and Bill Clinton have played parts this election season in making their spouses’ stances heard. Bill went front and center on the trail as Hillary battled pneumonia, and Melania agreed to a sit-down interview to defend her husband’s lewd comments. But as we all know, she got heat for that one speech where she kind of, sort of plagiarized Michelle Obama’s own speech from 2012. The Huffington Post UK addressed the situation with an interactive piece of content that displayed the similarities of both speeches in a text-like Convo format, showcasing audiences’ reactions to hearing the familiar lines coming from Melania Trump. Not to mention, the article paired the Convo with a video users could listen to in order to hear the comments’ similarities side-by-side. Both the video and Convo format enabled users to interact with evidence regarding Melania Trump’s alleged plagiarism and then judge for themselves whether she copied Obama. Letting the audience make up their own minds proved successful, with the Convo earning a completion rate of more than 90 percent and comments galore. And as one of the only times Melania Trump put herself front and center, the piece of content helps readers get to know the potential first lady better. Big deal: What else? Many have been timid to embrace Hillary Clinton with open arms, even with her years of political experience and proven track record. IActuallyLikeHillary.com addresses this sentiment head-on, highlighting achievements of the Democratic nominee and pairing them with sarcastic, unenthusiastic responses that successfully deliver the vibe many Americans feel as they evaluate her for president. Many notable accomplishments are paired with a button that says, “Big deal. What else?” Examples include: Hillary stood up for LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning/queer) rights around the world as secretary of state, launching the Global Equality Fund--to which users can click, “But what has she done for me lately?” to get to the next fact. Or how about, “Hillary created the Office of Global Women's Issues and first-ever ambassador at large for global women’s issues,” to which readers can click, “I’m unimpressed,” to see what’s next. Engaging with the site makes readers understand how ridiculous it is to undermine Hillary Clinton’s accomplishments, no matter which side of the aisle you fall on. Moreover, the interactive microsite is a great way to speedily get up to date on her political stances and previous work prior to voting, or simply great to look at for a quick laugh. But maybe you’d just rather look back at all of Hillary Clinton’s pantsuits. Although we’re unsure who will take home the win, one thing’s for sure: We’re all ready for this election to be over. Assaf Sagy is vice president of global markets at Playbuzz. Image courtesy of Shutterstock.

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Let These Publishers Help Determine How You Vote Today (and No … This Isn’t [All] About Polls)

Which media outlets are going beyond the poll to provide above-average election coverage and create deeper relationships with their audience?

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