Just like businesses, presidential campaigns can rely on Twitter to connect with fans and turn positive sentiment into a selling tool, ultimately driving traffic to the website and bringing in more revenue (or donations).

So which GOP candidate has the best Twitter strategy?

I’ve looked at the remaining candidates’ Twitter accounts, and ranked them, based on:

    • Who’s engaging users the most
    • Who’s promoting valuable content, including relevant articles and video
    • Whose tweets are most dynamic – using hashtags, mentions, and links

I also reviewed the candidates’ official campaign accounts rather than the candidates’ personal accounts, if applicable. The official feeds were stronger across the board.

From worst to best:

@RickSantorum: Santorum’s account is on the decline. In 2011, Santorum’s campaign was regularly retweeting and engaging others, and linking to relevant articles.

Today, the feed is hardly much more than an update provider – and a lousy one at that. Santorum’s hashtag usage is uninspired, usually alternating between ‘#fitn’ and the laughable ‘#gameon.’

@TeamRickPerry: Team Perry is trending downward, like Santorum. Last year, the account was all about engagement, often retweeting and thanking supporters.Today, Perry’s team is only mentioning the @GovernorPerry account, and hashtag usage is one-dimensional, relying heavily on one hashtag (recently #scdebate, #huckforum before that).

@MittRomney: Romney’s twitter is inconsistent, and doesn’t connect with others. Romney will go several days without a tweet, and will often tweet without a single link, mention, or hashtag.

Many of Mitt’s tweets are clearly designed to be retweeted, and it works (he’s usually retweeted by 100+ users), but Romney misses opportunities to directly connect with others, or drive traffic to his website.

@Newt2012HQ – Newt’s campaign Twitter feed is strong, for three reasons:

The majority of Newt’s tweets link back to favorable articles, his website, and videos (the fastest-growing form of content online).

    • Most candidates tweeted canned quotes during debates – Newt’s team retweeted dozens of accolades from supporters, which is far more impactful.
    • Newt’s team finds supporters on Twitter and reaches out, thanking them and asking for donations.

One big problem – they tweet too much, sometimes dozens of tweets a day. They’re begging to get unfollowed.

@RonPaul – Paul’s campaign is the best tweet architect of the bunch. The tweets are clear and compelling, link to valuable content, and complete with relevant mentions, and hashtags galore.

As a result, Paul’s tweets are regularly retweeted by 100+ users, like Romney, but are more consistent and stronger.

While Paul’s campaign isn’t quite at Newt’s level of engagement, the strength of the actual tweets makes up for it.

By: Dan Carlson
Twitter: @dancarlson317