Do you "like" any of the candidates in the 2012 election? Not in the sense of liking what they stand for, their values or plans, but do you "like" them on Facebook? Facebook is becoming an essential part of any successful marketing campaign and now, any political campaign. I am going to review my observations from various Republican and Democratic candidates (by no means does this article sway towards a party affiliation or preference) and take note of what they are doing right (or wrong), and how these lessons can be applied to your business.

First of all, this is what the candidates had in common:

• All Republican candidates had "welcome" landing pages that had a large graphic you automatically land on and a way to "like" the brand, via some sort of call to action. President Obama's page went directly to his Facebook "wall." These welcome pages can be important to businesses and offer a great graphical element to anyone who lands on the page for the first time.
• Surprisingly to me, all of the pages allowed open discourse when commenting on posts, positive or negative, about the candidate. This lesson is especially important for brands, because if you have a social platform, be prepared for the positive and the negative, and use the negative as a reason to address customer concerns in a public forum
• All candidates have a Twitter presence. President Obama used this platform the most in frequency, by a country mile, and had the most followers by tenfold. Obama follows a great deal more users on Twitter, with the other candidates following very few other users.
• All of the candidates had specialized "apps" in their sidebar, which is another great opportunity that businesses can use to highlight special events, promotions or other aspects of their business.

Now for what candidates excelled or failed at individually:

Rick Santorum- Out of the candidates I researched, Rick has the least number of followers but the highest number "talking about" him and his campaign on Facebook. Over one-third of his fans are responding to posts, "liking" content and sharing it with their friends. Just like businesses need to strive for, Santorum is effectively engaging the fans that follow him and appears to have a very passionate followership on Facebook.
He does not, however, know how to use the "photo-strip" at the top of his page. The five pictures at the top of your page can be chosen, and Mr. Santorum's photos were oddly cropped and often duplicate (at the time of this writing). He made great use of the side, profile picture by picking a tall, higher definition photograph of himself (pictured). A profile picture that utilizes all of the available space is the best way for businesses to set themselves apart, until timeline becomes a business Facebook alternative.

Newt Gingrich- Newt immediately lands you to a page where one can sign a petition for American oil drilling. Several wall postings postings can be construed as "attacks" on other candidates. Facebook fans are "talking" the least about Gingrich, although he has nearly twice as many "fans" as Santorum. Newt makes a nice use of the photo-strip, with five graphics that can be viewed interchangeably (pictured). Mr. Gingrich also does not have an "events" section in his sidebar. For businesses, an events section is a great way to alert visitors to upcoming webinars, speaking engagements and conferences, amongst other uses.

Mitt Romney- He has the most "likes" of any Republican candidate (five times more than Gingrich), but the lowest percentage "talking about" his brand. Romney makes particularly nice use of his "welcome" landing page, with a series of videos that one can scroll through based on defined topics (pictured). Romney also has a creative campaign called "I stand with Mitt," where fans can take a picture of themselves holding a sign promoting Romney to be displayed on the campaign Facebook page. This plan harnesses the reasons social media works: people want to be seen, and want their feedback to be viewed by friends and like-minded individuals. What better way to get people to invest in your brand than to make them a part of your page. There is no option to donate to the campaign from a Facebook page, but Mr. Romney has made no secret of his affluence.

Barack Obama- No surprise here, Barack Obama has a tremendously higher followership on Facebook and Twitter than the other candidates. Mr Obama had a bit of an advantage, considering he has been the president of the USA for the past several years. Although they do not have a welcome page, what the Obama Facebook is doing better than the rest of the candidates is making video an integral part of the page. Michelle Obama answers questions from Twitter, Barack showcases his speaking engagements, and the page shows videos of individuals that have benefited from policies (pictured).

In a nutshell, these campaigns are being run by very sophisticated teams of individuals, many with great experience in marketing and social media. The messages are carefully monitored and distributed. Overall, though, these sites can offer great lessons in the importance of media-rich content, feedback-based posting and add-ons to make your business Facebook page truly "presidential."