Antonio Palmieri is pleased. Carlo Calenda has just replied to a tweet from Forza Italia. And in doing so, he shared the content published by Berlusconi’s party on his profile. “Citing our tweet, he gave new visibility to our work” explains Palmieri, who has been the web communication manager of Forza Italia since 1995. Twenty-seven years later, Palmieri faces yet another election campaign as a deputy (he was elected in 2001) and as a social media strategist. But for the first time he will not deal directly with Berlusconi. “Today social networks require instantaneity – he says – it is right that those who follow him all day think about his contents”.
You have been defined as a “forerunner of the web” by Berlusconi.
“In 1995 I edited the first Forza Italia website. It was used to organize the work in the area: we had 475 college managers, each with a connection and e-mail. Even today, e-mails are important ”.
How?
“They are part of activities that are not seen but that bring results. Like WhatsApp and Telegram. We simultaneously send messages to our lists. And we receive important feedback: from parliamentarians but also from the mayor of a small town. On Telegram we plan to open an official channel in view of the electoral campaign ”.
What about TikTok?
“I don’t think an official presence on this social network is useful. Instead, we focus on friends from FI with whom we are in contact. I call them TikTok volunteers: they share on their party content, maybe short clips of Berlusconi that can reach 300,000 views. On TikTok the success of a content is independent of the number of followers ”.
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What is your ideal social network?
“Facebook, without a doubt. The FI page has taken the place of the website, it serves to keep parliamentarians together, to inform them and to organize their work. In practice it is the transposition of the old party headquarters: a place for meeting, exchange and mobilization. We are also on Twitter, but the latter is a social network for insiders, it does not reach the masses ”.
On Facebook the graphics of the FI posts are unmistakable …
“It is the declination of our street posters. Those ‘6×3’ that we printed once every two weeks. Graphics are the starting point, it must stand alone. Then you add the text to the post. Furthermore, the indication of the symbol to be crossed and the date of the elections must never be missing. We move in the age of the attention economy, everyone competes to attract users, not just politics. And we must facilitate the voter’s task with clear messages ”.
How many content do you post per day?
“Not very many, I am against spam and excess: only the information of the day and the activity of party leaders”.
What is the idea of the user who participates in the policy on your social networks? Corresponds to the voter who will support you at the polls?
“I would say yes. The separation between real and virtual has no longer existed for at least ten years. Since touch devices have buried the physical keyboard, which has been one of the main obstacles to such wide digital participation ”.
Have you ever made a wrong move on the internet?
“In 1997, online surveys worked a lot. I published one on the Forza Italia website about the 35 hour work week. It was exploited and I ended up in the storm. Since then I have been thinking like a chess player: a brilliant move is not enough, you must also think about the counter moves and, if you are good, all the following ones “.
What is the biggest mistake a politician can make on social media?
“Post when angry. We give these and other advice to ours during the training sessions we organize at least once a year ”.
What is Forza Italia’s style on social media?
“Pungent but elegant. On social networks we follow Cassius Clay’s philosophy: fly like a butterfly, sting like a bee “.
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