How new “Mediums” are helping Democrats be more creative with digital.

As of this morning there are three candidates left seeking the Democratic nomination for President. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Senator Bernie Sanders and Governor Martin O’Malley.

The Democrats are organizing and respectfully debating their differences 100 days out from the Iowa Caucus. But how does that translate into Democrats winning in 2016? They’re creatively leveraging every tool they can.

You see Democrats (once again) investing heavily in a digital strategy. Something crucial to winning not only the caucuses but critical to winning 2016 as well. Both Democrats and Republicans have launched quality websites, but the Democrats have gone further.

As I mentioned in a previous post, the Hillary campaign launched an SMS / Text Messaging platform early in her Presidential run, something you don’t usually see from campaigns until later in the cycle. They’ve been using it creatively to advertise the campaign’s Pre-JJ rally with Katy Perry this Saturday and to send debate reminders. This creative use of SMS early in caucus season could prove incredibly helpful, especially as they continue to reach out to young voters.

Hillary Clinton and Martin O’Malley have both launched SnapChats. Creatively sending campaign updates to supporters using the platform’s “Story” feature. The app has even encouraged campaign participation with public stories geared towards the election.

Medium itself has become a valuable tool in the digital arsenal of campaigns. The website where I’m writing this post has quickly gained popularity around the Iowa caucuses as the new home to campaign updates. Its emphasis on conversation with tools like highlighting, sharing features and interaction, help it stand out from other social media platforms. Instead of only posting formal campaign press releases, Medium gives candidates a chance to publish their ideas (in their voice) directly to voters.

• Hillary Clinton publishes to the platform regularly like when she announced her “College Compact”
• Bernie Sanders has written on the platform. In June, he wrote a piece about “Youth Unemployment and Dr. King’s Dream.”
• Martin O'Malley’s campaign has used the platform in a slightly different way. Writing third-person post’s about the Governor from their account. They published one before the first Democratic Debate on October 13.

Websites, Facebook, and Twitter will continue to be incredibly important throughout the entire election cycle. However, as Democrats leverage tools like SnapChat and SMS and new platforms like Medium, they will find new digital success. As the race to The White House continues it will be interesting to see what new ways campaigns use technology to win the vote and what new tools become available to them.