From rock-bottom to the Rock?
Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson is a household name, commonly known for either his unstoppable wrestling or his phenomenal acting. Most recently The Rock hasn’t been making the news for either of these, but rather because he’s been hinting at possibly running in the next U.S. Presidential election.
He’s been around long enough to create a brand for himself: the lovable, kind, diplomatic big guy. But does this big guy really have the prerequisites to get into the biggest (and most important) job in America?
Maybe he does. Maybe he doesn’t. But even if he didn’t, it wouldn’t be the first time in American history an under qualified man was voted in to the highest ranking job in the country.
If we take a quick look at the current President of the United States some people might have some questions about how he actually got there. Well, there are a couple things going on in that strategy but that’s a different blog for a different day. Looking simply, social media had a huge role in the outcome. It’s 2018, social media is changing the game, and to his credit, Trump figured out that game.
Trump used Twitter extensively. He didn’t leave his Twitter up to his staff, he did most of the tweeting himself. Sometimes even sending some late-night tweets.
He used hashtags to reach more people. He discredited traditional media that was against him as “fake news,” further reinforcing his own page. Trump, despite his polarizing and sometimes outright uninformed views, used social media to reach the maximum number of people directly. He used social media to market himself arguably better than any product has. Read more about Trump’s social media techniques here.
So we know social media can be a successful tool. The next question is: would the Rock be able to harness its success like the Donald did?
The Rock has 12.5 million followers on Twitter. A lot more than I have, but in reality it’s nothing compared to Trump’s 47.3 million, or even potential running-mate Oprah’s 41.4 million.
The Rock could strategize and grow his following while using social media to effectively market himself as the next POTUS, but starting that small means you have that much farther to go.
Twitter is all about engaging and joining in on the conversation. Interacting (and having people interact with you) is the ultimate goal of the game. This article lists some pretty easy ways to start off Twitter marketing that almost anyone with an internet connection could do. But like most social media marketing, it’s easier said than done.
What do we know about The Rock? He has some familiarity in North America. You’d probably be hard pressed to find someone who has never heard of him or any movie he’s in. We already said he has a pretty good background: the nice, happy, family type (y’know, after all that WWE destroyer stuff). But could what we know about the Rock actually hurt his chances of ever becoming President?
Pre-awareness can hurt anyone. There will always be at least one person who can only see an individual as one part of a whole. Maybe he’s the actor with the big muscles or that semi-retired professional wrestler or whatever he is to that person. But unlike many stars, can you name a scandal that the Rock has been involved in? Probably not. He’s relatively clean (again after all that super champion destroying he did in the WWE).
And don’t forget he was considered the Sexiest Man Alive in 2016. How couldn’t you vote for him?
Okay. Well. There was that time he became a meme. Remember that sick 90s pic of the Rock in a black turtleneck and the gold chain and the fanny pack? Would you vote for that as your next President?
Probably, because if a country can vote for the “you’re fired” TV guy, they can probably get past an old embarrassing photo.
Let’s take a walk down America’s Memory Lane of Politicians.
Ronald Reagan — actor then became President for two terms from 1981–1989
Arnold Schwarzenegger — actor, former bodybuiler and then became the Governor of California from 2003–2011
… we don’t have enough time to go through every actor that went into politics in America. There’s a whole Top 10 list from the Times of actors that became politicians here.
The point is actors and politics are not a new combination. So would it be out of this world if the Rock ran for President? No. America has seen wilder things in politics than that.
To play in the next election, the Rock would have to step up his social media game. Fortunately the Rock has a solid foundation to start from, even if the doesn’t have as many followers as Oprah. His pre-awareness probably wouldn’t hurt him anymore than pre-awareness hurts anyone else.
Could we see the Rock in 2020? I say let’s get ready to rumble!
