Democratic nominee Barack Obama is a socialist — no, not that kind; he’s a social networker! (Yes, I’m following Pepe’s advice on provocative headlines)

But Obama isn’t just your average social networker — he’s among the best in the business. While both Barack and I are on Facebook, only one of us has managed to leverage Facebook to raise millions of dollars to up his chances at moving into a new white house.

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ResourceNation claims Obama raised 87% funds through social networking-related activities. Now that number seems high to me, but he has certainly connected with a younger demographic, and one of the ways to do that is through social networking platforms like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. A couple key reasons for the success, according to ResourceNation:

The campaign understands the limited resources of young Americans, and asks for only small donations on these sites.

Unlike his competitor John McCain, Barack Obama has been an active part of his online campaigns. He writes his own emails and creates exclusive videos just for his online supporters. The result is an immediacy and personal nature to his campaign that few candidates will ever match.

The personal touch has helped Obama, as has his efforts to target people where they already are — online. His campaign doesn’t push too hard. At many events supporters are only asked for an email address. Then they receive a e-newsletter that’s professionally produced and geo-targeted. Thus, they are slowly immersed in the campaign.

Obama’s website, which recently bested rival John McCain’s site in WMA’s WebAwards showdown, is built around social networking. It’s not all about campaign contributions and Facebook, however. Obama is mobilizing his supporters to fight for him, arming them with the information they need to counter smears and misconceptions, which is a crucial part of a campaign in which “14% of Republicans and 13% of independents think Obama is a Muslim” and presumably feel that this is a bad thing. Obama’s army of advocates are largely fighting this fight for him since the campaign is reluctant to deal with the issue head-on lest they fan the flames. So not only are Obama’s supporters giving him a huge cash advantage, they are also fighting some of the most important ideological battles he faces on his behalf.

Most companies would kill for advocates like these. So the question is how do you get them?

First, you have to give people something they can believe in. Social media is not a doohickey in a box that works by pushing a button. Not all campaigns are suitable for social media tactics, but when you want to spread the word about something really positive that isn’t getting the recognition it deserves you need to look to social media right away.

That means you’ve got to start thinking socially from the outset. Consult a social media strategist at the very beginning of the campaign and continue to use their ideas throughout. When social tactics are tacked on as an after-thought they generally don’t work as well.

Consider your audience and your assets. Younger demographic and lots of video content? You need to be on YouTube and Facebook. Older demographic? Maybe social media isn’t the centerpiece of your campaign but there are great platforms like Eons that target that group. The important thing is to fully integrate social media into your campaign from Day One and try new things. Social tactics need time to work and they need to be complemented and reinforced through traditional outreach. Obama didn’t get where he is overnight. It took a lot of planning and hard work to get the social momentum that we see today.

How many of you have given your email address to a campaign this year? What were your experiences and how did they shape your perception of the candidate? Please leave us a comment at the blog.