Kushner's Facebook Revenue Shift

A story about how Jared Kushner convinced Trump to invest in Facebook advertising by reframing it as a revenue opportunity rather than an expense.

"Trump had a Twitter account for 5 years and understood it was a big part of his celebrity and ability to drive traditional news coverage. But spending real money on Facebook ads, that came because Jared Kushner convinced him that instead of all the other things in the campaign where consultants are begging you to spend money and it goes out the door, you could make this a revenue center through fundraising.

Typically with TV ads, you pay money to try and change people's opinion and hope you get votes afterwards. But if you buy ads and target them well, you can get people to give you money - this is why charities do online fundraising. Trump started spending real money on Facebook because he was seeing a return on it. It resonated with him in an economic mode fundamentally more than as part of a political strategy.

Through the combination of his organic ability to draw attention online in ways traditional politicians couldn't, and amplifying it through paid spending mostly on Facebook advertising, he was able to create a community online that was really deep and meaningful to the people who were part of it."