Barack Obama sent me a text message on New Year's Eve. Michelle Obama emailed me earlier in the day. On Obama's Facebook page, supporters were urged to encourage their Iowan friends to caucus. As usual, Obama's blog was abuzz.

In a race that has already seen the nation's first-ever YouTube presidential debate, this election has attracted a new wave of young voters through the Internet and social networking sites. But what can we, as marketers, learn from Obama? Let’s look at four lessons before we decide who'll lead our country for the next four years.

Stay top of mind. Team Obama excels at putting "product" in hands, especially hands of the coveted 18-34 year-olds. Photos of him flood Flickr. Rallies and speeches feature merchandise tables like he's Bono. And Obama Mobile makes it easy to receive product, er, poll updates, like the one I received on New Year's Eve. It's politician as product—and it's working.

Develop a smart contact strategy. Politics is the ultimate sales pitch. The key to Obama's success online is his ability to reach his audience. He leads all candidates in Facebook supporters and MySpace friends, and dominates Democrats in YouTube views. Of course, clicks don't equal sales, but if all those friends turn into votes, Obama's Communications Director will keynote many a marketing conference in 2009.

Content is king. All politics aside, it's easy to see why Obama resonates well in Web 2.0: He's the youngest, freshest face out there. But he also delivers the goods with an easy-to-navigate site, tons of video, Buddy icons, Google Gadgets, and even fun ringtones. Can your brand say the same?

Learn from the past. Marketing and politics have at least one thing in common: failed campaigns. The key here is to learn from those mistakes. In a December New York Times Magazine article about Howard Dean's 2004 campaign, Matt Bai reflects on Dean’s ultimately failed attempt to utilize the Internet, and discusses whether today's candidates are doing any better. Granted, a campaign for home loans might not have the same impact as a race for the White House, but that doesn’t mean we can't learn from past mistakes.

So are we about to elect America's first iPrez? According to techpresident.com, yes. And Obama is in the lead, based on how he uses the Internet to enhance his campaign, as well as his stance on technology issues. If he wins, let's just hope he has a good relationship marketing plan in place.