Campaigning for your Facebook friendship

Oh hello!

I could list 10 brands Michelle Obama has worn to a public event in 2013 but I probably couldn’t list 10 former Prime Ministers of Australia. In fact, there probably aren’t too many 25 year old women out there that would say they luuurve politics (well, certainly none that I know). But maybe I’ve got it wrong, and maybe the negative stereotyping is all due to the way politics are presented by the media?

Introducing...the future of global politics!

(Source: BarackObamadotcom, 2012)

 

A successful politician is one that has voters, and how do you get voters? By exposing your message to as many people as possible. That's where social media comes in handy. 

"The main social media goals in the presidential campaign are to create content that people share, for fundraising purposes, and to gauge where the candidates stand in the race."

(Jerpi, L 2012)

the main social media goals in the presidential campaign are to create content that people share, for fundraising purposes, and to gauge where the candidates stand in the race. - See more at: http://source.southuniversity.edu/political-campaigns-and-social-media-tweeting-their-way-into-office-106986.aspx#sthash.NFVsaVjS.dpuf

the main social media goals in the presidential campaign are to create content that people share, for fundraising purposes, and to gauge where the candidates stand in the race. - See more at: http://source.southuniversity.edu/political-campaigns-and-social-media-tweeting-their-way-into-office-106986.aspx#sthash.NFVsaVjS.dpuf

the main social media goals in the presidential campaign are to create content that people share, for fundraising purposes, and to gauge where the candidates stand in the race. - See more at: http://source.southuniversity.edu/political-campaigns-and-social-media-tweeting-their-way-into-office-106986.aspx#sthash.NFVsaVjS.dpuf

the main social media goals in the presidential campaign are to create content that people share, for fundraising purposes, and to gauge where the candidates stand in the race. - See more at: http://source.southuniversity.edu/political-campaigns-and-social-media-tweeting-their-way-into-office-106986.aspx#sthash.NFVsaVjS.dpuf

Laura Jerpi (2012) believes that social media makes up part of the marketing strategy for any good political campaign due to it's low cost, speed of communications, and ability to engage followers. Unlike an official campaign website which only connects with an audience who actively seeks the information, any news shared on a social networking site can be seen by millions of people (whether they want to or not!).

So why mix politics with social media?

• Targets new demographics
• Connectivity between social media sites
• Element of control of what is published
• Politics can seem more approachable in a familiar environment
• Makes the campaigner more personable
• Vote for the person, not the policy

Who are the winners? Kevin07 certainly did a good job with his 2007 campaign, however it's hard to top Barack Obama with 34 million Twitter followers and over 30 million Facebook likes (Samuels, T 2013). Read a list of other successful social media politicians here.

While America remains at the forefront of politics in social media, Australia isn't too far behind with most traditional media outlets choosing to re-purpose boring facts into a more "immediate and interactive form with greater emphasis on breaking news, audio and video, and visual design" (Young, S 2010 p205). So basically, getting everyone involved in political conversation....and dare I say, entertained!

Do you think politicians are smart by creating awareness through social media, or setting themselves up for failure? Share your comments below.

Bye for now,

Lisa

Reference List:

 BarackObamadotcom 2012, "The Choice" - Obama for America TV Ad, YouTube.com, accessed 1 February 2014, <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBorRZnqtMo>

Jerpi, L 2012, Political Campaigns and Social Media - Tweeting their way into Office, South Source: A Publication of South University, accessed 1 February 2014, <http://source.southuniversity.edu/political-campaigns-and-social-media-tweeting-their-way-into-office-106986.aspx>

Samuels, T 2013, Which Politicians Have Mastered Social Media?, Socialnomics.com, accessed 1 February 2014, <http://www.socialnomics.net/2013/08/04/which-politicians-have-mastered-social-media/>

Young, S 2010,  'News, Political Reporting and the Internet', How Australia Decides, p205, accessed 1 February 2014, <via Swinburn Restricted Library>