Winning elections in the social media age

In past years the best way to get your message out to the public was through mass media and the only way to “target” a group was to air on certain station or news sources. The use and manipulation of mass media and the inability to respond led to a feeling of distrust among voters. With the introduction of social media and its use on multiple, mobile platforms created an era in political marketing. By incorporating social media platforms into the campaign plan, voters began to be able to give feedback and to feel as though they were connecting with the candidate on a more personal level. This connection inevitably leads to votes as voters feel they are electing “one of their own” into office.

So, how can you utilize the various platforms of social media and weave them together to form a pathway of communication that instills trust and conveys personality to the voters? The first element to social media that you must understand is the different types of social media and their uses.

• Facebook – This is the mother of personal social media. Facebook can be used in a massive number of ways from sharing what you’re views are on certain legislation, inviting followers to attend an event, to providing them with a way to donate to your campaign.
• Twitter – Twitter is more of a personal outlet to briefly share what’s on your mind or on your agenda. It’s a great tool to humanize the candidate.
• Digg – Digg is a great way to share and promote articles and stories either about the candidate, the opposition, or about the issues the candidate is running on.
• YouTube – If Facebook is the mother of personal social media, then YouTube is the mother of the video realm of social media. YouTube allows users to submit and store videos for others to watch, vote, comment on and share. YouTube is a great way to share town hall type meetings or a personal video blog of you discussing the issues you are running on.

The aforementioned sites are just the big ones and are only a few. The reason social media works is because it humanizes the candidate and allows the voters to see and “interact” with the candidate. Constituents elect those they recognize and feel they can trust. That being said, social media is not a medium that you can use once and forget about. One of the reasons the voting public likes social media, especially in regards to politics is because they feel that there voice will be heard. If they are neglected online, it’s as if you have ignored them in person to their face. When used correctly, social media has the potential to completely turn the tide on an election.