If, as the saying goes, ‘numbers don’t lie’, it could be assumed that social media activity predicted the outcome of the 2012 US presidential election.
But, regardless of your political persuasion this year’s election has proved to be an interesting follow up to the use of social media in the 2008 campaign when platforms like Twitter were in their infancy. In the many months leading up to the election both parties fought a social media battle unlike any before. The fact that Obama has over 23 million Twitter followers compared to Romney’s less than 2 million followers could have been indicative of the outcome before Nov. 6, however it is clear that, numbers aside, a much more meticulous, data driven strategy was at the root of this years winning campaign.
Obama’s 2012 campaign involved a disciplined digital effort that relied heavily on targeted voter communications and extensive and innovative use of social media and online fundraising tools. This included the employment of an analytics department five times as large as that of the 2008 operation, designed, among many other things to increase the effectiveness of online reach in social media platforms. This combined effort helped to not only gain more supporters but demonstrate willingness to try something new to connect with voters.
His strategic use of social media, by hosting the first ever presidential ask-me-anything session on Reddit in August, gained plenty of media attention, and was followed by a timely last minute appeal to Reddit site users to vote. Obama also used social media to great effect back in January, when he held a live Google+ Hangout with five voters across the country. Following his victory the photograph of Obama embracing his wife with the words "four more years" as seen at the top of this article, has set new records as the most liked and re-tweeted post in social media history. The unprecedented viral success of this post confirms the role that social media played in the US presidential campaign, and truly demonstrates its viability as a powerful and persuasive channel. So will we see this kind of embracement of, and investment in social media activity from our Australian political parties for future elections?
Let us know your thoughts below. The below graphic is a quick visual snapshot of the candidates social media campaign activity over a two week period throughout the American summer.
