Running head: SOCIAL MEDIA AND POLITICAL CAMPAIGN
How Social Media Shape Political Campaigns
Name
Institution
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SOCIAL MEDIA AND POLITICAL CAMPAIGN
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How Social Media Shape Political Campaigns
Introduction
The potential of new media to shape public opinions about major issues in our society is
undoubtedly greater than the ones mainstream platforms had before the emergence of the new
ones. Digital communication platforms had redefined every aspect of the structures and systems
for engaging citizens in the development of their society since their prominence are dependent on
ease of access and distribution capability. While new media such as social media platforms have
become avenues for socioeconomic and cultural changes, their role in the operation of the
processes and creation of the strategies used in the political landscape is considered most
profound. Facebook and Twitter are communication channels for the distributing information to
the electorate thereby making them the primary tools for the campaign projects of politicians
(Apuke & Apollos, 2017). Therefore, this research would examine the models that political
parties have leverage the power and influence of social media to increase voter engagement and
participation in ways that increase their chances for victory at the polls. It will argue that the
distinguishing features of this new media are the part of the reasons why traditional ones are
restructuring their strategies to remain relevant in the current and future dispensation.
Media and Politics
Newspapers, television, and the radio are examples of mass media platforms that have
served as tools for disseminating information to the public for long periods. Most of the issues
that affect the people are either discussed through the articles and interviews in the newspapers
and magazines or programs on television. Also, the talk shows on radio are used for similar
purposes as journalists use them to inform and educate the people on the policies and agenda of
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the government and institutions. According to Anstead and O'Loughlin (2015), the relationship
between the media and politics is reflected in the approaches used by mainstream news channels
and organizations to engage politicians, political parties, and the electorate. For example,
broadcasters and journalist ensure that debates and discussion in the productions are non-biased
and structured to present a balanced viewpoint of the issues that are discussed. An additional
dimension of the connection between mass media and the political class is the dependence of the
latter on the former to advertise the ideas and programs for resolving the social problem in ways
that show the weaknesses of the argument presented by their opponent. Therefore, media has
served as traditional platforms for the propagation of the messages from politicians to members
of their constituency or the general electorate.
Social Media as Drivers of New Media
Owen (2011) described the period of the emergence of new media as an era that altered
the political landscape of the United States as politicians and their campaign machinery was
altered to reflect the paradigm. New strategies were developed and implemented for the
candidates and political parties by the campaign organizations of their influence on voter
engagement through media coverage. In the early stages of the development of new media in this
country, politicians relied on conventional online platforms to advertise their electoral agenda to
the public or publish their interviews with respected journalist and media personalities on the
channels. Although the adoption of the new media channels was low, they became propaganda
tools for people with different political affiliations and ideologies.
Stieglitz and Dang-Xuan (2013) described social media as the sophisticated and new
media that altered the form, function, and content of political communication used by strategists
and their clients. In the new system, the demands of the audience became different, which
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increased the influence of social media tools such as networking and blogging sites. One of the
strengths of social media that made it the driving force behind the new media culture was its
replication power and borderless communication to a variety of people despite their potential of
non-participation in the electioneering process. Also, the various elements of social media
platforms are unique regarding their quality of the content of the messages distributed through
them. They are disruptive by changing the method for creating information content and
delivering them to consumers. Unlike in the past where the news cycle is limited to certain
periods of the day, the advent of social media has transformed it into a 24-hour one that is
available throughout the year.
Facebook is a form that allows the posting of videos, text, and images while YouTube is
limited to the audio-visual materials only. However, the key feature of these types of social
media outlets is their low implementation cost and distribution power. A tweet about the agenda
of a political candidate can be shared multiple times without the restriction of time and place that
traditional new channels placed on the campaign process. A further dimension is the impact of
social media o the development of public opinion about social issues and the policies and
systems designed for dealing with them (Biswas, Ingle, & Roy, 2014). Although the lack of
control has resulted to misinformation on several occasions, the consequence is that politicians
and the media campaign team are expected to actively engage their supporters and the entire
electorate through the control of the narratives.
Political effectiveness is a phenomenon that media experts and political analysts consider
as the source of the problem with the relationship between media and politics. The need to filter
the accuracy and integrity of the new items that are disseminated through various platforms
placed social networking sites on the pedestal of the tools that would determine civic
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engagement. Owen (2011) noted that information over-flow that has characterized the landscape
is the making it difficult for the electorate to evaluate competing claims since politicians cannot
interpret some of the dynamics of the discussions on social issues and topics that they participate
during an election period. It is this dimension of the current landscape that would increase the
power of social media platforms to drive current political campaigns and future ones. In this
context, opportunities exist for campaign managers and strategists to ensure that quality of
information that emanated from them are useful for increasing the level of acceptance of their
candidate. An example of how this aspect of the influence of social media can help aspirants
achieve their goals is how President Obama and President Trump used the social networking
sites to engage citizens and participate in the political process during the 2008, 2012, and 2016
elections respectively. While the Obama campaign team used the change slogan to win two
terms consecutively, the Trump campaign used the need to filter information before trusting it to
defeat his opponent and cause one of the greatest electoral shocks in the history of the United
States.
Influence of Social Media on Political Campaigns
Social media networking sites including Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube provide the
opportunity for people to distribute stories from different devices from different parts of the
world. Aside from the availability of new information on these sites throughout the day,
politicians and political use those to shaping opinions by providing commentaries that are
constantly changing on a variety of subjects. However, the greatest influence that social media
has ever had on the political process is its power to engage voters in a different way since
millions of people can join the conversation at any time of the day. Although Barack Obama was
not the first presidential campaign to use social media to drive his political campaign, he was
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regarded as the most successful because his tweets and posts empowered and engaged the voters
in ways that several people never imagined (Dutta & Bhat, 2016). The message hope after the
impacts of the economic crisis of 2008 altered the political landscape in the country as volunteers
and fundraisers for the Democratic Party outperformed their Republican counterparts that relied
mostly on the mainstream media to connect with their supporters.
Bright et al. (2017) stated that political campaigns undergo four cycles that requires
professionalism and enormous resources to accomplish the overall objective of winning the
election. In the case of the Obama Campaign in 2008, the strategist and organizer ensured that
every stage was driven by the power of social media to highlight the potential of the
inexperienced African-American politician to change the country. Every member of the
campaign organization ensured that Americans got the message of hope that shared during rallies
and debate sessions. For example, the Election Day is the most important political campaign
period because of the need to gather and canvass voters to the polling booth to alter the projected
outcome of the election. Furthermore, social networking sites became effective models for
generating the desired democratic engagement and civic participation that should help societies
improve and attain their development goals. However, the regular update of new information and
their availability is a source of challenge for sustaining the interests of the electorate in the topics
and policies supported by different aspirants.
When consideration is given to this weakness of social media platforms, then political
campaign organizations and their team would need to structure their activities in ways that
present new and different perspectives on the topics and subjects that the candidate plan to tackle
for the people. A further dimension of the influential power of social media to the behavior of the
electorate during an election year is the increased polarization of the environment. The issues
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that emanated from the U.S 2016 Presidential Election are still affecting the country till today as
the organizations and strategists continue to ensure that support for this political parties remains
strong and credible for winning future elections (Vonderschmitt, 2012). Therefore, the efficiency
of technology-based initiatives to disseminate information on the attractiveness of one aspirant
over others must consider the cynical and disengagement potential of the tools, especially when
the stakes are stacked against the candidate.
Vonderschmitt (2012) stated that campaign organization has lost the traditional power
and authority of controlling the narratives that determine the chances of their candidates. In the
era of social networking sites, such controls are becoming decentralized for the headquarters of
the organizations to the community centers and local offices of the politician. One of the
implications of this paradigm is that the debate topics used by politicians to influence the
decisions of voters are more focused and determined by the level of the aspirant’s participation
on the conversation of social media. For example, the Hope campaign of the Obama 2008 was
effective in conductive political advocacy that its opponent by allowing voters at the local level
to not only drives the civic conversations but ensure that the candidate answered difficult
questions by his agenda. It was a differentiator between Obama and the Republican candidate
that resulted in the victory of the African-American candidate at the polls.
An important but relatively unknown aspect of political campaigns during the era of
traditional media that emerged as the leading theme in the social media is citizen feedback. It is a
virtual system that has numerous virtual opportunities for campaign organizations to increase the
rate of civic engagement of their constituency in ways that result in the promotion of the agenda
of their candidates. One of the approaches that can be used for understanding the advantages of
this dimension of the discussion is the examination of the positive impact of customer feedback
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on the performance of corporate entities. According to Vonderschmitt (2012), one of the
advantages of feedback mechanism that social media possess is the method for reconnecting
citizens and the political leaders in ways that re-establish the broken trust system due to lack of
transparency and responsiveness of the politicians. Therefore, the influence of social media
platforms in the development of the feedback and utilization of the information during the
creation of policies that is critical to the growth of the people would be a valuable knowledge
source for political campaign organizations.
Social Media and Voting Behavior
Furthermore, the potential for social media to change the way people communicate with each
other has resulted in changes in their voting behavior. Vonderschmitt (2012) stated that the
typical behavioral pattern of the electorate during an election year is the identification of the
agenda presented by their political parties to deal with issues that would improve their lives. In
this context, voters examine the political history of the candidates and how their proposed
policies and agendas are aligned with their expectation. The decision to vote is based on these
criteria and one that can be influenced through the consistent dissemination of the content to the
people through Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube among others that are accessible to the people.
Although the political rallies are effective platforms to accomplish similar objectives, social
media platforms remain the most effective source to shape the voting behavior of the electorate).
For example, President Obama used this approach to increase the win votes in Republican states
including the ones where race plays a prominent role.
How Social Media Elements Influence Voting Behavior
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Vaccari et al. (2015) stated public opinion remains the major element of the voting
behavior of the electorate during an election cycle. It is a concept that is valuable in
understanding the potential of social media platforms to either enhance or diminish the potential
of the political candidate to win the election. An example of the approach for understanding this
method is the need to examine the construction of public opinion and its role in the development
of the perspective of voters during the election. In this regard, the goal would be the structure the
communication and discussions surrounding the agendas of the aspirants during debates and
appearances in the community. When this method is related to the distribution power of social
media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, then the capacity of public opinion as an
influence of the behavior of the electorate is critical to the sustenance of their aspiration.
Anstead and O'Loughlin (2015) noted that multidimensional model used for
understanding public opinion is another way for determining its effects on the successful
implementation of the campaign project of politicians. They argued that social media analysis is
one of the ways that researchers can use to understand the roles of the platforms in the
development of an effective campaign plan. For example, the three stages of the campaign that
include canvassing and public rallies can be distributed through the official Facebook and
Twitter accounts of the campaign organization, especially in the context of comparing the
authenticity of the agenda of the preferred candidate with the ones from the opposition. In a
survey conducted by a leading research center in the United States, a quarter of Facebook users
depend on the comment and likes of others to determine the accuracy of their opinion. Therefore,
campaign organizations can increase the participation of their target population in the civic
conversations that surround their policies and agenda of their candidates in ways that would
change their voting behavior favorably. This assertion is based on the high frequency of the
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personal and professional interactions that exist among the use of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube,
and other social networking sites.
The deep penetration of mobile communication is an element of social media that provide
abundant opportunities for campaign organizations and strategists to reach as many people as
possible through their smartphones. According to Vaccari et al. (2015), over 25percent of the
adult population in the United States possess one mobile device or the other thereby making
them a valuable platform to shape their voting behavior and participation in the political process.
Also, the distribution of the communication materials and messages of the aspirants to them on
the go is necessary for the type of access that could change their affiliation and choice on the day
of the election. For example, information about policy briefs can be sent to the millions of
supporters through the power of this technology, which could lead to conversations on the type
of national dialogue and communications that are important for accomplishing the objectives of
the organization.
Geo-location is a feature of social media platforms that are useful for targeting people
according to their behavioral patterns and using the information to develop policies that could
address the social problems and contribute to their decision to vote for the candidate. However,
the most valuable aspect of this element of social media platform is the capacity to distribute
relevant information and resources to the target population within the constituency without
wasting resource. This cost-saving potential of the social networking sites is not just evident in
the resources or material deployment but in the careful planning of the information that is
distributed to the electorate. Meanwhile, the need to eliminate information dumping that was
identified as part of the issues surrounding mainstream media organizations is a factor that made
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this element a critical one in the identification and selection of the campaign tools for civic
engagement, especially the ones that are related to the privacy concerns of the electorate.
Social Media and Campaign Finance in the United States
While utilizing the example of the 2008 Presidential election in the United States,
funding for a political campaign is an integral element that is used for determining the success or
failure of the candidate. Legally, the use of social media to finance political campaign is
acceptable in the country and served the purpose of helping candidates without the financial
support of major individual and corporate donors. Therefore, several web platforms that can be
used to disseminate the agenda of the political party and candidate to the people are also
effective for highlighting the need for funds, provide accountability and transparency measures
and create community actions that are unique (McElwee & Yasseri, 2017). Aside from directing
supporters to the offline platforms, the social media sites have payment solutions that supporters
and interested donors can use to fund the campaign of their preferred candidates.
Community Action
The populations of the communities that constitute the constituency of political
candidates are critical to the determination of the campaign strategies that would be used for
disseminating the ideological principles and social program that differentiate a candidate from
his or her opponents. Also, the demographics of the people is another element of the campaign
cycle that is critical to the development of the methods for canvassing for their votes. Therefore,
community action is the one of the most important activities that politicians that seeks elective
positions depend on to win the nomination of their political parties. It is the bottom-up impact
that translates into the outcomes that extend beyond the local and states levels. For example,
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community action in the election year is the strategy for gather volunteers and organizers of the
rallies and public appearance events that the candidate would attend to convince voters of the
workability and superiority of his or her political agenda. Therefore, obtaining the financial
support of the communities in the constituency is one of the significant elements for winning at
the polls. However, the high competition for the limited financial resources at the local level of
the political process makes it pertinent for the campaign managers of political to encourage the
people to fund the victory of their candidates.
McElwe et al. (2017) reported that the outcome of several studies on the political
behavior of the average American voter showed that the socio-economic status of the population
and political affiliation are the two primary elements that would determine their willingness to
fund the campaign activities of their preferred candidate. One of the consequences of this finding
is that politicians can use the cost-effective nature of social media advertising to encourage the
participation of their entire supporter at the local as part of their community action strategy. For
example, a candidate that launches his appeal for funds through YouTube can use the
interconnecting capabilities of other social media platforms to increase the distribution and reach
of the materials to volunteers and filed canvassers to obtain the needed financial resources for
funding the travels and rallies used by the candidate to communicate with the electorate and
highlight his or her emphasis on transparency and accountability. In 2008, Barack Obama used
the selective targeting capability of social media platforms to maximize the amount donated his
supporters across the country through the design of specially crafted solicitation messages to
encourage them to donate since his background and associates are known.
Legality of Using Social Media for Funding Political Campaigns
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In the United States, the availability of money is one of the key ingredients for
determining the potential of political candidates to be successful at the polls. In their analysis of
the 2016 congressional election in the country, McElwe et al. (2017) wrote that Democrats raised
$667,697,881 for their Senatorial candidates, which was more than the $363,396,637 gathered by
the Republicans for the same race. According to the authors, the law governing campaign finance
in the United States stipulates that “registered political committees, such as candidate campaigns,
file reports with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), which are made publicly available
within 48 hours of submission but updated continuously afterward as the numbers become more
accurate.” Also, a section of the “Federal Election Campaign Act stated that amendments to
which cap individual donations to $2,700 per election and mandate disclosure for all
contributions received above $200” (McElwe et al., 2017). While the data presented above
represents that combined revenue from a variety of sources including social media platforms, the
evaluation of the law showed that the use of the technology initiative is approved by the law.
Effective Use of Social Media for Campaign Finance
Dutta and Bhat (2016) wrote that political engagement is an important aspect of the
processes required by politicians to strengthen the support of their party members and convince
non-supporter of the potential of their proposed programs and policies to change their lives in
ways that are better than their opponent. Therefore, the number of times that a candidate tweets
or posts information on these social media platforms play a prominent role in the attainment of
this objective. However, the ability of the strategy to encourage votes to donate to the campaign
activities of their preferred candidate is dependent on the topics and trends that the candidate
creates during the funding period. For example, topics such as campaign debates, meetings, town
hall engagements, and stops are considered by experts as those that drive the followership of
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politicians during an election cycle would increase the number of volunteers but the amount
donated by them towards the victory of their preferred candidate.
McElwe et al. (2017) stated that the outcome of their analysis of the approaches for
utilizing the dissemination power of social media to obtain the required financial resources for a
political campaign revealed effective strategies that could be adopted by politicians and their
strategists. First, the information on all the social media platforms for the campaign
organizations must be updated and reflect the itineraries of the candidate, which is an approach
that is considered useful for attracting additional donations. |Secondly, the type of the posts,
tweet, and videos posted by the organization should contribute to the accountability agenda of
the campaign plan. In this context, the data obtained from the survey conducted by McElwe et al.
(2017) can offer valuable insights into the methods that political candidates can use to
accomplish their political goals. According to the researchers, “campaigning-related posts have a
positive and significant effect on both donation sums and counts with all controls in place. This
positive relationship is significant when information-seeking is added as a control” (p.9).
Social Media and the Future of Campaign Financing
The influence of all social media platforms on the political class that has resulted in
increased penetration would continue into the future new strategies would emerge for the
attainment of the election victory of a variety of candidates. Also, the limited or zero barriers to
entry for these candidates to these platforms is an important factor that would yield the desired
effects for these candidates both in the short and long-term perspectives. Experts project that
Facebook and Twitter would remain the leading and most preferred online platforms for
investing the resources that would yield additional ones that would drive the activities for
strengthening the supporters’ base of the candidates during elections. An additional dimension to
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the power of social media to continue its role in the development of the agenda that would
encourage supporters at the local and national levels to donate to the coffers of their preferred
candidate would be based on the frequency of the social media posting on the importance of the
online fundraising events to the success of the candidate during election.
Microblogging sites such as Twitter is the next dimension in the development of the
strategies that politicians would use for attracting new and increasing the contributions of the old
donors. Aside from the potential to increase the coverage of the news regarding the policies and
social agendas of politicians, these microblogging sites are serving as penetration tools into states
and localities that do not vote for a political party or contribute to its campaign program.
Therefore, the future influence of social media on the development of the strategies and
frameworks used by campaign organizations is bright and a major determinant of the outcomes
of the political events and results of future elections.
Conclusion
The platform used by aspirants for their political campaign is an important part of the
process for electing candidates in various positions at the local, state, and national levels. While
traditional media channels continue to serve as platforms for politicians to inform and connect
with their voters, social media networking sites remain the greatest influence of debates and
discussions on their agenda. This new media would continue to be the main driver for
community actions, voter engagement, and chances of success during every election cycle is
causing major changes in the communication channels used by politicians to inform and interact
with the supporters and convince those of their opponents to accept the contents of their
proposed policies as the right solution for improving their lives and making the society a better
place. The current situation is challenging for all stakeholders because of the issues surrounding
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the problem and how the people would need to reconnect with the politicians that can earn their
trust and deliver programs that contribute to their socioeconomic advancement.
As a conclusion, the society is in an era where politics and politicians are dissociating
from their dependence of traditional media outlets and returning to the online ones to articulate
their viewpoints and positions on social issues that could enhance or limit their chances of
success at the polls during an election. While the elements of social media contribute to the
attainment of the objectives through a variety of approaches and methods, evidence from the
series of studies examined in this paper showed that the different aspect of social networking
sites would transform into the elements that are needed for politician to depend on them more
than the other methods that were used in the past. As noted in the discussions surrounding the
acquisition of funds for executing the programs and events for delivering the expected outcome
for an election, the frequency of the activities of the political candidate would be critical to either
a successful attempt or a failed one.
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References
Anstead, N., & O'Loughlin, B. (2015). Social media analysis and public opinion: The 2010 UK
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Apuke, O. D., & Apollos, I. N. (2017). Public Perception of the role of Facebook usage in
Political Campaign in Nigeria. International Journal of Community Development &
Management Studies1, 1-18.
Bright, J., Hale, S. A., Ganesh, B., Bulovsky, A., Margetts, H., & Howard, P. (2017). Does
Campaigning on Social Media Make a Difference? Evidence from candidate use of
Twitter during the 2015 and 2017 UK Elections. arXiv preprint arXiv:1710.07087.
Biswas, A., Ingle, N., & Roy, M. (2014). Influence of social media on voting behavior. Journal
of Power, 2(2), 127-155.
Dutta, N., & Bhat, A. K. (2016). Use of Social Media for Political Engagement: A Literature
Review.
Harris, K., & McCabe, A. (2017). Community Action and Social Media. Third Sector Research
Centre Working Paper 139
McElwee, L., & Yasseri, T. (2017). Social Media, Money, and Politics: Campaign Finance in the
2016 US Congressional Cycle. arXiv preprint arXiv:1711.10380.
Owen, D. (2011). Media: the complex interplay of old and new Forms. New Directions in
Campaigns and Elections/Medvic SK (ed.). NY: Routledge, 145-162.
Stieglitz, S., & Dang-Xuan, L. (2013). Social media and political communication: a social media
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Vaccari, C., Valeriani, A., Barberá, P., Bonneau, R., Jost, J. T., Nagler, J., & Tucker, J. A.
(2015). Political expression and action on social media: Exploring the relationship
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Vonderschmitt, K. (2012). The Growing Use of Social Media in Political Campaigns: How to
use Facebook. Twitter and YouTube to Create an Effective Social Media Campaign..
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