Group 5

Mike Bevilacqua

Reggie Parks

Brian Pillar

Overview of Social Media Impact Reach endless Voters with little effort

Voters can view content on their own time

Quickly react to competition

Reach voters that will normally not be interested

Open dialog with voters regarding topics of interest

50% of voters age 34-55 are expected to use social media sites.

Increased communication via message boards and groups

Social Media and Political Campaign Statistics

The 2008 elections were greatly impacted by the use of Social Media. The diagram to the left illustrates the increased usage of Americans using social media from 2008-2011. This illustrates the exponential increase in users correlating with the increased audience for political advertising via social media.

Social Media and Political Campaign Statistics Continued

The illustration to the left illustrates the various methods of using social media for political advertising. The age breakdown is also included. The 18-29 year old population makes up the largest while the over 29 age group was the smallest age group that used social media to influence their vote in the election.

Social Media and Political Campaign Statistics Continued

With 82% of adults receiving the majority of their news online without social media presence in political campaigns many opportunities will be missed.

PA GOP Candidate Tom Smith Tom Smith is currently a PA senate candidate. Social Media is playing a huge role in his

election. He has a campaign website http://www.pagop.org/resources/candidates/tom-smith-for-u-s-senate/. On this website there is a bio with many videos and a section where volunteers can sign up and donate to the campaign.

As you can see on the screen shot of Tom Smith’s campaign page social media is playing a part in his role with links to his Facebook, Twitter and You Tube page.

Tom Smith Facebook Facebook is a very

efficient as well as interactive way to reach voters. With the simplicity of setting up, and no overhead cost (other than the pay for staff to manage the page) it is extremely effective and efficient. Tom Smith has links to sign petitions for the budget, pictures showing the public that he is not just

a politician but a also a caring person. Facebook is an effective way of interacting with seasoned voters who are into politics and people who really have no clue. Not only is their information about Tom Smith but the interaction with the public is the most beneficial part. Users can post on pictures, comment on photos, and have open dialogue. The site is also manageable so the campaign team can effectively sensor any information that is posted that is not up to their standards.

Facebook Likes

Likes on Facebook are a great way for users to stay in touch and spread the word. When a Facebook user likes a page they post publicly that they like the page and receive updates about any postings from the page owner. Mathematically the word can spread quickly; if the average Facebook user has 120 friends and there are 8,827 likes over 1 million Facebook users will see “advertisements” for Tom Smith. When you take into account the minimal cost (if any) to operate the Facebook page the advertising potential is extremely beneficial.

Tom Smith Twitter Twitter while not as

popular or used as Facebook is another great source for Politicians to stay in touch with voters. Twitter has live news feeds that any followers receive. Like Facebook you can follow any users; receiving new feeds and real time updates. Twitter is also a free service that reaches millions of users.

As you can see three posts down on Tom Smith’s Twitter page you will find a post for volunteers. This states that there are only 112 days left to defeat the democratic party and asks for volunteers. With the use of social media more potential voters and volunteers will be reached. With the millions of users the advertising for contributions is also much greater.

Tom Smith You Tube Tom Smith has many videos on YouTube. You Tube offers a free service that does not cost anything to use. Tom has new conferences as well as advertising videos on You Tube. This is a great way to visually reach users on the internet. The best part about YouTube is these videos are embedded to Tom Smith’s site where you don’t even have to leave the site. With the videos embedded it also minimalizes users exposure to challenging candidates (if they don’t got to the actual YouTube site.)

Summary

Upcoming Months With the election coming up in November we expect social media

to increase in popularity leading up to the election day. Social Media is a fast way of effectively reaching voters. As issues occur candidates and there teams could react and reach users in real time. The cost of running television adds could put a strain on the political funds available therefore social media will be a way of making the funds go much further.

Is it Working There are not many hard statistics on the use of Social Media in

winning elections but our perception is that it is working. Daily users normally check their social media pages and this makes the news come to them rather than them having to take the initiative to find what they are looking for. By liking a Facebook page, or following on Twitter, users will receive updates in real time and build a perceived relationship with the candidate.

Summary Continued

Campaign Contributions

Political contributions have been impacted by campaign contributions. With more voters being reached campaign contributions should positively impacted. Voters will not only be reached but hopefully can better relate to the politicians with their use of social media.

Sources http://socialtimes.com/how-will-social-media-impact-the-

2012-election-infographic_b88765

http://adage.com/article/digitalnext/social-media-make-break-2012-election-campaigns/228367/

https://www.facebook.com/TomSmithForSenate#!/TomSmithForSenate

http://www.pagop.org/resources/candidates/tom-smith-for-u-s-senate/

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=UU6YBs2wLeZUzJhZMc38EFtw&feature=plcp

http://twitter.com/TomSmithforPA