Social Media Gets the Vote
A new report from JupiterResearch shows that social media presents the best chance for presidential candidates to connect with potential volunteers and donors online.
According to the “Politics on the Net: Reaching Audiences that Matter” research, social media may also be the magic bullet for media outlets looking to benefit from increased audiences and political advertising.
Active voters have a strong preference for political Web sites as well as news, online editions of mainstream print publications, business and sports content, Jupiter notes. And, they consume such information greater than overall online users.
Since the potential for saturation among candidates is high, political campaigns must seek other online methods of reaching this important part of the electorate.
“Social media provides several advantages for political organizing. Not only do they present a strong concentration of target voters, they also leverage that audience’s communications in those media,” said Barry Parr, the JupiterResearch analyst that authored the report, in a statement. “Because blog and media comment users are all more likely to describe themselves as politically influential, it is probable that they will pay attention to strategically placed political messages.”
However, the research notes, while active voters do participate in social networks, they are slightly less likely than overall online users to use such media. Still, their usage patterns suggest politically oriented and news-oriented blogs and comment sites would be the best choice for political organizing and advertising.
“Both the news media and political campaigns have an opportunity to blaze new trails this election cycle and reach out to an audience that is more fragmented than ever before,” said David Schatsky, president of JupiterResearch. “While political campaigns have already recognized the importance of the Web as a marketing and organizing tool, the changing online behavior of voters makes them a moving target and demonstrates the need to choose tactics wisely.”
