With the upcoming election this fall, it is time to focus on an important issue for the candidates to address, social media! This giant corner of the Internet is a new-age marketing tool that is being adapted and utilized by more corporations around the world every year. If a large company does not have a social media presence, then something is seriously wrong.
Social media platforms are a great way for candidates to reach potential voters easily, efficiently, and cost effectively. Facebook alone has more than 800 million users worldwide. The U.S has a population of more than 307 million, of which 52% are members of Facebook. That is 160 million U.S. citizens! In the 2008 Presidential election, more than 132 million registered voters actually voted. WOW! Compare that to the number of Americans on Facebook, and you have quite a substantial opportunity for a candidate to reach, inform, and influence a potential voter.
That statistic just comes from Facebook. Imagine a candidate tapping into Twitter, Google+, YouTube, etc… Are you following me now? This is a vast opportunity for a candidate to GAIN votes, utilizing FREE platforms that reach the MAJORITY of the U.S. POPULATION.
At the moment, all of the front-runners from the race currently have Facebook pages that are updated daily. President Obama’s page (which has almost 25 million followers) is updated more than once a day, with pictures, videos, charts, etc… about the race. This is great, as it allows a potential voter to feel closer to the candidate and to easily interact with them. President Obama is the front-runner of the candidates when it comes to using social media. The rest of the current candidates fall very short of President Obama’s following, the closest one (Mitt Romney) only has 1.3 million followers.
In order to attract and influence more voters, the candidates need to captilize on the newest form of marketing: SOCIAL MEDIA. This digital medium is only going to continue to grow, and if candidate or corporations fail to jump onto the bandwagon, then they will soon be left behind in the dust.
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