He said
Social media is the newest weapon for candidates at all levels of government. It's at everyone's disposal but how it's used can mean everything in an election.
This is particularly true of civic elections where there are no party affiliations and voters base their decisions entirely on the individual. Voters look at what a candidate stands for and whether or not that candidate is likeable.
How well a candidate uses various kinds of social media on the campaign trail can have an incredibly large impact on voters. In a civic election, voters choose the candidate they like, and a great place to make voters swoon is on a social network.
Social media offers a unique way for candidates to interact with potential voters. At any time and in any place, a connected candidate can speak directly to the electorate, and that can mean everything as more and more voters become tech savvy. I'm not a campaign strategist, but a candidate who is connected can reach a much wider audience than one who isn't. As a voter, if I can fire off a question or comment to a candidate and receive a response, that matters to me. It makes a voter feel like this candidate will listen to them.
Previously candidates were only available during a public debate or if they were making an appearance somewhere. The availability of a candidate opens up a whole new world of transparency.
Messages and responses are public on social media sites. It's not filtered through the media. Even with accurate coverage of a debate, we still never have the space to regurgitate everything verbatim, so decisions are made based on what an editorial department deems most important. That's necessary for us, but when a candidate can send out messages personally in response to a voter question, there's no better way to connect to a voter right now than in that digital space.
Social media has quickly become a vital strategy for any candidate who is looking to take a serious run at public office.
She said
I think social media is important in everything, so it definitely has the potential to be useful in elections.
Candidates can use Facebook to set up a profile and spread the word that they're running for election. This is a good way to let people know that you're running. It's also a great forum for discussion, for posting your platform and for interacting with the voters.
Similarly, Twitter is a great way to reach the public. Mayors or city councillors who are proficient in tweeting can keep the public up to date on their activities, on issues that are important and can answer questions directly. It makes public figures into people, rather than figureheads who make speeches and smile nicely for cameras.
A lot of the people using social media are young people, who consistently seem to have the lowest turnout in elections. Put your platform and your ideas in a place that young people can find you. I've definitely read through platforms and scrolled through profiles of politicians online. If you reach out to me, and to young people like me, I bet you'll get more votes than if you appear stuffy and old.
While there are tons of positives involved in social media and elections, there are also downfalls. Consider, for one, if a candidate is a bit of a moron. Let's say a candidate sets up a Twitter account and uses it to fight with people who disagree with his/her platform, and to attack other candidates. This hateful candidate might have great ideas and could have the potential to be a great leader, but all his/her good qualities are hidden behind a horrible online persona. This person has lost the race before things have actually even started.
Similarly, a candidate who has bad grammar or spelling and makes himself/herself seem stupid online isn't going to be popular with educated people. As far as I'm concerned, if you can barely spell your own name, then you're unfit to lead my city. I don't care if you have every other leadership quality; if you can't put together a sentence, you've lost my vote.
So yes, social media is important to civic elections; to all elections, in my opinion. And as more people are turning to the Internet for their news and social interactions, social media is only going to get more important.
