Social media is for the young... and politicians

Social media has it all, it’s so easy to use, it connects masses of people, and everyone can join in. It was only inevitable that politicians would try to bug us there too. Having said that it is one of the best ways to instantly reach audiences. For politicians it can considered to be the best way of reaching audiences they wouldn’t normally connect with, for example the younger generation. The youth of today practically spend their lives on social media platforms, so by joining in politicians can potentially target a younger demographic. However, my Facebook tends to get more from Barrack Obama than any other politician, and with him lies the key. Obama is suave and the average man can relate to him making him more interesting. It’s tough to get noticed so you have do something out of the ordinary to get the attention you want.

The key to Obamas election was social media, he was on twitter, facebook, had a blog, importantly he emailed. When Obama first started he would email citizens of the state he was touring say something along the lines of ‘there is something terrible wrong with our country, and we need to change it’. People who followed Obama felt included. Obama listened to what people wanted and in his words he delivered. Obama still actively participates in social media releasing photos on his Facebook page updates twitter. The two most remember thing I can remember from Obama are these two; the image of the boy patting his head and slow jamming the news.

The Aussie politicians attempt to jump on the social media band wagon, but in my opinion with very little success if you could call it that. I vaguely remember the “Kevin ‘07” people wandering around with white tshirts on claiming their allegiance. He encouraged people to join him on Facebook and Twitter, but I wasn’t inclined to do so, he was boring there was nothing to join for. Julia Gillard has a Facebook while I haven’t liked her page so I could be missing out, hers just seems to be a biography of her more than anything. I don’t think Australian politicians have quite figured out they need a hook, to draw us in, and so far they have nothing going for them.

Social media can destroy your reputation just as quickly as it can build it. Sarah Pallin had her devout followers, and just like any other politician she had her ‘haters’. Unlike Obama who had several celebrities public announce their allegiance, she had celebrities make fun of her. Tina Fey a very popular comedy writer (writes 30 rock, assisted on SNL), public impersonated Sarah Pallin on Saturday Night Live, SNL, from then on Sarah Pallin had lost supporters and could be considered the downfall in her run.

I think social media is beneficial for politicians, it reaches a broader demographic but what about the older people who don’t use social media? Politicians may end up overlooking people who don’t use social media. While these people can still get the important news quoted to them in newspapers, they end up getting it slower than those who use social media.

Key things politicians shouldn’t forget on social media:

·         Listen to your target audience

·         Connect with them

·         Have a hook

·         Think before you update

·         Most importantly don’t forget about the people who don’t have social media.