Implication Of Social Media For A Politician

Right from the Orkut that opened the social media doors to all in the last decade and at present Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Hi5 and a big list of social media channels that transformed many sectors miraculously. Have you ever thought about the effectiveness of social media platforms for approaching, convincing people and connecting with them? If you are a part of the digital marketing industry, you will easily analyse the relevance of social media for any particular domain. Politics is a significant work domain in a universal context, however, when it comes to Indian politics it becomes the most happening and biggest democracy in the world. In this situation, Indian politics has changed and transformed considerably due to the adoption of effective and helpful social media strategies. We Dreamworth Solutions a big brand in Digital Marketing across India is ready to review and assess the context and significance of social media platforms to the political field through this informative article. We hope that our compiled guide on the applicability of social media on the political domain will help you in planning your digital marketing strategy for 2020 if you wish to achieve great heights in politics. At the end of this page, we have also discussed our services in social media management for the political domain.

The significance and relevance of social media platforms that have brought about an unparalleled shift in the process of electoral strategy have changed the face of Indian politics substantially. Indian politics has witnessed a drastic change in this decade and its dependency on social media channels to connect with voters has been noticed remarkably.

India is an influencing and diversified country where 60-65% of its total population comprises of youth where they spend much of their time in various social media channels. These statistics clicked an idea that was utilized and adopted to a considerable extent where almost all Indian political parties were seen, employing the social media channels to connect with the young mob for their support, political agenda and social motives.

One significant trend noticed is that the young human capital of this genre is highly and prominently interested in politics. Social media has become a key tool that can voice your individual opinion and impact the results positively. Social media has changed the dimensions of politics worldwide and its effect has completely changed the way politicians used to campaign for their social and political moves, drives and elections. In fact, social media options allow politicians and political parties a way to connect directly with voters across the country at a minimal cost and synergic reach than traditional media options.

If we revise the past conditions, social platforms grew up as a popular concept in the Lok Sabha elections 2014 wherein social channels were exercised as a tool to imbibe popular perception among the young generation. Political parties have initiated the use of social media because conventional and typical platforms have now become outdated; they have their own limitations and are highly monitored by the election commission of India.

Now, politicians have held social media in an attempt to reach and touch voters in today’s new media fanatic society. Shifting from static web pages to social media pages, stories proved highly beneficial to different political parties. The heavy use of social media options in politics including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube has radically changed the way political campaigns are executed and how citizens interact with their leaders.

The popularity of social media in politics has made political leaders and elected members more answerable and accessible to citizens. The exceptional ability to publish and deliver content and broadcast it to worldwide people immediately allows campaigns to vigilantly manage their political face’s images based on rich analytical utilities in real-time and at almost no cost incurred.

Reasons To Improve Social Media Presence For A Leader

• Easy Mechanism To Connect Voters : Various social media tools like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube enable politicians to speak directly to citizens without spending precious time. Using social media options allows leaders to avoid the time consuming and costly method of reaching voters through paid promotion or earned media.
• Cost-Effective Advertising : It has become very common practice for political campaigns to avail creative commercials and publish them for free on video marketing options like YouTube instead of, or in addition to, paying big amounts for stipulated time on television or the radio.
• “Viral” Factor : Twitter and Facebook have become influential tools in managing political campaigns. They permit like-minded voters and social workers to easily share news, details, and insights such as campaign events, photos, social causes with each other. The use of share and retweet functions on Facebook and Twitter is just incredible. US President Mr Donald Trump heavily used Twitter during 2016 election campaign and he quoted that - "I like it because I can get also my point of view out there, and my point of view is very important to a lot of people that are looking at me."
• Customised Messaging : Political campaigns can use a wealth of data and analytics about the masses that are honestly following them on social media options and give a personal touch to their messages and speeches based on specific demographics. A campaign may formulate tailor-made messages based on various demographic aspects like age, gender, religion, financial conditions, location, etc.
• Fundraising : In this technical world, some digital campaigns have been noticed as "money bombs" to raise massive amounts of funds in a short time for different social causes. Money bombs or fundraising campaigns are mostly 24-hour periods in which activists convince their supporters and followers to donate money. Here activist uses social media such as Youtube, Twitter and Facebook to employ these money bombs to specific social issues and causes that need the funds.
• Controversy : Direct access to voters and citizens also has its disadvantages. Handlers, social media managers and public-relations professionals mostly manage a public figure’s image. However unfiltered tweets can create an awkward situation for a leader.
• Mechanism of Easy Feedback : Social media presence can offer a great way for asking feedback from voters or citizens. Leaders might require professional staff to handle negative responses generated through feedback. It necessitates close monitoring of responses and sporting acceptance of negative things along with a clear roadmap on positive actions to be taken in the future. Well managed political campaigns will engage the masses regardless of whether their feedback input is negative or positive.
• Value Of Public Opinion : The value and significance of social media are in its immediacy. Twitter and Facebook channels allow leaders to instantaneously determine how the public is reacting to an issue or controversy. Leaders can then adjust their campaigns and drives accordingly, in real-time, without the additional cost of high-priced consultants, experts or expensive polling.
• It's in vogue : One reason social media platform is effective for a political domain is that it engages younger voters and citizens effectively. Twitter and Facebook have thrilled younger voters that have a reflective impact on elections. US President Mr Barack Obama was the first politician to fully utilise social media during his two successful political campaigns.
• The Power of Unity : Social media tools have enabled citizens to easily connect together to present the petition to the government and their elected leaders. One common example—“PadmashriforShridevi was a trending hashtag and campaign a few years back, that was noticed by politicians and veteran actress was honoured with Padmashree award thereafter.

From Dreamworth Solution’s Director Corner
Dreamworth Solutions is a well-known digital marketing company in Mumbai and Maharashtra and it also offers several other allied IT services like web design, development, app development, content writing, SEO, software maintenance and ORM to name a few. We attempted to guide you on the influence of social media on the political domain in the present era. We provide sound support to our political clients with a broad range of ORM and Social Media Management services.