Social Media And Its Impact On Society Essay

More and more people are getting their news from social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat, Tumbler and many more, and candidates are using this to their advantage. This election is probably one of the first were candidates have actually used social media sites as their direct communication line to potential voters. Social media today had gone from gossip and family pictures to a location for political strategy. Thanks largely to trumps regular social media first declarations and its actually working particularly with the younger voters. A study released last year from the Pew Research Center that Marissa Lang cited showed that “Among 18- to 29-year-olds, nearly two-thirds said social media is the most helpful means of learning new things about politics.” (Lang, 2016). Even if the candidate isn’t the one posting the video or message in the end it will still end up on social media. For example, Trump had announced his plan to ban all Muslims from entering the united states in South Carolina not on social media however it found its way there and spread like wild fire. This sent those who were outraged to respond in disgust and those who encouraged it to share it so that their friends could see and so on and so on. Even if those who shared it did it to

One benefit of social media is that it gives presidential hopefuls unparalleled opportunities to connect with voters. Sites like Facebook and Twitter are widely

Advertisements surround every American; whether it be a TV commercial for car, or a billboard for a resort “10 miles ahead.” American society has adapted to a society that sends messages to gain trust in products based on how it is advertised. Similar to U.S.’ capitalist society, the political system has become dependent on advertisements to instill trust in the people for candidates. President Franklin D. Roosevelt built his presidency on informing the public on his political strategies through the use of public radio (Walsh). In the 1952 presidential race, Dwight Eisenhower promoted his campaign by creating political advertisements on TV (Fowler, Franz, Ridout). Since then, not only have radio and TV advertisements been a defining aspect of presidential elections, but also, social media, a more modern avenue for politicians. This has become one of the most effective campaigning strategies in modern day elections. President Obama’s 2008 presidential race is one of the most significant examples. Obama made history by taking advantage of the social media outlet and successfully reaching audiences who previously were not targeted by the previous standard tactics. Historically, Presidential candidates have gained dependence on using advertisements and social media to promote their platform and qualifications of becoming president. Today, there is an increasing necessity to master these campaign strategies in order to communicate effectively with the American citizens.

Throughout history the modes of communicating messages across a vast medium have changed. From flyers, to radio, to television and now to the devices we carry in our pockets. Social media has drastically changed the modes of communication. Not only has it been made easier for people to spread their messages, it has drastically changed the way politicians campaign. It is important that the message does not get skewed. This is where social media campaign staff for politicians comes into play. Bernie Sanders has been an unlikely candidate in the Democratic run for presidential nominee in 2016. He has no famous last name and no relative to have occupied the presidency, unlike his opponents. The one thing he does have on his side is social media

While there has been a lot of negative feedback from the results of the election, both campaigns should see social media platforms, particularly Twitter, as a catalyst for future change. The use of social media during the 2016 election has granted several candidates, not just the major party candidates, plenty of media exposure to a differentiated group of voters. Additionally, social media grants candidates more time to directly communicate with voters on issues that they are particularly passionate about. Furthermore, candidates have the opportunity to use feedback from social media sites to predict future winners of the popular vote well before the election. The millennial demographic has not held back with their opinions on issues and the results of the election; therefore, candidates and their campaign teams should take social media and the information it provides into serious consideration when partaking in such large-scale

It was 2011. President Barak Obama was 3 years into his first term as President of the United States, and set his sights on another one. Winning the 2012 election would be a challenge though, with many people tuning out of broadcast television, one of the main ways political candidates advertise. Enter social media marketing, more specifically Facebook. Obama’s campaign made an unprecedented turn to social media to gain a lead in the election, and eventually a win for Barak Obama. Nate Lubin, Director of Digital Marketing for the Obama for America campaign says on Facebook’s business marketing page, “Facebook allowed us to reach all of our constituencies, where they were and with the content we needed them to see and engage with.” If Obama’s campaign had to be innovative in 2012, how did the candidates of the 2016 election use his success with social media to further their own campaigns in a new, social media driven society? Companies now work to not only get content to people it will resonate with most, but analyze the psyche of social media users in order to better target them with content more likely to be received by them. With digital media playing an unprecedented role in the political campaign arena, psychological profiling is not just being employed to micro target a specific voter through social media, but successfully getting the right messages through to people who will best receive them.

Social media usage in political campaigns is becoming more prevalent in the current political sphere. Candidates use social media in their campaigns for a number of different reasons. Social media is used in order to advertise their platforms to younger potential voters who have historically been absent from the polls on election day. In fact, Straus, et al. (2013) and Serazio (2014) found in their research that social media allows the politicians to speak directly to their constituents and discuss issues that are important to their potential voters.

Website creation is huge for almost anything. Blogs, fundraising efforts, funny cat videos. The internet has it all, and with the click of a button or a one-word Google search, anyone can find almost anything. One of the most recent success stories of a politician using the internet to run a successful campaign is former President Barrack Obama. The grassroots campaign reached out to young people whose lives were highly digitized, and this use of modern technology is the reasoning behind Obama’s two term success story (Levenshus, 2010). Obama’s campaign raised money and informed the public of his policies in a highly effective way. 66 percent of people aged 18 to 24 voted for Obama in 2008, while about 45 percent of people aged 65 and older voted for him in the same year (Cornell University, 2008). The general beliefs of certain age demographics may play a role, but these numbers alone do not tell the full story. Voter turnout rate for young people in 2008 jumped by over ten percent from 2004. Obama reached a demographic that often gets left behind in elections by utilizing the technology that they were so engrossed in. Then, in the last election cycle, there was a major shift in how politicians reach the electorate. Social media, and the infamous tweets of Donald Trump, set a precedent in 2016.

Throughout history, presidential candidates have capitalized to newspapers, radio, television and now social media to inform about the campaign proposals. In the middle of the Digital Age, social media platforms such Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn performed an important role during the US presidential elections 2016.

From the Huffington Post in the article “The Game Changer: Social Media and the 2016 Presidential Election” author R. Kay Green (2015) discusses strategies the candidates are using in order to win over the minority vote, which is to connect the millennial generation with social media. Specifically, social media has been shown to improve voting patterns because the younger generation can see and read about the election through social media. For instance, the subject matter first appeared in the 2008 elections as Barack Obama was the first candidate to use social media to his advantage, with this strategy the candidate was able to gain more voters. Quickly, Obama’s campaign tactic is obviously seen throughout the 2016 election with majority of the candidates now appearing on more than one technology platform. Throughout the article R. Kay Green uses ethos, pathos, and logos to support and express the impact that social media has had on the 2016 presidential elections.

“Communication is the essence of a political campaign.” Proper communication allows a presidential candidate to get his or her message across. This translates to a lot of votes. To acquire the support needed to win the election, candidates must master the latest media methods that provide effective and efficient mass-communication. The new technological mediums of each era, such as the radio in the 1920s, television in the 1950s, and today’s Internet and social media platforms, give the candidates the opportunity to control their campaign and the potential to reach a larger audience than ever before. By eliminating the middle man role of the traditional news media, presidential candidates can now capitalize on the latest advances in technology

Along With, Presidential candidates throughout their campaigns used social media platforms to connect with people to increase their public liking and possible votes creating a direct line approach to voters. Despite the efforts of social media having a positive impact on the presidential campaign, it caused more drama through false accusations by news outlets trying to back their parties getting us the voters on their side, and voting for who they

A way for practitioners to manage reputation on social media is by monitoring, reacting, and providing proactive strategies for candidates (Virgillito, 2014). Figure 1.5 displays the top 2016 Presidential candidates Facebook page “likes” from 2015 to 2016, and is an example of how reputation can help with building followers on social media. The graph shows how candidates who led in 2015 have since dropped out of the race or are currently leading in the 2016 primary, which is likely due to their reputation. With the graph in mind, communications practitioners should reflect on the following questions: Can a candidate’s reputation on social media increase or decrease their profile page "likes?” Can their reputation on social media give an indication of who voters are likely to support in the presidential

While recent studies examine social media adoption by politicians, this study follows in the path of Gainous and Wagner (2014) by examining the content of social media communications from U.S. Senators and candidates for the Senate. We develop a marketing-based theory to explain which candidates are more likely to use social media for mobilization and fundraising. Through content analysis of over 15,000 Facebook posts made by candidates for the U.S. Senate, our analysis provides insight into the determinants of grassroots behavior on social media. We find that grassroots campaigning more commonly among challengers and Tea Party candidates who lack the name recognition and resources of more established candidates. Additionally, race characteristics, such as competitiveness and the relative positioning of candidates, influences social media posting strategies, with candidates in competitive races and candidates trailing their opponent more actively engaging in online grassroots campaigning.

In the past few years, the frequent use of social media changed not only on how individuals communicate but also how political campaigns are handled. The government and several politicians are highly dependable to this because it is a way in which they can communicate, argue and gather ideas of what the common people will say. The transformation of media has impacted the political campaigns of those who have been able to best exploit them. Social media optimization, the term used in which an individual uses social media outlets to acquire publicity of something. Basically, politicians are highly dependable to communicating sites to increase their awareness to the citizens. This is when politicians strategically disseminate information, communicate to gather ideas and respond to what may people sees them. However, social media optimization is likened to be a softcopy in which the public citizens tend to conceive a certain ad or posts that talk about accomplishments without apprehending if it is truly done in the community. So, social media optimization has pros and cons to both