Well, the date of the General Election has finally been announced and now we have a month’s worth of high octane policy pushing and opposition putting down to contend with.
For me, not being a particularly political animal at the best of times, I will probably be most interested to see just how much use of online social media there is going to be, particularly following the footsteps of its heavy usage (and, at least in certain quarters, its success) in the US Presidential election campaigning of 2008.
I think that it’s fairly safe to assume that there will be much use (and abuse) of the tools that are available and that social media in general will be much more prevalent than in previous UK elections. Of course, this is in part due to the fact that, in 2005, only blogging was really approaching mainstream use – the other tools that will undoubtedly be employed such as YouTube, Twitter and Facebook were either still in their infancy or still a twinkle in their founders’ eyes, as was the case with Twitter. The difference this time round will be very noticeable … everywhere!
Shorter Timeframe – Different Approach
How and where will vary, and one element that will impact this will be the timeframe involved here – rather than the many months of build up during the US presidentials, here there is only a month until election day and therefore the choice and application of social media will need to be careful. The gradual building of a mass following to distribute messages to will not be easy to achieve in such a short space of time, even though social media can deliver a very strong and immediate effect.
Much more likely is a “guerrilla marketing” approach with everything being examined in minute detail by many more people than previously had been the case. Expect YouTube to be flooded by all sorts of commentaries and videos supporting all sides in all sorts of different ways. At the same time, I imagine that Twitter will be the place to go and follow “lively debate” on any and all subjects connected with election. At the centre of all this will still be a heavy usage of blogging and an increasing use of Facebook as a hub from which to develop further activity.
What is undeniable is that we will have unprecedented access to information and detail on everything that happens and, thanks to social media, will also have the ability to share those details instantly as well as interact with others and with the debate in general.
As for us here at Social Media Directors, we’ll be keeping our eyes open and will report back on anything in the use of social media that we believe is worthy of highlight! 
1 response so far ↓
1 Olivia DL // Apr 9, 2010 at 11:45 pm
This elections year in the uk has been absolutely ridiculous, every political party is performing badly, even with comments on twitter, who would believe it, i have been following the uk elections at http://www.politwecal.com , yes indeed another labour selection row
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