As the 2012 Presidential election comes to a close, digital marketing agency fishbat responds to the growing trend of social media within politics.
As the 2012 Presidential election comes to a close, digital marketing agency fishbat responds to the growing trend of social media within politics.
On November 6th, social media agency fishbat responds to the growing trend of politics and social media as the 2012 presidential election nears its end.
According to The Boston Globe, “Social media platforms have been influential sounding boards during this presidential campaign not only for political satire, but as vehicles for Republicans and Democrats to push their messages and promote their candidates.”
After Romney stated he would cut PBS funding and responded with, “I love Big Bird,” over 135,000 tweets and parody Twitter handles like @SadBigBird and @FiredBigBird were created as public response, reports The Boston Globe.
The article states that President Obama had commented during the debates saying, “horses and bayonets,” while Comedian Dane Cook tweeted, “Fact: Iran has been stockpiling horses & bayonets.” The article explains that the Twitter community responded in droves yet again.
“Whether politicians realize this or not, people are listening to what they say and attacking any chance they get,” comments Nick Renna, Social Media Strategy Manager at fishbat. “Social media allows everyone to have a voice to be heard during the election and their voice should be heard. The political arena was subjected to social media back in 2008 when President Obama first ran for president and has become an extension of politics since then, whether this means that voter numbers will increase or not is undetermined.”
In an interview with The Boston Globe, Aaron Smith, a research associate at the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project, commented, “These tools are really powerful as a way to unleash your super fans and give people who are particularly passionate about an issue the ability to pound the digital pavement.”
The Boston Globe reports figures from Pew which state that “39 percent of American adults have used social media to push political or social issues.”
According to The Boston Globe, Veronica De Souza, a 23-year-old social media professional, “created a Tumblr page called ‘Binders Full of Women’ because she thought it would be funny, not to influence votes.” The Boston Globe reported that, “The blog is attracting tens of thousands of daily visitors and has grown to include 515 posts, which mostly include pictures of women wearing binders as costumes. [De Souza] received more than 20,000 submissions.”
“Social media is more than just sharing the day-to-day or pictures of vacations,” says Renna. “Our political leaders will learn that unlike television advertisements, they have a direct connection to their voters. Everything said or done will be scrutinized more than ever. The only advice the social media industry can give politicians is: watch what you say and try to have a sense of humor.”
fishbat is a full service online marketing company. Through social media management, search engine optimization (SEO), web design, and public relations, fishbat strives as a marketing firm to build awareness about your brand and strengthen your corporate image.
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