Nudge Social Media is proud to have James Knight as a guest blogger. James worked in the US on the Obama ’08 campaign, as well as in the UK Parliament. He is the Founder and Director of Get Elected.
Get Elected is the only cross-party service in the UK that provides campaign support to candidates seeking election to political office. Formed in 2009, Get Elected has provided candidates with a range of services, from constituency research, to web-design and speech writing.
As the main parties scramble over one another to release their iPhone apps or appoint Twitter tsars to win over voter 2.0, it seems candidates of all persuasions across the country are paying little more than lip-service to their own online campaign. Our new research looked at how 233 candidates in 100 key seats were using their websites, Facebook and Twitter accounts to reach voters. The results? No online revolution for the election this time, at least not from the candidates.
Online in little but name
While around half our sample had either a Facebook or Twitter page, the levels of activity and interaction were staggeringly low across all three major parties. Twitter accounts without a single Tweet or Facebook fan pages with a handful of fans were both worryingly common.
Conversely, there were too some instances of candidates embracing online platforms. Yet, often only candidates with a national profile, either as politician or celebrity, were able to build large numbers. What’s more, these few active candidates mask a general lack of uptake. Over half of the Twitter followers in our sample came from the top ten most popular candidates. 62% of all the fans and supporters on Facebook came from the top three.
Lack of understanding
This lack of common activity spreads further to an apparent misunderstanding of building a presence online. For instance, even when candidates had built a strong following on a specific platform or had a well developed and maintained website, there was more than often a failing to connect and integrate their online offering – a key online strategy. 54% of our sample had no linkages between various online platforms. We also found frequent dead links and links directed to generic home pages instead of personal profiles. Candidates attempting to foster an online following are all too regularly clumsy and directionless in doing so – and risk looking languid to those they are hoping to attract.
Online strategies not filtering down
It is abundantly clear from our research that the huge gulf between what emanates in Westminster HQs and what transpires in the constituencies across the UK in terms of online campaigning strategies. While the central parties spend long nights and large chunks of cash developing new sophisticated online tools, candidates across all parties are struggling to consistently engage with even a basic presence.
So for all the hype and speculation, the behaviour of candidates on the ground urges caution in excited discussion about a web election this time around. And what’s more, with the tightening polls, those on the losing side of what is sure to be a close election battle may well curse the lack of a congenial and consistent online strategy at a candidate level.
The joint Get Elected and Apex Communications report ‘Election 2.0? Don’t believe the hype’ is available in full here.
The Facebook Developer Garage held on Monday 21st June at the Barbican centre was probably the best one I have attended so far as Mark Zuckerberg and other senior figures from Facebook were present to give more information on where Facebook is heading and what their plans are for Europe.
