Election Campaigns 2.0: Are we there yet?

Have we entered a new age of election campaigning? Unlikely. In 2008, President Barack Obama’s election campaign was defined by his use of social media. Two and half years later it’s surprising how few of the political candidates in this election have truly harnessed the power of social technologies to gain votes.

According to a recent Ipsos Reid poll, only one-fifth of Canadian voters turned to social media sites on a weekly basis to discuss political issues. A surprisingly low ratio when compared to the overall growth of Facebook and Twitter users. However, the poll ignores a large portion of the electorate who seek information but don’t engage in discussion.

The Social Election Experiment on The Province website measured interest rather than engagement. It calculated the popularity of each candidate based on the number of “Likes” they received on Facebook. The results were fascinating. Often they differed significantly from the polling numbers. Even more surprising, some candidates have yet to set up a Facebook page.

Early in the campaign I noticed less signs as compared to earlier elections. In my riding, the incumbent Conservative candidate was the first out of the gate with signage. I wondered who the other candidates were, so I went online.

The Liberal candidate is an accomplished thirty-something year old who understands social media. He was new on the scene so I followed him on Facebook and Twitter and watched his daily “vlog” grassroots videos. While his initial videos were a little raw, they improved while remaining genuine. Social media opened new avenues for him to engage with constituents. Residents asked him questions at any time; he shared policy ideas and engaged in real time discussions. He is also the only candidate in B.C. that offered live blogging from the all candidates meetings.

But will this translate into an election win for him? My Conservative candidate is popular among the older electorate, and historically, young voters are ill-represented at the polls.

The familiar, traditional election PR strategies of knocking on doors, holding town hall meetings and mailing pamphlets have remained popular in this election. Having face-to-face contact with a local candidate or leader is still important to Canadians and will remain so.

But many of the candidates have failed to see social media as an asset for connecting with the people they hope to serve. My Liberal candidate is showing voters the future of election campaigning. Through individuals like him, Canada is tiptoeing its way to election campaigning 2.0, but it has a long way to go.