The 2008 Presidential election of the US was the first elections held in the history where social media marketing was extensively used as a tool for gaining the support of the voters. Barack Obama was the crusader In identifying the potential of the Social media. The fundraising campaigns, Direct interaction with the Audience through Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Flickr, MySpace, Digg, Podcasts were the reasons how a Political unknown like Obama won the elections surpassing the relatively Known candidates who were fighting against him. The magnitude of support by the Supporters was so large that they funded the Political campaign of Obama.
The strategy Behind crowdfunding was not because they were denied funding by big corporations. They choose small contributions by hundreds and thousands of supporters rather than getting corporate funding from a few biggies. This strategy helped Obama in getting personal support from the supporters. They felt they were a part of the “Team Obama”. For the first time, they have there a personal candidate who was fighting elections on their own funds.
The success of Obama’s social media marketing strategy which resulted in his massive victory in the 2008 presidential elections opened a new door for other leaders around the world to recognise the power of social media in influencing the voters Of 21st century.
Indian Politics
Indian Politics was slightly late in using social media as a promotion tool for the elections. In the 2011 Anti-corruption movement led by Anna Hazare and Activist turned Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal used social media for the first time in India for a Political movement against the corruption of the Congress party. Through the newly immerged power of likes, share, comments, citizen’s turned this corruption movement as a national movement. The movement received wide support from all around India, especially from the youth. For the first time, it was seen that social media can be an alternative to mainstream media.
The elections of 2014
The Concept of marketing revolves around Selling the product with the motive to enhance the sale which will eventually increase the profits. In Political Sense “Product” turns out to be “The leader” and “sales” are the “votes” of the voters. The objective of political social media marketing is to increase the public acceptance of the leader.
Indian politics has by and large remained leader centric rather than party-centric. Although we have a Parliamentary form of elections as compared to America’s Presidential Elections, Where we choose MP’s who then choose the prime minister. But the charismatic character of the prime ministerial candidate has always played a role in deciding the victory of the party. From Nehru To Indra Gandhi and now Modi Personality based elections are at the core of Indian politics.
In 2014 Realising the Personalisation of the Indian politics the BJP fought the election focusing on the image of Narendra Modi. Putting his Personality ahead of the party. Bjp used social media as a prominent tool in the campaign of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. BJP used Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and also 3d hologram of Modi for doing virtual rallies in remote areas.
The campaign such as “Chai pe Charcha” Where Narendra Modi used to have Discussions with the party workers and supporters was a new trend India was witnessing since the first elections held in 1950. Social media marketing made a paradigm shift From one-way communication to interact with prospective voters.
Social Media marketing provides Political parties a Cheaper, Convenient way to reach the masses compared to the traditional medium such as TV, newspapers, Radio. Now with the enhancement of the technology the Political leader was Able to address more rallies In a single day. Comparatively, it is more interactive than the traditional medium.
Bjp was early in utilising the potential of media. The world largest political entity now has vast social media presence.
Power to the Voters
On the other hand, it gave the power to the voter where they can Directly interact with the Political entity and share their view’s in favor of or against the candidate. Through platforms such as Twitter the voters were able to share their opinion directly with the candidates.
India is a young country where more than 60 percent of its population is under 35 years of age. The youth of the country is more interesting dialogues rather than the one-way communication of rallies and traditional media.
Social media gave them power where they could share opinions, views about candidates whether positive or negative. 18-35 age group-more active on social media, BJP’S Political Campaign was targeted to reach this age group through social media. Which was eventually successful.
With social media, voters can now know their leaders without fearing biased journalism in conveying the truth.
Need for social media marketing
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Social media marketing is an effective medium to communicate the Agenda, Policy, by the Political Parties. In a country where around 50 percent of the Population have internet connectivity Political candidates and leaders cannot afford to underestimate the power of social media.
Social media provides them with a platform where they can share their manifesto, policies and can interact with the public. Through such interactions, they can access the mood of the public and make changes in the promotion policies accordingly.
After realising the importance of social media marketing in the 2014 elections, all the major political parties and their leaders tried to create their presence on social media.
The efficient use of Social media in propagating the agenda and selling the product (Narendra Modi) to the voters was one of the main reasons why BJP was in power with the full majority.
On the other hand, 150 years old Congress party was without a product (Prime ministerial candidate) Competing In the market, reluctant to adapt to the new changes in social media marketing. Although Congress did have a presence over Social Media. Mere presence without any face resulted in the massive defeat of congress.