Capstone Final Presentation
- 1. Capstone Final Presentation By Marisa Jentz
- 2. Introduction • Obama & Social Media: On Becoming the Next Social Media President • Research conducted done in an effort to serve as a guide for 2016 presidential hopefuls • Monitors the social media usage of Obama and Boehner to determine which types of posts and topics garner the most attention • Looking at present because ample research has been done on 2008 and 2012 elections
- 3. Social Media Usage in 2008 Election •Transformative era in US political history •Primary strategy for social media was to attract unregistered voters and to promote participation • Mainly in young voters, women, and minorities •Success of campaign relied heavily on young voters • Ended up winning 70% of voters under 25, highest in record
- 4. Social Media Usage in 2008 Election • Easily surpassed McCain’s use of social media ▫ Facebook: Obama – 2 million followers, McCain – 600,000 ▫ YouTube : Obama – 97 million views, McCain – 25 million 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 Posted Online Donated Money Online Voter Interaction Online in 2008 Obama Voters McCain Voters
- 5. Social Media Usage in 2012 Election • Research began to suggest Facebook does nothing to improve political engagement ▫ More chances and channels for engagement, but voter turnout down ▫ No significant effect of following candidates on Facebook on political engagement • Obama ahead of Romney in social media endeavors, using 4 times as many digital tools to reach voters 42 44 46 48 50 52 2008 2012 Youth Vote Turnout Percentage of Youth Vote
- 6. 2008 Donations • Obama raised $750 million ▫ More than amount raised by ALL candidates in 2004 ▫ Almost 4 million people donated – most ever ▫ 80% of donations came from small donations • McCain raised $238 million ▫ $50 million more than GWB in 2004 76% 24% Total Amount of Donations in 2008 Election Obama McCain
- 7. 2012 Donations • Both candidates raised over $1 billion • Obama’s from small donors • Romney’s from Super PACs
- 8. Opportunity • We know that social media helped Obama win his campaign, but determining the types of messages that are the most relatable and sharable for followers is imperative • Opportunity in focusing on the modern political landscape, current social media trends
- 9. FACEBOOK Month of February 2015
- 10. Types of Facebook Post 30 total posts 32 total posts 43% 30% 27% Obama HTML Video Image 34% 25% 22% 19% Boehner Video Image HTML Text
- 11. Topics Discussed on Facebook Economy Congress Environment LGBT Rights Budget Keystone Pipeline Foreign Affairs Net Neutrality Immigration Pop Culture Education Healthcare
- 12. Most Likely to be Liked and Shared Obama Boehner • Liked: Image posts • Liked: Text posts •Shared: Image posts •Shared: Video posts Type of post
- 13. Most Likely to be Liked and Shared Obama Boehner • Pop Culture most popular • Immigration least popular • Immigration most popular • Education least popular Topic 0 50000 100000 150000 200000 Most Popular Topics on Facebook Likes 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 3500 Most Popular Topics on Facebook Likes
- 14. Facebook Discussion • Limit number of HTML posts • Make sure images are relevant and provide shareable content • Tailor content around topics you know your supports like or the ones you want to sway like
- 16. Number of Tweets Obama Boehner 18 119
- 17. That means…
- 18. Types of Tweets Obama Boehner 11% 50% 28% 11% Type of Tweet Image HTML Text Video 10% 69% 17% 4% Type of Tweet Image HTML Video Text
- 19. Most Popular Tweets Obama Boehner 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 Most Popular Tweets Retweets Favorites 0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000 Most Popular Tweets Retweets Favorites
- 20. Tweets with Hashtags Were… • 49% more likely to be retweeted (Obama) • 17% more likely to be retweeted (Boehner) • Hashtags must be unique enough that those searching the tag would find similar posts ▫ Obama’s #EnoughAlready vs. Boehner’s #education
- 21. Twitter Discussion • Twitter is more for quick information that can be easily shared, making text posts popular • Tweeting too frequently or the same video or image more than one time in the same day divvies up retweets and favorites, making posts appear unpopular • Interact with other users – retweet & favorite • Come up with unique hashtags
- 22. Further Research • Whether or not there is a trend on a post’s or tweet’s success if it is posted on a certain day or time of day ▫ research in conjunction with the research presented in this study can give 2016 campaign strategists incomparable insight • Analyze other social media platforms like YouTube and Instagram
- 23. Use for 2016