Social and Digital Media: Creating, Engaging and Motivating Relationships

Abstract

Political advertising on social, mobile and digital media used with a market driven perspective has changed how voters engage, experience and embrace political brands and candidates. This chapter explores how the shift from a unidirectional approach of stakeholder to voter has now become a two-way conversation that can occur across multiple platforms in the space of seconds rather than days or weeks as was the case in the past.

This change has benefitted all parties regardless of size or system as they can now move a voter from passive to active and active to volunteer or co-producer of content and ideas. A minor party is able to use these methods to become more entrepreneurial in behaviour, even acting as a disruptor in more established systems such as seen in the Obama campaign of 2008 or even through the Pirate Party in Iceland.