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Facebook and the Virginia Senatorial Campaign

Facebook and the Virginia Senatorial Campaign. By: Gregory Goldie. Why would Virginia Senators use Facebook in their Campaign Race?. Facebook helps connect candidates to the community and gather support in a more personal fashion.

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Facebook and the Virginia Senatorial Campaign

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  1. Facebook and the Virginia Senatorial Campaign By: Gregory Goldie

  2. Why would Virginia Senators use Facebook in their Campaign Race? • Facebook helps connect candidates to the community and gather support in a more personal fashion. • It can also be used to organize events, rallies, and conventions. • Questions for candidates can also be easily addressed on Facebook, allowing for candidates to answer his supporters questions and understand their needs. • Recent Studies from the Facebook Politics and Government Team, have revealed that politicians engaging users on Facebook is a good thing for their campaigns. (1)

  3. How Can Senators Use Facebook Successfully in Their Campaigns? • According to studies by the Facebook Government and Politics Team there are many ways for politicians to better connect to voters. • 1. Upload an image with every post. Posts with photos create more engagement. • 2. If possible to post between 9 and 10 p.m, because this time period is usually the most active on Facebook. • 3. Posting consistently • 4. Creating ads • 5. Using Multimedia • 6. Sharing photos “behind the scenes” of the campaign to represent the candidate in a more real and humble way. • Candidates also need to create a fan page because a normal page limits the candidate to only 5,000 friends. (2)

  4. How are Tim Kaine and George Allen using Facebook?

  5. Tim Kaine’s Facebook Page and Background Info. • Democratic nominee, Tim Kaine was governor of Virginia from 2006 to 2010. He was also chairman of the Democratic National Committee for two years in 2009 and a former mayor of Richmond. • Tim Kaine has a fan page with 26,147 likes. Including the like of Barack Obama. • Activities include canoeing and playing the harmonica. • Interests are Civil Rights, Education, the Outdoors, and Family.(3)

  6. Tim Kaine’s Facebook • Tim Kaine uses many photos of himself campaigning around Virginia. • He posts consistently everyday and often multiple times. He is also effective in using pics with his face book posts. • Tim Kaine also shares many videos on his page presenting his beliefs and also of media appearances. Here is a video he shared yesterday expressing his economic views. • www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAXj8Z00YBE

  7. George Allen’s Facebook Page and Background Info • Republican nominee, George Allen, was also a former governor of Virginia and served in the Senate in 2000. • George Allen has 54,415 likes • George Allen only lists his personal interests which include: family, sports, bicycling, and freedom. • Its also possible to send Allen personal messages on his fan page.(4)

  8. George Allen’s Facebook • George Allen posts everyday which includes his public endorsements, featured articles, and media released from his campaign. • George Allen’s page also makes use of promoting his events, online petitions against Kaine’s policies, and notes of his political statements. • Here is a video from his page representing his economic views on a local TV station: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAGlOB8oARs&feature=youtu.be

  9. Comparing the Candidate’s Facebook Pages • The most notable difference between the two candidates is that Allen has more than double the amount of likes that Kaine has received. • Tim Kaine has a more detailed timeline which dates back to the 1980s, while Allen’s goes back to 2010. • Tim Kaine’s Facebook however lacks the event calendar, online petitions, and ability to send private messages that Allen’s page has.

  10. Conclusions • George Allen uses Facebook more successfully because of his much greater number of likes and page additions(events, notes, and petitions) • I believe this is due to Allen’s first-hand experience in how important social media can play in a campaign race. A big reason he lost his re-election campaign for the Senate in 2006 was because he used a racist slur “macaca” directed towards a reporter which was widely viewed on youtube. • Tim Kaine’s lack of facebook support in comparing to Allen’s page can be justified in a quote he said earlier this year “I’m not in the social media generation where I’m dying for people to know everything about me, I like to camp and be outdoors as much as I can.”(5) • It will be interesting to see if the candidates Facebook pages will reflect the voters opinions in November.

  11. References • 1.http://www.mediamanagementservicesinc.com/blog-media-buying-social-media-consultant/bid/62755/Why-Politicians-Should-Use-Facebook-Twitter • 2. http://www.webpronews.com/heres-how-political-campaigns-should-be-using-facebook-according-to-facebook-2012-08 • 3.https://www.facebook.com/timkaine?ref=ts&fref=ts • 4.https://www.facebook.com/timkaine?ref=ts&fref=ts#!/GeorgeAllenVA?fref=ts • 5. http://www.wjla.com/articles/2012/05/virginia-s-senate-race-kicking-into-high-gear-76357.html

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