political campaigning

In this episode Elizabeth delves into the fascinating world of data and personalization with Hamish Marshall, former National Campaign Manager for the Conservative Party of Canada and seasoned expert at the crossroads of data and politics. They explore the evolution from the Two-Step Flow to the One-Step Flow of Communication, examining how data personalization and the changing media landscape have shifted the way information is disseminated in political campaigns. Hamish shares real-world insights into the practicalities and challenges of data-driven campaigning, touching on the nuances of voter targeting, the effectiveness of door-knocking, and the potential of personalized campaign strategies.

Additional Resources:

• Elizabeth relies on Bennett and Manheim’s article, The One-Step Flow of Communication, to outline the theory. 
• To provide historical context, The Two-Step Flow of Communication by Katz is referenced. 
• For further information on data-driven campaigning, consult Just what is data-driven campaigning? A systematic review by Dommet, Barclay, and Gibson. 
• Hamish discusses the limitations of data targeting in political campaigns, referencing the varied effectiveness of these strategies in different jurisdictions due to privacy laws and data availability. For more information about data laws and availability, consult:
  • Elections Canada’s collection of personal information and data privacy practices,
  • This Reuters article on the use of data in political campaigns in US elections, 
  • This piece about the German government's support of banning the use of personal data in political campaigning, and 
  • The UK’s guidelines for the use of personal data in political campaigns. 

Check out www.polcommtech.ca for annotated transcripts of this episode in English and French.

The role of social media in spreading political misinformation has received considerable attention. But various forms of social media also facilitate and enable participatory democracy across boundaries. They help to hold leaders to account as well as provide channels for airing the needs and demands of marginalised communities and vulnerable groups. These demands can sometimes even be propelled to the centre of public debates. While there has been considerable focus on Twitter and Facebook, the private messaging application WhatsApp has emerged as a especially popular medium for inter-personal communication. But WhatsApp has not received the attention it deserves. What is so special about WhatsApp and how and why has it emerged as the main form of communication for a wide range of actors on the African continent? 

Jamie Hitchen is an independent research analyst and Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham. He has written extensively on social media in West Africa and recently co-edited a volume with Idayat Hassan entitled WhatsApp and Everyday Life in West Africa: Beyond Fake News. 

Twitter: @jchitchen

Resources

• Social Media Disruption: Nigeria’s WhatsApp Politics, Journal of Democracy (2020)
• If blackouts don’t work, what might? Tackling fake news in West Africa, African Arguments (2022)

Host:

Professor Dan Banik, University of Oslo, Twitter: @danbanik  @GlobalDevPod

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Host

Professor Dan Banik (@danbanik @GlobalDevPod)

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https://globaldevpod.substack.com/

 Running for any political position is a challenge, but some are easier than others. Without experience, many first-time political candidates have no idea where to begin.  In this episode, we discuss what offices first-time candidates might consider.  

Running for office? Sign up for our Online Political Campaign Tips guide to help get a head start with your digital campaigning. 

Related:

• Should You Run For Local Office?
• Political Candidate Training Programs

Visit Online Candidate for political web design and marketing services. 

The last few election cycles has seen a surge of people interesting in seeking elected office. If you've never run for office before, you're going to need help learning what it takes to get elected.

In this episode, we discuss who you can reach out to first when deciding to seek political office.

Resources

• Who Can You Contact If You Want To Run For Office?
• Political Candidate Training Courses Online 
• Should You Make The Run For Elected Office?

Dr. Anamaria Dutceac Segesten joins for the 5th Annual Social Media and Politics Year in Review! 

We answer listener questions and present six gifts, each representing big events that shaped social media and politics this year. 

25:18 - Platform Year in Review Reports
53:08 - Platforms and Activism (Belarus and Thailand)
1:16:26 - Political Ad Effectiveness
1:38:00 - Platform Regulation (Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act)
2:02:31 - Tweets from the Dead
2:17:00 - Platform Fragmentation

Here's a list of each platform's year in review reports: 

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google, Reddit, Reddit UK, Reddit Moderators, Pornhub Debate Night

Other supplementary material:

Acronym's 'Haha Ratio'

Priorities USA's "Wreck" Ad

Digital Services Act

Margarethe Vestager on the Digital Services Act

Study Modelling Dead Social Media Accounts

Tufts Research on Youth and Political Engagement

Pew Research on Social Media and Persuasion

 

Dr. André Haller (University of Applied Sciences Kufstein Tyrol) and Simon Kruschinski (University of Mainz) share their research into data-driven political campaigning in Germany. We discuss the key political, legal, and cultural factors that influence German politicians digital campaigning, differences in organic posts versus paid advertisements, and how social media platforms have been used by fringe political actors.

Here's the research paper we discuss in the episode: Restrictions on Data-Driven Political Micro-targeting in Germany.

Dr. Andreas Jungherr, Assistant Professor for Social Science Data Collection and Analysis at the University of Konstanz, guests to discuss his latest book, "Retooling Politics: How Digital Media are Shaping Democracy." 

We chat about the state of social media research in political science and political communication, and what we currently know about echo chambers, polarization, and election prediction. We also discuss how digital media is shaping political campaigning and the role it might play for campaigns in the future. 

In this episode we cover: 

• Using email marketing for local political campaigns.
• Email marketing vendors.
• Email best practices, including tracking your success.

Running for office? Sign up for our newsletter to get a head start with your digital campaigning.

For more campaign articles and resources, visit us at Online Candidate.

In this episode we cover: 

• How online fundraising is an important way to bring in campaign donations.
• Opening a political campaign bank account.
• Using online fundraising tools.
• How trigger events create online fundraising opportunities.

Visit our blog for more information about online political fundraising.

In this episode we cover: 

• How candidates, as individuals, can lay the groundwork for their online political presence.
• Creating a personal brand when running for office.
• Search result page domination.

Sign up for political campaigning tips to help you get a head start with your digital campaign.

Visit OnlineCandidate.com and lean more about making a run for public office.

Emilie Demant, social media coordinator for Venstres Ungdom, shares her insights into how a Danish political youth organization is using social media to engage young voters with politics. We discuss how Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, and Twitter are each used differently to communicate politics with young Danes, as well as what types of user-generated content Emilie receives when managing these social media accounts. Emilie highlights the visual element of social media by stressing that memes, GIFs, and videos drive the most engagement on social media, and here digital marketing and graphic design play a key role. We also discuss the differences between a youth political organization and the parent political party, Venstre, and what that means for their social media use. Although exhibiting different rules of political communication on social media (especially on Snapchat), interestingly, both Venstre and Venstres Ungdom work together to strategically share content across their Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter social networks.

You can find out more about Venstres Ungdom at www.vu.dk

Chasen Campbell, VP of Client Strategy at Harris Media, shares his knowledge about how major US politicians use social media for digital campaigning. We discuss how political campaigns use big data to micro-target voters on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, as well as what it's like to run a digital marketing campaign for politicians with big budgets. Chasen also weighs in on how new social media platforms, like Snapchat and Periscope, stack up to giants like Facebook and Google. We also discuss what works and what doesn't in driving engagement online, and Chasen emphasizes that short, easy to understand, and entertaining messages are key to capturing voters' attention.

Find out more about Chasen and Harris Media at www.harrismediallc.com