Prior to the 2008 election, social media had been most effective for advertisers in the commercial & service sectors. Rarely had we seen public figures step into the limelight via social media (SM), nor had we seen one effectively use SM to invigorate a campaign with a progressive, liberally minded social media presence. President Obama’s election victory was fueled by a brilliant combination of focused targeting, cutting edge polling strategies, and an extraordinarily savvy SM campaign.
After Hillary Clinton’s departure from the presidential race in 2008, President Obama’s primary Facebook page tallied over 1,000,000 active users following his campaign. Additionally, he created 10+ additional campaign pages to garner support from specific groups such as millennials, veterans, and African Americans.
In his 2012 re-election strategy, President Obama again turned to his strategists to devise a crafty social media campaign. This time, they chose to focus their efforts on a predominantly Twitter heavy campaign strategy. Entering the election in 2012, President Obama’s twitter account netted 16,505,044 followers, following 677,188 accounts, and 4,239 tweets. Though President Obama narrowly edged Mitt Romney in the Popular Vote (51%/48%), he absolutely shattered Mitt Romney in collecting the Electoral Vote at 302/206 – only needing 270 electoral votes to win. Indeed, President Obama would go on to secure the states with the largest share of electoral votes, and even key swing states previously thought to belong to Mitt Romney.
Since 2008, we have seen the use of SM in campaign strategies absolutely EXPLODE. In this article, we’ll be taking a look at the four candidates who are likely to be the last contenders leading up to Party Nominations. On the democratic side, we will explore the SM profiles of Bernie Sanders & Hillary Clinton. Representing the Republican Party are Donald Trump & Ted Cruz.
Without further ado….
Democratic Candidates
Hillary Clinton
Facebook Likes: 2,916,527
Subscribers: 6,646
Profile Completeness/Quality composite Score (1-10): 10
Handle: @HillaryClinton
Followers: 5.72 million
Following: 641
Tweets: 4,772
Likes: 1,023
Profile Completeness/Quality Composite Score: 10
Followers: 963,000
Following: 69
Posts: 408
Comments:
Hillary Clinton’s team does an excellent job of managing her SM presence. Her pages are consistent in terms of branding, content, & image quality.
Bernie Sanders
Facebook Likes: 3,449,926
Subscribers: 46,983
Profile Completeness/Quality composite Score (1-10): 6
Handle: @BernieSanders
Followers: 1.74 million
Following: 1,471
Tweets: 7,438
Likes: 848
Profile Completeness/Quality Composite Score: 10
Followers: 1,000,000
Following: 93
Posts: 249
Comments: Bernie Sanders beat Hillary on a couple of metrics such as Facebook Likes, subscribers, and his overall number of tweets. However, Bernie’s Facebook profile leaves much to the wayside in terms of profile completeness. A click into his “about me” section reveals very little. In comparison, Hillary Clinton’s “about me” could very well be her biography. One the most important aspects of a successful SM campaign is adding a relatable human element to your page. While Bernie’s pages certainly aren’t bad, Hillary Clinton’s team is doing a better job of elevating her SM pages and relating to her supporters.
Winner: Hillary Clinton
Republican Candidates
Donald Trump
Facebook Likes: 6,509,758
Subscribers: 35,787
Profile Completeness/Quality composite Score (1-10): 2
Handle: @realDonaldTrump
Followers: 6.99 million
Following: 42
Tweets: 31.3K
Likes: 77
Profile Completeness/Quality Composite Score: 7
Followers: 1,200,000
Following: 11
Posts: 604
Comments: Donald Trump has a tremendous follower/following ratio. On Facebook he easily outlasts his competition in terms of engagement & likes. He also has a substantial number of subscribers. However, for all his gusto, his “about me” is totally empty & poorly completed. Moving to Twitter, his prospects are much stronger. In comparing his Followers/Following ratio we can clearly see the difference 6.8Million followers/48 following. Additionally, he has an astonishing 31.2K tweets. The Donald loses points for his blurry cover photo and unnecessary amount of over tweeting.
Ted Cruz
Facebook Likes: 2,060,990
Subscribers: 5,823
Profile Completeness/Quality composite Score (1-10): 8
Handle: @TedCruz
Followers: 943,000
Following: 13.8k
Tweets: 15.1K
Likes: 943
Profile Completeness/Quality Composite Score: 7
Followers: 46,800
Following: 89
Posts: 247
Comments:
Ted Cruz does a better job of crafting a complete and well- rounded Social media profiles. However, he lags in most categories and doesn’t have nearly as strong of a command as Donald Trump in terms of maximizing his SM Profiles and generating growth & engagement.
Winner: Donald Trump
Final Contenders:
Donald Trump vs. Hillary Clinton
| Donald Trump
|
Hillary Clinton
|
| Facebook
Facebook Likes: 6,509,758 Subscribers: 35,787
|
Facebook
Facebook Likes: 2,916,527 Subscribers: 6,646
|
| Twitter
Followers: 6.99 million Following: 43 Tweets: 31.2K Likes: 72
|
Twitter
Followers: 5.72 million Following: 638 Tweets: 4,671 Likes: 1,018
|
| Instagram
Followers: 1,200,000 Following: 11 Posts: 604
|
Instagram
Followers: 963,000 Following: 69 Posts: 408
|
Social Media Winner: *Donald Trump*
