It’s an incessant stream of self-absorbed commentary and mundane chat, but Twitter has already made its mark on history. In the UK, students used it to organise flash mobs during the tuition fees protest, and in Egypt and Tunisia it played a part in the fall of dictatorships.
“The revolution will not be televised" – so what? The revolution will be tweeted
So, if a quirky internet chat platform, with messages limited to 140 characters, has the power to organise the masses and accelerate democratic reform, what can Twitter offer politicians and political candidates?
In the US, the majority of national candidates and elected officials regularly use Twitter to communicate with voters. Around 72 per cent of Republican members of the House and Senate use it, and 55 per cent of Democrats. Of the 37 state governors elected or re-elected in 2010, 36 had accounts.
2010 campaign cycle results suggest that the most effective campaigns devoted 10-20 per cent of their tweets to calls for donations, volunteers and campaign action
It seems campaigns are using Twitter differently than the average user, which may be the answer to whether or not it’s just another novel way to waste time. While 40 per cent of all tweets consist of pointless babble, and another 37 per cent are conversational, a study of the 2010 political races in New Jersey, Virginia and Massachusetts shows that just 8 per cent of campaign tweets were devoted to conversation, and personal observations represented only 3 per cent.
The majority of campaign tweets (55 per cent) were focused on self-promotion, which includes links to the campaign website, ads and references to the candidate’s schedule. Another 16 per cent contained pass-along information, such as retweets, Follow Friday mentions, and other actions that show familiarity with Twitter as a medium. Campaigns also used TwitPic and Flickr to share candid and behind-the-scenes photos via Twitter. These methods seem to attract and engage followers even though interactive dialogue is limited.
But just because the average politician acts less like a twit than the average user, doesn’t prove that it is politically worthwhile. A Twitter account must stay constantly updated, which is time-consuming, so it’s important that it offers candidates some tangible returns. It’s not yet clear that it does.
It’s true that in the 2010 race Twitter would often mirror surges in money, interest and votes, but that is not to say that Twitter is generating interest or activity. Even when campaigns initiate calls to action, are followers likely to have the inclination, flexibility and spontaneity to act on a tweet?
Just 6 per cent of the US population have ever used Twitter, and they’re concentrated among the young and urban. It's hard to see how it could be much more than a peripheral tool to keep in touch with regular supporters
Like any form of media, Twitter is not without its risks. How about when Senator Chris Dodd’s Twitter feed posted a message saying, “U love torturing me with this sh*t”? Shortly after, the post was deleted and replaced with a new message, "From Dodd Staff – Apologies to Dodd's followers, last tweet was not from Chris Dodd.” Others have mistakenly posted links that contain inappropriate or offensive content, while one candidate accidentally pre-empted the declaration of his own candidacy for governor when a private message went public.
The jury is still out as to whether Twitter can impact the outcome of campaigns, or even merely generate supporter activity. Nevertheless, Twitter has proven itself a powerful tool for organising citizens to demonstrate for a cause. As a channel for activism and direct communication, it’s easy to see why politicians are drawn to it.
Before taking the plunge, candidates should consider what they expect to accomplish and how they plan to use it.
Best practices for campaigning with Twitter
Source: Twitter Trends in Off-Year Electionsby Wyeth Ruthven
Preserve authenticity: Distinguish between candidate and staff tweets, and limit staff contribution. Twitter thrives on authenticity, and a staff-driven account will lack authenticity. Don’t focus too much on personal observations and forfeit the opportunity to communicate campaign messages.
Initiate calls to action: Issue at least three call-to-action tweets per week, with a goal of making such tweets 10-20 per cent of the feed. Requests should be varied – from volunteers to fundraising and voter registration.
Limit one account per campaign: Don’t create a new Twitter account for each issue or micro-campaign. Multiple accounts breed message dilution. Recurring issues and themes can be highlighted by creating appropriate hashtags on a unified Twitter feed.
Integrate other social media: Sharing behind-the-scenes campaign photos creates authenticity. Campaigns should amplify their Twitter feed with other social media, such as photo-sharing sites.
Link to external content: Link frequently to news media, polls and independent blogs as sources of third-party validation. Creating a stream of campaign news will drive traffic to the Twitter feed and encourage voters to follow the feed and retweet links.
Follow Melanie on Twitter @MelanieBatley
Comments
Zoe Healy / June 16 2011 11:57am
It's the abandoned Twitter accounts that infuriate me! In the run up to the General Election here in Ireland (Feb 2011), many candidates (or their staff) jumped on the Twitter bandwagon and promptly hopped off as soon as the count was over. Grrr..
@zoehealy