likes 131,097 talking about (17%) 210,551 Twitter followers (Paul has two verified Twitter accounts, with the second having 121,290 followers) Newt Gingrich: 248,455 Facebook likes 35,369 talking about (14%) 1.4 million Twitter followers (it is widely believed that a majority of these are paid for via Twitter follow sourcing tools) Mitt Romney: 1.3 million Facebook likes 115,984 talking about (9%) 288,366 Twitter followers Rick Santorum: 86,561 Facebook likes 24,400 talking about (28%) 92,380 Twitter followers
primarily used his pages to share pictures and articles about the candidate and information about campaign rallies, yet did not use the page to organize supporters to Get Out the Vote. Not once in 2012 did the campaign remind fans to register to vote on its Facebook or even to vote on the day of key contests. For a campaign whose Facebook posts got anywhere from 2,000 to 8,000 likes on average, over half of his posts are considered neutral or negative.
to Positive Focuses on His Policies (Domestic, International, Economic, Social) and Personal Attributes Less than 30 of all of his viewed press releases (350) mentioned his fellow Republican competition in a negative light. 6
more than half of Gingrich’s Facebook “likers” were either paid or maintained “fake” accounts Many of his Facebook Posts were neutral/positive and portrayed Gingrich as the preferred candidate of the GOP. More than 92 percent of Gingrich’s posts were perceived as positive. Over 70 percent encouraged political participation. Was his Facebook an appeal to the youth?!?!? 7
his site. Many of His Press Releases Ridiculed in Comments and by other Politicians Discrepancy between his image on Facebook (“ideal candidate”) and his image on press releases (“brainless) as seen in comments Vague Policy Solutions in Press Releases Relies More on His Personal Attributes Facebook Posts outnumbered Press Releases by 15 to 1 . 9
posts were considered neutral while the other 58 percent were considered negative towards the other Republican candidates and Obama until Feb. 8th. After Feb 8th- 64 percent of his posts were neutral or optimistic while 36 percent were considered negative. Why this shift? Well he was in the lead at this point! Press Releases mostly neutral with slight negativity. Uses it to address victories, to prompt counter attacks, and to attack Obama administration. 11
more than 1.4 million likes and 219,000 Followers on Facebook. *During the Republican primaries, Romney’s social media efforts were focused on maintaining support amongst his key supporters and resonating his political positions. * Over 80 percent of Romney FB posts before January were considered neutral or positive. The other negative posts focused mostly on President Obama. Before January 2012, Romney relied mainly on his website and press releases, his presses releases outnumber his facebook posts by 18 to 1 during this time. More than 75 percent of his press releases were neutral to positive. * In June, Obama had more than 27 million Fans while Romney had roughly 2.16million *In June, Romney’s FB posts and press releases turned more negative towards Obama. * Romney received twice as many comments on his FB from his negative posts about Obama. * Tried to maintain a balance approach in the number of posts and press releases. His rumored comments turned more vicious after the election. 12
negativity more on Facebook pages than in press releases. Candidates usually have a younger base of followers on Facebook than those that adhere to the press releases or websites. Candidates who are leading are more likely to post more optimistic messages on Facebook and focus on their platform. We are witnessing “Social Media Presidency.” 15
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