We may not think much about the potential of social sites like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and even the new Instagram image site and their impact in daily lives. One thing is for sure, the outreach of these sites far outweighs even the search engines like Google and Yahoo, especially with the wide use of the internet and mobile devices to keep connected. Social sites offer the highest interaction rates and best of all; the users need not be coerced into logging in all the time. Studies have shown that the average person with a social site account spends at least 2 hours browsing the latest news from family, friends and connections of interest.
Keeping with the news
Therefore it made sense that the most important event in American history would choose one or more social sites to keep the people connected to what is happening. Not only that, people with such accounts voluntarily spread the news about the latest happenings, causing a viral effect which made it even faster than receiving the news on TV and your morning papers. Event management companies organizing the lead up to the US Presidential event in the different states used it as means to drive the support for the election of their various candidates. It was the quickest way to get the news across to obtain opinions and feedbacks. This allowed them to access the status of popularity per candidate and the best ways to gain votes in the election.
Voicing your thoughts
Voters and fans alike could freely voice their thoughts on the direction of the election. The freedom to voice out, in this case worldwide without fear of reprisals, meant that the American public could post their opinions, fears, comments and suggestions to be heard by these candidates and their officials. Notes were taken on these opinions and the rally events were tweaked accordingly to drive candidate popularity based on the public’s opinions. Keeping in touch with their supporters meant that it ensured their votes during the election.
Being part of the event
Mini events were created within these social sites that encouraged voter interactions. In the olden days of not too long ago, candidates had to be down on the streets in public rallies to meet the people, gaining votes as they traveled along. Now, if you had kept track of the events in your Facebook or Twitter account, you would have noticed that weeks and days leading up to the election event was a blast of activity within these networks for online rallies. Mock polls were given out to users and they were encouraged to give their opinions, candidate activities were featured and users were encouraged to comment. All these built connectivity to each candidate and voters logged in to follow their favorite Presidential election candidate.
These social sites demonstrated the power to influence, drive and interact with all those connected within the networks. They are now considered the most influential tools for any event including the US Presidential election!
