National Political Study: Social Networks Supercharge Political Campaigns

Results of a new national study among 1,581 Americans revealed that voters are becoming more interested in getting involved with campaigns, and those that are most engaged are much more likely to vote.

Three out-of-five of Americans who consider themselves somewhat politically active are members of a social network, and 70% reported that they expect to vote in November. Four out-of-five potential voters expect candidates to have a website, half expect candidates to participate in social networks and provide webcasts of events, and 41% expect candidates to use Twitter.

The E-Voter Institute survey conducted by HCD Research in June 2010 revealed that two-thirds of the voters want to see the candidates' television ads on the official candidate website, and 54% expect campaign web video on other sites such as YouTube. "There are few differences between Republicans, Democrats and Independents when it comes to their expectations of Internet use by candidates," commented Rich Berke, vice president, HCD Research. "More telling are differences in the levels of computer skills among the various voter sets."

The study also revealed that while traditional methods such as television ads, direct mail and phone banks are effective for attracting the attention of voters, they are not very effective for keeping their attention. Conversely, websites, social networks, and email communications are more useful for retaining the attention of voters over time. Furthermore, 40% of voters reported that the official candidate website is an effective method for keeping their attention, while 46% indicated that television or cable ads are effective for keeping them interested.

"In addition to more sophisticated websites, in 2010 we are seeing the emergence of Twitter, mobile text messaging and social media usage across all age groups," explained Karen Jagoda, president, E-Voter Institute. "In light of our evolving mobile culture, these are convenient and effective methods for engaging voters in campaign initiatives. The value of these vehicles must be recognized by candidates and advocates in order to maximize the use of their campaign resources," concluded Jagoda.

E-Voter Institute is a non-partisan trade association founded in 1999 to promote the interests of Web publishers and solution providers to the political and advocacy communities. For more information and the complete study Social Networks Supercharge Politics: Turning Action into Votes in 2010, visit http://e-voterinstitute.com. HCD Research is a communications research company headquartered in Flemington, NJ. The company's services include traditional and web-based marketing and communications research. For more information visit www.hcdi.net or call HCD Research at 908-788-9393.