With less than nine months to go until the next presidential election, political industry insiders are already looking everywhere to reach consumers with both traditional and digital media and make an impact before the November 6th election. But with digital communications shifting into overdrive the last few years and the proliferation of smartphones, tablets, augmented reality, etc., it’s not surprising that potential voters will be turning to those same devices for the latest campaign information.
A recent Digitas survey with Harris Interactive found 62 percent of voters who are using social media and are under age 34 use Facebook, Twitter and other social media for political coverage. Even older audiences are active in the social space with more than 40 percent of those over 45 on social media using those same sites for election information.
With more consumers turning to digital and social media for Election 2012, many networks are capitalizing on the traffic by building spaces for users to share their views and opinions. Facebook for example is asking its users to tell them “What Matters Most.” Facebook is asking users to choose three social, political or economic issues on their Facebook page and share them with their networks. If users want, they can also have their choices and profile photo broadcast in Times Square in New York.
Staying up to date on the political space has even gone mobile this year with sources like the New York Times launching their own Election 2012 app for readers to get up-to-the-minute coverage.
Shifts like Facebook’s initiative to broadcast America’s opinions and politically focused mobile apps cropping up signal a shift in overall consumers’ wants and needs. Consumers today have become accustomed to having any and all information at their fingertips, and thus set new expectations for the upcoming election. With political information taking center stage this year in the news, consumers will become more attuned to the sudden changes in the political climate, and political insiders will need to react faster and more succinctly to get their message heard.
What other changes do you expect to see in the election this year?
