The US Presidential Elections 2016 has been the buzzword in the US since I came in the Fall of 2014. It’s been months’ of planning for the candidates and their teams as they have taken over the media and are reaching out to people. In that respect, the social media teams have perhaps been one of the busiest teams for every Presidential candidate, as according to a Pew Research Center study, more and more Americans have been choosing the method of social media communication to interact with the candidates and know more about them. Therefore campaigns are not just limited to active Twitter and Facebook profiles, but also using IM platforms like Snapchat and Reddit live chats to give that ‘personal’ touch.

I, personally, have not followed the Election campaigns as thoroughly as I perhaps should. More so because of my lack of interest in politics and further due to the high levels of being unable to relate to it. However, I do know certain names running for the election, and here’s how and why –

1. Hillary Rodham Clinton – Well, since Bill Clinton was President, then she was Secretary of State and now the presidential election candidate, I know her name. Do I know what she’s doing? Thanks to the bombardment of tweets and Facebook shares there is not much space to not notice her and her campaigns.
2. Donald Trump – Because he’s what he is and has ensured that he’s heard, even though people don’t want to hear him. Negative publicity seems to have worked best for him. People who would have never heard of him, today know his name and his infamous quotes, which are not at all quotable. For example: “You know, it really doesn’t matter what the media write as long as you’ve got a young and beautiful piece of ass.”[1] What is commendable is he got the social media world talking about him and thereby reached me.
3. Bernie Sanders – He came in as the last one on my list. If I reflect on it, I had heard his name and read about it in the news, but never registered it till I saw “The struggles of Being Twins” by BuzzFeed Video featuring The Lucas Brothers. What was perhaps interesting was them sporting Tshirts with “Bernie: 2016” and “Bernie: For President”. It got me curious.

 

 

 

These three names brings me around to the Gatekeeping and Cultivation Theory and its implications within this sphere. We as social media consumers are continuously tailoring the information that we like to see, receive and use. Going by the Gatekeeping theory where there is someone who filters the news that people receive, it is imperative to note that in the age of social media there are more than just one gatekeeper. It is not just the chief editor or editors of various newspapers and television channels, but also bloggers, independents website managers and most importantly us as social media consumers.

The Cultivation Theory in terms of social media again can perhaps only take effect depending on the extent of social media consumerism – a heavy consumer is more likely to believe the social media stories about an incident rather than a lighter consumer who would also look for other avenues of information.

Bernie Sanders in that respect has been one intriguing case for me as a budding social media selling and marketing analyst. #feeltheBern, #bernie2016, #bernie, #berniesanders, #uniteblue, #election2016, #dnc, #democrats, #tcot have been some of the most popular hashtags used for the Democrats presidential candidate, according to RiteTag. Meanwhile Hashtracking Explorer shows that #feelthebern generated 1500 tweets in the matter of 3 hours and made 4,245,900 Twitter impressions.

In the light of the above mentioned theories, the presidential campaign for Bernie Sanders should be looking into the kind of information percolating through the nets of social media and into the followers’ world. The Gatekeeping on such information can help cultivate the campaign following that the team essentially desires. For example:

 

 

Wrapping up the discussion, Bernie Sanders social media campaign has been noticed not just for appearing as a face and name, less seen and talked about before the elections, but also because of Sanders’ concentration on his voters and his recognition of his supporters. Perhaps one of the reasons why in spite of not having an official presence on Reddit, the subreddit account for Sanders’ has 64,772 subscribers as compared to Clinton’s 370.

References:

[1] http://presidential-candidates.insidegov.com/stories/5187/23-ridiculously-offensive-donald-trump-quotes#1

Agenda Setting Theory. University of Twente, n.d. Web. 03 Nov. 2015.

Anderson, Monica, More Americans are using social media to connect with politicians, http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/05/19/more-americans-are-using-social-media-to-connect-with-politicians/

Brousell, Lauren, Why Social Media could swing the 2016 Presidential Election, http://www.cio.com/article/2976083/social-networking/why-social-media-could-swing-the-2016-presidential-election.html

Burdowsky, Brent, Bernie Sanders, Ron Paul and the social media revolution, http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/presidential-campaign/251465-bernie-sanders-ron-paul-and-the-social-media

GateKeeping Theory, Communication Theory RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Nov. 2015.

Specia, Megan, Bernie Sanders’ supporters are winning at social media, http://mashable.com/2015/07/21/grassroots-social-media-efforts-bernie-sanders/#T5natFAHigqp