Research Paper Example on Media Strategies in Campaigns

A media strategy is of great importance to identify and appropriate use the media during the campaign. The formulation of the media strategy should follow the strategic planning steps as outlined in the campaign strategy and campaign planning. A situation analysis should be carried out and as well as having clear goals, planning action and monitoring the media strategy outcome. The analysis is important since it helps to review the existing media and as well as identify the different communication channels which are appropriate and will help the candidate to reach their target audience. Some forms of media are considered to be better than others. The use of social media can be through paid political advertising, direct access spots, social media and televised debates. The candidates do not have to meet the voters directly, but they can accomplish that through use of social media. Different use of media during a campaign has both advantages and as well disadvantages (Chadwick, 2006)

The various types of the social media tools that can be used include Facebook, twitter, YouTube, and blogs. The candidate can also use other forms of new media such as the print media and mass media. The reason for using these types of media is that they can reach a large number of people both literate and illiterate and as well as the young and the old.

One of the strategies that could be used in the campaign is the use of the active tools of social media and new media channels to establish a two-way mode of communication. This is for example through the use of Twitter along with Facebook. The justification for the use of this strategy is that a large number of people widely use the two forms of social media. Paid Facebook advertisement can be used to reach a large number of people whereby the information regarding a particular candidate automatically appears on peoples timeline. Through this a person interested in the candidate or finds that particular information about the candidate appealing can opt to post that on their timeline and tag their friends in that particular post. After that, the individual can create a hashtag on their twitter handle with the aim of further advertising the candidate. The tactic to be used is ensuring the information is continuously posted on Facebook. This will help the information to be widely spread hence resulting in the generation of a cascade of communication (Feldmann, 2005).

Another strategy that can be used while dealing with the campaigns through the use of social media is analyzing of the target audience and the manner that they use the different types of social media. The justification for the use of this strategy is that analyzing the audience can help achieve the campaign goals since different people will use the social media for a different reason. For example, the young people mainly use the social media for entertainment, the female use it to find out the latest fashion while the men mostly use social media to discuss sports. The tactic that can be used while dealing with this strategy is placing advertisements especially on YouTube channels, blogs, and websites that are discussing football and fashion. Through this, the candidate will be able to ensure that the information reaches both genders (Chadwick, 2006) .

The candidate can also use the strategy of volunteer campaign activists to influence peer groups on their different social media timelines. The volunteers tend to advertise a particular candidate on their timelines especially Facebook. They convince the people as to why they should vote for that particular candidate and not their opposition. The justification for the use of this strategy is that most voters tend to believe that most activists fight for their rights and hence there is a possibility that they will vote for the candidate who is being supported by that particular activist. The tactic that a candidate should use while applying this tactic is ensuring that the information he is communicating to the audience mainly addresses the problems that they face such as improving their working conditions, wage rate, and education. Through this, the activist will also gain a foundation of convincing the audience through the different social media channels.

The strength of using Facebook to target different types of voters is that it is one of the social media platform that is widely used and hence it can reach a large number of people across the world as compared to using some form of new media such as the print media. The print media can only be used by the literate people and hence limiting the target audience reached, and also its information becomes outdated quickly (Patrut & Patrut, 2014).

The use of active social media strategy can be considered to be better than the strategy of analyzing the audience. This is because irrespective of gender and age some audiences tend to have different preferences. For example, we have some women who are interested in sports such as football and not fashion and hence analyzing the audience can result in the information not reaching out to such an audience or voter.

The three strategies have their weakness. The use of social media tools can only be used in areas that people have internet access. Audience analysis requires the candidate to have adequate knowledge regarding the population that he is dealing with especially their demographic characteristics. The use of an activist strategy requires the candidate to be trustworthy so that the activist can be able to communicate the information to people with confidence and also the activist should have a large number of followers on their various social media handles (Krishna-Hensel, 2016).

In conclusion, the use of social media and new media can be cheap, quick and an efficient way that a candidate can use to inform, contact and mobilize people in areas where electronic tools are widely used and accessible easily. The use of the internet is increasing rapidly and hence making it a potential tool that can be used in campaigns. A candidate can use different strategies while dealing with the social media to ensure that their information reaches the right audience.

References

Chadwick, A. (2006). Internet politics: States, citizens, and new communication technologies. New York: Oxford University Press.

Feldmann, V. (2005). Leveraging mobile media: Cross-media strategy and innovation policy for mobile media communication. Heidelberg: Physica-Verlag.

Krishna-Hensel, S. F. (2016). Media in Process: Transformation and Democratic Transition. Milton: Taylor and Francis.

Patrut, B., & Patrut, M. (2014). Social Media in Politics: Case Studies on the Political Power of Social Media.