Why do politicians use Facebook and Twitter the way they do? The influence of perceived audience expectations
Politicians’ social media use affects their relationship with citizens. For example, politicians are better evaluated when they communicate interactively. However, they mostly use social media to broadcast information to their audience. This study asks why politicians use Facebook and Twitter the wa...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | deu |
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Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG
2020-03-01
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| Series: | Studies in Communication, Media |
| Online Access: | https://www.nomos-elibrary.de/10.5771/2192-4007-2020-1-8 |
| _version_ | 1818316446937120768 |
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| author | Ole Kelm |
| author_facet | Ole Kelm |
| author_sort | Ole Kelm |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Politicians’ social media use affects their relationship with citizens. For example, politicians are better evaluated when they communicate interactively. However, they mostly use social media to broadcast information to their audience. This study asks why politicians use Facebook and Twitter the way they do. The study contends that politicians want to satisfy their audiences’ expectations, to get favorable reactions and increase their visibility, and that politicians from different parties have different audiences who have different expectations for how politicians should communicate. Data from two surveys conducted among national (n = 118) and local (n = 859) German politicians show that politicians’ Facebook and Twitter communication is strongly oriented to their perceptions of their audiences’ expectations. The party size did not influence politicians’ Twitter communication, but their Facebook communication: Compared to politicians from major parties, politicians from minor parties communicate in more interactive ways via Facebook. In addition, politicians from minor parties perceive more strongly than their colleagues from major parties that their audience expects them to criticize other politicians or journalists. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-13T09:21:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-eccf6bc4a95240c28968833691f98747 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2192-4007 |
| language | deu |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-13T09:21:34Z |
| publishDate | 2020-03-01 |
| publisher | Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Studies in Communication, Media |
| spelling | doaj.art-eccf6bc4a95240c28968833691f987472022-12-21T23:52:43ZdeuNomos Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KGStudies in Communication, Media2192-40072020-03-019183410.5771/2192-4007-2020-1-810577121924007202018Why do politicians use Facebook and Twitter the way they do? The influence of perceived audience expectationsOle KelmPoliticians’ social media use affects their relationship with citizens. For example, politicians are better evaluated when they communicate interactively. However, they mostly use social media to broadcast information to their audience. This study asks why politicians use Facebook and Twitter the way they do. The study contends that politicians want to satisfy their audiences’ expectations, to get favorable reactions and increase their visibility, and that politicians from different parties have different audiences who have different expectations for how politicians should communicate. Data from two surveys conducted among national (n = 118) and local (n = 859) German politicians show that politicians’ Facebook and Twitter communication is strongly oriented to their perceptions of their audiences’ expectations. The party size did not influence politicians’ Twitter communication, but their Facebook communication: Compared to politicians from major parties, politicians from minor parties communicate in more interactive ways via Facebook. In addition, politicians from minor parties perceive more strongly than their colleagues from major parties that their audience expects them to criticize other politicians or journalists.https://www.nomos-elibrary.de/10.5771/2192-4007-2020-1-8 |
| spellingShingle | Ole Kelm Why do politicians use Facebook and Twitter the way they do? The influence of perceived audience expectations Studies in Communication, Media |
| title | Why do politicians use Facebook and Twitter the way they do? The influence of perceived audience expectations |
| title_full | Why do politicians use Facebook and Twitter the way they do? The influence of perceived audience expectations |
| title_fullStr | Why do politicians use Facebook and Twitter the way they do? The influence of perceived audience expectations |
| title_full_unstemmed | Why do politicians use Facebook and Twitter the way they do? The influence of perceived audience expectations |
| title_short | Why do politicians use Facebook and Twitter the way they do? The influence of perceived audience expectations |
| title_sort | why do politicians use facebook and twitter the way they do the influence of perceived audience expectations |
| url | https://www.nomos-elibrary.de/10.5771/2192-4007-2020-1-8 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT olekelm whydopoliticiansusefacebookandtwitterthewaytheydotheinfluenceofperceivedaudienceexpectations |