How Effectively did Parliamentary Candidates Use Social Media During the 2015 UK General Election Campaign
Many academics and political commentators have speculated that the rise of the internet, and in particular social media, could transform political communications. In the run up to the 2015 UK general election we saw an emphasis on the potential impact of social media campaigning, with many headlines...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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White Rose University Press
2018-03-01
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| Series: | Undergraduate Journal of Politics and International Relations |
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| Online Access: | https://www.ujpir-journal.com/articles/55 |
| _version_ | 1817997455458828288 |
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| author | Vanessa Lauren Ellis |
| author_facet | Vanessa Lauren Ellis |
| author_sort | Vanessa Lauren Ellis |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Many academics and political commentators have speculated that the rise of the internet, and in particular social media, could transform political communications. In the run up to the 2015 UK general election we saw an emphasis on the potential impact of social media campaigning, with many headlines suggesting that this could be the first social media election. The purpose of this paper is to determine how effectively parliamentary candidates used social media during the 2015 UK general election campaign period, by creating a typology of the ways in which candidates behaved on social media. The primary research conducted, which included analysis of the Twitter and Facebook posts (n = 616) made by a sample of candidates (n = 10), focused on 4 main post functions: 'broadcasting, posters/infographics, organising', and 'interacting'. The results show that overall UK politicians mainly used social media as a unidirectional method of communication, as opposed to interacting. However, this research also found key differences between Twitter and Facebook, the former used much more interactively. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-14T02:38:26Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f99d4e41307a4ff2991ef8daa1ee099b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2398-5992 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-14T02:38:26Z |
| publishDate | 2018-03-01 |
| publisher | White Rose University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Undergraduate Journal of Politics and International Relations |
| spelling | doaj.art-f99d4e41307a4ff2991ef8daa1ee099b2022-12-22T02:17:19ZengWhite Rose University PressUndergraduate Journal of Politics and International Relations2398-59922018-03-011110.22599/ujpir.554How Effectively did Parliamentary Candidates Use Social Media During the 2015 UK General Election CampaignVanessa Lauren Ellis0University of LeedsMany academics and political commentators have speculated that the rise of the internet, and in particular social media, could transform political communications. In the run up to the 2015 UK general election we saw an emphasis on the potential impact of social media campaigning, with many headlines suggesting that this could be the first social media election. The purpose of this paper is to determine how effectively parliamentary candidates used social media during the 2015 UK general election campaign period, by creating a typology of the ways in which candidates behaved on social media. The primary research conducted, which included analysis of the Twitter and Facebook posts (n = 616) made by a sample of candidates (n = 10), focused on 4 main post functions: 'broadcasting, posters/infographics, organising', and 'interacting'. The results show that overall UK politicians mainly used social media as a unidirectional method of communication, as opposed to interacting. However, this research also found key differences between Twitter and Facebook, the former used much more interactively.https://www.ujpir-journal.com/articles/55Social mediapolitical communicationUK politicsTwitterFacebookelection campaigns |
| spellingShingle | Vanessa Lauren Ellis How Effectively did Parliamentary Candidates Use Social Media During the 2015 UK General Election Campaign Undergraduate Journal of Politics and International Relations Social media political communication UK politics election campaigns |
| title | How Effectively did Parliamentary Candidates Use Social Media During the 2015 UK General Election Campaign |
| title_full | How Effectively did Parliamentary Candidates Use Social Media During the 2015 UK General Election Campaign |
| title_fullStr | How Effectively did Parliamentary Candidates Use Social Media During the 2015 UK General Election Campaign |
| title_full_unstemmed | How Effectively did Parliamentary Candidates Use Social Media During the 2015 UK General Election Campaign |
| title_short | How Effectively did Parliamentary Candidates Use Social Media During the 2015 UK General Election Campaign |
| title_sort | how effectively did parliamentary candidates use social media during the 2015 uk general election campaign |
| topic | Social media political communication UK politics election campaigns |
| url | https://www.ujpir-journal.com/articles/55 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT vanessalaurenellis howeffectivelydidparliamentarycandidatesusesocialmediaduringthe2015ukgeneralelectioncampaign |