2. Introduction
• Obama & Social Media: On Becoming the Next
Social Media President
• Research conducted done in an effort to serve as
a guide for 2016 presidential hopefuls
• Monitors the social media usage of Obama and
Boehner to determine which types of posts and
topics garner the most attention
• Looking at present because ample research has
been done on 2008 and 2012 elections
3. Social Media Usage in 2008
Election
•Transformative era in US political
history
•Primary strategy for social media
was to attract unregistered voters
and to promote participation
• Mainly in young voters, women,
and minorities
•Success of campaign relied heavily
on young voters
• Ended up winning 70% of
voters under 25, highest in
record
4. Social Media Usage in 2008 Election
• Easily surpassed McCain’s use of social media
▫ Facebook: Obama – 2 million followers, McCain –
600,000
▫ YouTube : Obama – 97 million views, McCain –
25 million
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Posted Online Donated Money Online
Voter Interaction Online in
2008
Obama Voters McCain Voters
5. Social Media Usage in 2012 Election
• Research began to suggest
Facebook does nothing to
improve political
engagement
▫ More chances and channels
for engagement, but voter
turnout down
▫ No significant effect of
following candidates on
Facebook on political
engagement
• Obama ahead of Romney in
social media endeavors,
using 4 times as many
digital tools to reach voters 42
44
46
48
50
52
2008 2012
Youth Vote Turnout
Percentage
of Youth
Vote
6. 2008 Donations
• Obama raised $750 million
▫ More than amount raised by
ALL candidates in 2004
▫ Almost 4 million people
donated – most ever
▫ 80% of donations came from
small donations
• McCain raised $238 million
▫ $50 million more than GWB in
2004
76%
24%
Total Amount of Donations
in 2008 Election
Obama
McCain
7. 2012 Donations
• Both candidates raised over $1 billion
• Obama’s from small donors
• Romney’s from Super PACs
8. Opportunity
• We know that social media helped Obama
win his campaign, but determining the types
of messages that are the most relatable and
sharable for followers is imperative
• Opportunity in focusing on the modern
political landscape, current social media
trends
10. Types of Facebook Post
30 total posts 32 total posts
43%
30%
27%
Obama
HTML
Video
Image
34%
25%
22%
19%
Boehner
Video
Image
HTML
Text
11. Topics Discussed on Facebook
Economy
Congress
Environment
LGBT Rights
Budget
Keystone Pipeline
Foreign Affairs
Net Neutrality
Immigration
Pop Culture
Education
Healthcare
12. Most Likely to be Liked and Shared
Obama Boehner
• Liked: Image posts • Liked: Text posts
•Shared: Image posts
•Shared: Video posts
Type of post
13. Most Likely to be Liked and Shared
Obama Boehner
• Pop Culture most popular
• Immigration least popular
• Immigration most popular
• Education least popular
Topic
0
50000
100000
150000
200000
Most Popular Topics
on Facebook
Likes 0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
3500
Most Popular Topics
on Facebook
Likes
14. Facebook Discussion
• Limit number of HTML posts
• Make sure images are relevant and provide
shareable content
• Tailor content around topics
you know your supports like or
the ones you want to sway like
18. Types of Tweets
Obama Boehner
11%
50%
28%
11%
Type of Tweet
Image
HTML
Text
Video
10%
69%
17%
4%
Type of Tweet
Image
HTML
Video
Text
19. Most Popular Tweets
Obama Boehner
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
Most Popular Tweets
Retweets Favorites
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
Most Popular Tweets
Retweets Favorites
20. Tweets with Hashtags Were…
• 49% more likely to be retweeted (Obama)
• 17% more likely to be retweeted (Boehner)
• Hashtags must be unique enough that those
searching the tag would find similar posts
▫ Obama’s #EnoughAlready vs. Boehner’s
#education
21. Twitter Discussion
• Twitter is more for quick information that can be
easily shared, making text posts popular
• Tweeting too frequently or the same video or
image more than one time in the same day
divvies up retweets and favorites, making posts
appear unpopular
• Interact with other users – retweet & favorite
• Come up with unique hashtags
22. Further Research
• Whether or not there is a trend on a post’s or
tweet’s success if it is posted on a certain day or
time of day
▫ research in conjunction with the research
presented in this study can give 2016 campaign
strategists incomparable insight
• Analyze other social media platforms like
YouTube and Instagram
