Social media has become an important tool for political campaigns by allowing them to engage voters inexpensively and in real time. Barack Obama mastered social media in his 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns, using platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube to cultivate grassroots support, fundraise, advertise, and rally voters. Looking forward, social media will continue to evolve how politicians and the public communicate and influence the political process.

1. # vote socialmedia "An examination of the advantages for political campaigns through social media"

7. Background: PULSE

19. CASE STUDY: Barack Obama Barack Obama's Social Presence 2008 Campaign for Change 2012 Organizing For America

20. Barack Obama's Social Presence = influential

21. Twitter - @barack0bama https://twitter.com/#!/BarackObama 2,181 tweets 686,891 following 11,077,937 followers 158,923 listed

23. Facebook http://www.facebook.com/barackobama 24,032,731 like this 315,522 talking about this

24. YouTube http://www.youtube.com/user/BarackObamadotcom?blend=1&ob=4 165 million views

25. 2008 Campaign for Change

27. 2008 Campaign for Change

28. 2008 Campaign for Change Key Aspect to Campaign = Engagement , Interaction , and Involvement with supporters via social media

30. 2008 Campaign for Change Outcome = social media helped Barack Obama increase interaction and engage with voters to spread his campaign message giving him an advantage in the 2008 presidential election

31. 2012 Organizing for America

33. 2012 Organizing for America "Tweet for Jobs" Tool

36. WHAT'S NEXT: The Future of Political Social Media How social media constantly evolves and changes in the political sphere

44. New Trends The Future of Facebook and Politics

47. QUESTIONS?