Social media – game changer or echo chamber?

After a dozen failed attempts to reach incumbent Bristol North West MP Charlotte Leslie via her constituency office, I finally managed to pin her down by tweeting her. Thus is the power of social media. Never before has it been so easy to get your voice heard by the decision makers, to get a real feel for the personality of many politicians and to feel truly part of a political community.

As a social media professional, running multi-channel accounts for a number of large organisations outside of my Bristol24/7 role, I know only too well the power of social media (I previously wrote a comment piece on this very topic after seeing Odeon cinemas fail to weather a social media storm), and while there are a lot of politicians and political activists who shout very loud on Twitter and other platforms, I started to wonder what role it really plays in election campaigns.

Some commentators are dubbing the 2015 election, ‘the social media election’. Even compared to 2010, the role of platforms such as Twitter, YouTube and Facebook are clear for all (well, everyone with an Internet connection) to see.

However, with a significant number of voters not signed up to these networks and many of those who are, already firmly aligned with their political party, the role of social media in this election is debatable.

‘Echo chamber’

“Anyone who thinks they’re going to win an election on social media alone, they’re completely bonkers,” says Tony Dyer, the Green Party’s candidate for Bristol South. “We all know politicians are not representative of the population at large. I sometimes see people involved tweeting away and it’s like they’re in an echo chamber.”

In 2010, when social media was in its infancy in terms of usage in political campaigns, you’d be forgiven for concluding the Lib Dems were in for a victorious election. The reality was a little different. Stephen Williams, incumbent Lib Dem MP for Bristol West, recognises the need for a social media presence and is now active on twitter, something he wasn’t doing in 2010, but he echoed the “echo chamber” comment. “Social media has more of a role in this election than it has in any before,” he said. “I don’t think in any previous election it has been that significant, but quite a lot has changed in five years.”

And while Williams accepts the importance of having a social media presence, particularly in a constituency with a large number of social media users, he’s not convinced it’s as vital as some would have us believe. He said: “I’m not entirely sure whether hearts and minds are shifted with Twitter. A lot of people who follow politicians on Twitter are people who identify with the party or politician already. There is an echo chamber element.”

An ever-growing number of MPs and candidates are now in the space; yet not many know how to engage properly to get the most out of it. Just before the 2010 election, I was followed by the official Nick Clegg account – only to be unfollowed after the election. A vain attempt to secure another Lib Dem vote by making me feel important? Or some over-zealous social media assistant following thousands of people only to be told that it’s not Twitter etiquette? Who knows.

Darren Lilleker, an associate professor at Bournemouth University, whose research focuses on political communication, told told CNBC: “I think parties are taking it (social media) far more seriously, but it remains largely a broadcasting tool. They use Facebook and Twitter in similar ways to push out messages rather than communicating with their supporters.”

Leslie, who has just finished her debut term as a Conservative MP, admits that she is on Twitter constantly, “sharing anything from views on national issues to helping support a charity effort by a constituent”. She added: “Facebook is similar – an immediate way of getting my activities out to people in all parts of the city. We are able to get messages out quickly and widely to people in a short, digestible form which people can understand. Conversely, there is always the danger that an innocent remark, or a genuine attempt at humour, could be taken and used against you.”

Sorry @KerryMP is that ‘Labour-school patronising’ going on? Not impressed… Cc @lauramalarkey @tom_watson

— Gus Hoyt (@MrGreenGus) April 27, 2015

‘Keyboard warriors’

“In some instances there are keyboard warriors,” says Dyer. “I’ve sometimes invited them to meet up and talk about it, if they feel that strongly. They never accept my offer.” He jokes this might be because he’s 6ft tall and 16 stone.

But he has a degree of empathy for some of the angry tweeters. “I know some of the people who are supposedly anonymous. A lot of what they say is frustration. Often they take it out on politicians and sometimes we – I say we reluctantly – politicians deserve that. If the most you worry about is people being nasty to you on Twitter, you’re not doing too bad. There’s a lot more nasty stuff happening to people – disabled people, people from ethnic minorities and women – because of decisions being made by politicians. Politicians get off quite lightly.”

Across the other side of the M32, Labour’s Kerry McCarthy is nailing the social media thing, in terms of an authentic and unapologetic voice. She is known by some as the Twitter Tsar. There was controversy in 2010 when she accidentally broke election rules by tweeting about postal votes. The tweet was removed and she publicly apologised for the gaff. But this aside, a lot of politicians would learn a lesson from the way she tackles Twitter.

‘Democratisation of communication’

Julian Stodd, author of the Social Leadership Handbook and social age expert with SeaSalt Learning, gives some insight into how and why politicians should seize the opportunities which these new platforms and ways of working afford them. He says: “The democratisation of communication and rise of social authority is subverting traditional models of political messaging: craft a compelling story and it will circle the world, fast, building a community as it goes. Politicians can surf this wave, but there is an important facet to consider: the story is co-owned by the community: try to own it, try to spin it, try to outpace it and you will lose. Authenticity is key: social authority is based upon reputation, build over time, through humility and kindness. It’s based on how you behave, not the words you utter.”

McCarthy graduates from this school of thought and has even got the seal of approval from her Dyer, who says: “Kerry McCarthy has been very good at having conversations with people on Twitter without the need for a big media team. It’s seeing Kerry do it which inspires me, though I won’t be quite as prolific as Kerry.”

Unsurprisingly, McCarthy – who was the first MP to use an iPad in the house of commons (because the printer wasn’t working!) is a huge advocate for social media as a way to connect with constituents and a wider audience: “Social media is very important these days,” she said. “When I was first elected ten years ago, a lot of MPs didn’t even have a website, and a lot of my colleagues were very wary of blogging and using Facebook or Twitter. I used to really enjoy blogging (about music as much as politics) but I just don’t have time these days. 

“The pros are that it enables you to communicate as a real person, without any intermediaries (like having to persuade journalists to publish your press release!), and the cons are the trolls. It’s not so bad now, and I’ve learned to ignore them, but when I was one of the only female MPs on Twitter, I got a lot of harassment from libertarians and Tories.”

Don’t go on Twitter before bed

Williams is a regular Twitter uses who manages his own account. But this doesn’t come without some issues. “I run my own Twitter, and flick through it during the day,” he said. “I’ve learnt through trial and error.” The openly gay politician has also been a victim of Internet trolls and has found the best way to deal with this, alongside ignoring them, is not going on Twitter just before bed.

He said: “I’m sure people have always said nasty things about politicians down the pub but you wouldn’t have to hear that unless you were on the next table. Twitter means you’re always on the next table. You have to be very thick-skinned to be in politics anyway, but I have a rule I don’t look at it after 11 o’clock at night. If the last thing you see is pretty unpleasant, you obviously go to bed thinking about it.”

Williams, who uses Twitter daily to keep in touch with constituents and keep abreast of national news and issues, told me he had neither received nor been offered any social media training and was working it out for himself, enlisting the help of his young assistant if needed. He said: “Politics is becoming more Americanised, but it’s still relatively underdeveloped. Most of it still involves pushing leaflets through doors and meeting people.”

He added: “Twitter has opened a door to a new demographic, but I wouldn’t exaggerate the importance of that. Younger people might use smartphones, but they’re probably not using it to follow politicians.”

The Lib Dem won the 2010 election with a majority of 11,500, bucking the national Lib Dem trend, but says he doesn’t take it for granted. “It’s still marginal, with traditional methods forming 90% of the campaign; but given that elections may be won by a margin, I could hold it by 1,000 votes, it becomes more significant.”

Welcoming @nick_clegg off the @LibDems battle bus at AIRBUS Bristol yesterday pic.twitter.com/Q1oxnjILD8

— Stephen Williams (@swilliamsmp) April 23, 2015

Dyer also favours more traditional campaign methods, running alongside regular social media activity. He has also done a lot of doorstepping and has worn through three pairs of shoes during this year-long campaign. He said: “It’s been useful, although I feel slightly embarrassed as if I’m intruding on people’s personal lives, and feel a bit of a hypocrite. If people knock on my door I tend to hide behind the sofa. But you do need to meet people so they can look you in the eye and see if you mean what you say. Also, in Bristol South in particular there’s a hell of a lot of people who aren’t on social media or even the Internet.” 

He agrees that one of the main benefits of social media is easy contact between politicians and the people they represent. “It’s the ability for people to have another way of talking directly to you,” said Dyer. “You should be able to get in direct contact with people representing you. I probably use email ten-times as much as Twitter; it’s one-to-one communication, unless someone decides to put it in the public domain.”

Dyer first became active on Twitter after writing a series of columns for Bristol24/7. From there he became active in the Bristol Green Party, before being asked to stand in Bristol South, where he lives. So in a way he owes his candidacy to social media. He said: “My Twitter account is just me being me. While I have been trying to be careful what I’m saying, I don’t want to project persona of professional politician, because I am not. If I’m in the pub and City win and I’m a little drunk, I’m going to go on Twitter and celebrate City’s win.”

Prospective parliamentary candidate campaigning aside, social media does have another role to play in politics. It has been an important tool in spreading the word about voter registration deadlines, for media organisations to promote leaders’ debates and flagging potentially controversial elements of manifestos, such as the Green Party’s plans to reduce the reach of copyright law with a view to encouraging politicians to rethink their policies.

The Green Party also had a coup with a spoof boy band video they made depicting the leaders of the other four main parties. Change the Tune (above) went viral, reaching hundreds of thousands of people and was hailed as a brilliant move for the social age, showing the party with a sense of humour and a real understanding of how social media works.

The #selfie age

If there’s one word synonymous with the social media generation, it’s “selfie”. Politicians are now regularly getting in on the selfie act – with Labour leader Ed Miliband particularly fond of the spontaneous selfies as well as UKIP’s Nigel Farage embracing the medium. It’s worth noting that Bristol UKIP has a small presence on Twitter, with two of the four candidates tweeting, but with around 150 followers each it is unlikely to play a role in their election campaign.

The Farage ‘selfie’ is becoming a mega thing. It must be thousands by now. pic.twitter.com/OcgBdIdW2z

— Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage) April 28, 2014

Which reminds us, look out for our live election coverage on Thursday May 7 at 10pm where we’ll be asking you to share your election result-watching selfies. Watch this space.