This research examines the political influence of presidential elections on social media. The research gathers insight on the communications benefits of social media through the following: the history of media, candidate’s reputation and personality, voter engagement, online voter registration, and racial tension. The research hypotheses include the following: determine how content and personal messaging play a role with candidates influence on social media; determine if the number of page "likes” is equivalent to a candidate leading in an electoral race; determine if online voting, registration, and educational tools on social media influence voters. In order to prove this, the research will give an overview of historic presidential elections throughout the era of media. Also, the research analyzes books, journals, and news articles from previous studies to gather insight on the influence of social media. In addition, the researcher conducted surveys and interviews with professionals who work and experience the impact of social media.
FOREWORD
Working in politics for over six years taught me the importance of communicating with voters around the country. Every two to four years, I looked forward to the new trends that influence voters to register, engage, and learn candidate’s background.
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Most voters used social media channels like Facebook and Twitter to gather news on the election and to stay connected with their favorite candidate. This sparked my interest to develop a thesis on how social media influence political races. To further my investigation, I decided to focus on the history of social media, presidential elections and races. As a communications practitioner with experience in the field of politics, it’s important for others to learn how to utilize social media to their