Social Media and Political Campaigns Adverts

 

Social Media and Political Campaigns Adverts

During their campaigns and electoral process, politicians usually spend billions of money to gain momentum at the polls. For years, the budget for political campaign adverts went to traditional media like television and radio to reach a diverse demographic audience. However, social media has sparked a new revolution in political campaigns and the electoral process, impacting political parties and candidates to efficiently engage with a significant number of voters within a brief timeframe. Politicians began to look beyond the traditional media, especially to gain votes from the youth. The article examines the utilization and increasing prevalence of social media in the realm of politics and its overall influence, particularly on campaign advertising.

Shift in the Political Advertisement Spending

According to impartial ad tracker AdImpact and campaign financing data, the 2022 midterm elections are projected to be the costliest in history, with over $6.4 billion being allocated toward TV, radio, and internet advertisements for U.S. House, Senate, gubernatorial, and local campaigns. Before 2008, politicians used to spend on campaign advertisements, specifically for traditional media channels. The advent of social media has led to a shift in spending and other aspects of campaign adverts. Facebook became the go-to platform for advertising in numerous political campaigns due to its extensive reach and capacity to disseminate messages and generate funds from a large and diverse audience. Political parties now utilize social media to disseminate their election propaganda and attract young, tech-friendly voters to their cause. 

2008, Obama allocated 10% of his paid media budget to digital advertising. This amounted to a total of $8 million, surpassing John McCain's campaign expenditure by $6.5 million. Obama increased that proportion to 15% in 2012 when he secured his second term in office. After Obama’s successful use of Facebook, Political parties carefully devised strategies to attract users by utilizing their influential social media pages, which are essential to any party's structure. Since then, there has been a shift in spending on political ads.

During the 2020 election cycle, the Democratic Governors Association allocated around 75% of its advertising budget to Facebook, capitalizing on the widespread use of the app and its capacity to send highly focused advertisements to potential voters. The most expensive political campaign adverts were experienced in the 2022 midterm elections. According to Statista, the expenditure on political advertising in the United States for 2022 was projected to be an estimated 9.6 billion U.S. dollars. Within 30 days of campaigns, candidates and external organizations had collectively allocated approximately $50 million towards advertising for the midterm elections only on Facebook and Google platforms.

As of early August 2022, political ad purchases exceeded 3.5 billion U.S. dollars during the campaign process, which meant determining the power distribution in the Senate and the House of Representatives. The total expenditure was 8.9 billion U.S. dollars in 2022, out of which 1.98 billion U.S. dollars was directed towards digital advertising. The expenditure on campaign ads during the 2022 midterms exceeded that of the 2020 election cycle, during which the Trump-Biden contest witnessed the highest-ever advertising expenditure.

Although there is increasing attention on digital media advertisement, broadcast television continues to attract the largest share of investments in political advertising. As indicated by the above portion of digital expenditure in 2022, expenditure on television advertisements was approximately 4.5 billion U.S. dollars, compared to 2.5 billion U.S. dollars during the 2018 midterm elections.   However, the rate of increase is comparatively lower than the rate at which digital advertising expenditure increases. The influx of advertising funds into this sector was three times higher in 2022 compared to 2018. There is an ongoing transition in political advertising from traditional to digital media.

The projected expenditure on political digital advertising in the United States for 2024 is estimated to reach 2.64 billion U.S. dollars, indicating a 28 percent growth compared to the 2020 figure of 2.07 billion dollars. The predicted amount of political ad spending in the U.S. for 2024 is 10.2 billion dollars.

Shift in Political Advertising Approaches

The transition from conventional to digital media is apparent in today's political surroundings. The political campaign approaches usually set up on television or radio have shifted to the internet. Today, political advertising encompasses YouTube videos strategically crafted to achieve viral status and visually compelling imagery specifically created to be shared across popular social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. Furthermore, the technologies are increasingly merged to create comprehensive, integrated campaigns by political candidates. For instance, Hillary Clinton utilized Twitter to declare her candidacy for the 2016 presidential election by sharing a hyperlink to a two-minute video on YouTube. Also, Ocasio-Cortez's 2018 political advertisement, "Courage to Change," is one of the most compelling political campaign ads in America. The two-minute video, which aired during her primary election campaign against the officeholder, Joe Crowley, has gained over 1.7 million views on YouTube and effectively solidified Ocasio-Cortez's position as a progressive candidate.

In addition to conveying their policy perspectives, new candidates can humanize themselves by utilizing their social media platforms, fostering a sense of connection with voters. For instance, Former Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg showcased his rescue dogs to his 2 million Twitter followers. At the same time, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren engaged in live conversations with supporters who made modest donations to her presidential campaign through her Instagram account. In other words, having substantial financial resources, high-profile donors, or extravagant fundraising events is optional for effectively engaging with constituents on Twitter and sharing a vision for the future. Politicians can gain followers and supporters through compelling video ads and humanizing their social media pages to connect with the public.

Furthermore, these digital platforms provide open advertising access to candidates, political parties, and outside groups. With Facebook lifting its ban on political ads, politicians can utilize these platforms without the financial regulations usually applied to traditional media political adverts. Regarding traditional political advertisements, such as those on television, radio, newspapers, or billboards, legal requirements, and financial regulations require mentioning the advertiser's identity, sponsor, and the amount paid following the FCC rules. The regulations around internet advertisements could be clearer. As a result, campaign finance regulations on digital media political ads pose a significant loophole in internet advertising. This excludes content that is freely available on a campaign's website or can be disseminated using free-to-use applications and platforms, such as YouTube and Facebook.

Conclusion

Despite the continued use of traditional campaign methods such as posters, cut-outs, pamphlets, and personal rallies by politicians to engage and gain support from voters, political parties are increasingly recognizing the importance of adapting to evolving trends of digital ads on social media platforms. They are becoming more technologically proficient and acknowledging that social media is the sole means of connecting with the younger generation. The urban growth rate is steadily increasing, leading to a rise in the number of Facebook followers. Facebook is rumored to offer a new demographic of potential voters for politicians. The candidate and the political party that were able to make an impact on Facebook have undoubtedly experienced favorable outcomes. This highlights the necessity of a clearly defined plan specifically tailored for social media to enhance the effectiveness of political ads.