The role of social media as a tool for political marketing effectiveness

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effect of social media as tool in political marketing within the Maltese context. Methodological Approach: To gather the necessary data, a qualitative type of research was used as interviews were conducted. The involved participants in the interviews where people who are exposed to politics and political campaigns. The reason being that through such research an insight of how they go about implementing a campaign is gained. Findings: The results gained suggest that the relationship between political marketing and social media faced an increase when compared to a couple of years back. Results also reveal that the use of social media in a political context has been exposed to a great usage and become one of the most popular and effective tools a politician can make use of during election period. Social media has been stated to have true potential in the world of politics and this has become more popular ever since the great election campaigns orchestrated by Obama. Research Limitations: Time and cost constraints are the most problematic limitations within the context of this study whereby they were beyond the researcher's remit. Another limitation included is being able to contact all relevant participants and to gather all the information needed from them. An increased sample leads to an increase in precision. However, using a very large sample would be costly and time consuming. Moreover, political indifferences are another aspect of limitation that was evident when conducting the research. Implications: The study done is able to offer both future and current political campaigners and politicians a view of how the social media tool is effective when used in politics, the ability of reaching a wider audience and gaining a better result. Originality: The effect of social media as a tool in political marketing for the Maltese context has never been fully research. Therefore, both future and current campaigners can make use of this study to be able to adapt to more effective online platforms and tools when implementing an online campaign.