With the results of the US Election out by the time you read this, it’s an apt point to reflect on the changes in online campaigning and political debate over just the last four years. The 2008 US elections were the first to really utilise social media, but then Facebook had 100 million users; now it has 1 billion. So what role is social media playing in this year’s election?</p> <p>Millions of dollars of free advertising through social media chat</p> <p>A number of researchers have issued statistics showing just how social media and online content have become integrated into 2012’s campaigning. For example, social advertising platform Ebuzzing suggests that the amount of social media conversation going on – 925k tweets, almost 160k forum posts, 75k articles and 6.6k blog posts – equates to a paid media value of over $16 million.</p> <p>Social media conversations more negative than offline </p> <p>Over on Twitter, @BarackObama has over 21.9 million followers, dwarfing the mere 1.7 million followers that opponent Mitt Romney has garnered. However, according to research from the Pew Research Center, this doesn’t mean the online world is favourable to the President; according to their analysis, over 45% of conversations about Obama on Twitter were negative (compared to 30% of mainstream media articles).</p> <p>When the dust has settled and the US has their next president, we’re sure lots of analysis will be done on the impact and volume of social media chat on the outcome. Whatever happens, candidates in both the US and Europe would do well to heed the lessons; social media is now a central part of how online consumers discuss everything, from the latest Bond movie to their next political leader.<br />