The use of social media in politics including Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube has

dramatically changed the way campaigns are run and how Americans interact
with their elected officials.

The prevalence of social media in politics has made elected officials and
candidates more accountable and accessible to voters. And the ability to publish
content and broadcast it to millions of people instantaneously allows campaigns
to carefully manage their candidates’ images based on rich sets of analytics in real
time and at almost no cost.

Social media tools including Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube allow politicians to
speak directly to voters without spending a dime. Using social media allows
politicians to circumvent the traditional method of reaching voters through paid
advertising or earned media.

Political campaigns can tap into a wealth of information or analytics about the
people who are following them on social media and customize their messages
based on selected demographics. A campaign may find one message appropriate
for voters under 30 years old will not be as effective with those over 60.

One reason social media is effective is that it engages younger voters.

Typically, older Americans tend to make up the largest portion of voters who
actually go to the polls. But Twitter and Facebook have energized younger voters,
which, in turn, had a profound impact on elections.

President Barack Obama was the first politician to tap into the power of social
media during his two successful campaigns.

Murse, Tom. (2019). Social Media in Politics - Twitter and Facebook as Campaigns Tools. [online]
ThoughtCo. Available at: https://www.thoughtco.com/how-social-media-has-changed-politics-3367534
[Accessed 7 Oct. 2019].

Social media was one of the most influential digital channels during
the U.S. Presidential election 2016and has been even more present
during the U.S. Midterm elections in 2018. Social media provided
government parties and their candidates with public platforms to share
their opinions online, directly connect with supporters and have
audiences discuss political issues – however, for the first time in U.S.
elections, social media also played a major role in targeting specific
groups of voters with tailored advertising and fake news in order to
disrupt public support for leading political candidates; confusing and
destabilizing their groups of supporters and drowning legitimate
discussions by automated bot postings .