With Facebook now ten years old there have been a number of articles published looking at its impact. The one that caught my eye came from the Washington Post on how Facebook has changed the way we govern.
That may be true in the US, and there are other examples from around the world as well, but it is less true in the UK. In fact, there needs to be more social media activity if politics is to open up.
Looking again at the Hansard Society’s ‘Audit of Political Engagement 10’ it is clear that the 18-24 year old age group is a particular problem, with only 12% indicating that they will definitely vote. Whilst locally-based campaigning is increasing this has not helped in the recognition of local MPs, “the public are less able to identify the name of their local MP than at any time in the last decade” says the report. Satisfaction with MPs continues to fall.
There are, however, some positive signs. People want to be more involved in decision-making locally and nationally. Yet time remains a real barrier to political involvement and it is not seen as being fun!
It seems that social media can overcome many of these issues. But in the UK it is not even clear how many MPs have a Facebook page and if they do whether it is just used as a way of broadcasting information or if it is used for engagement. Twitter is now a much more accepted channel for MPs, but Facebook still less so.
Again looking at another Hansard Society report, a recommendation in ‘Future News – communicating parliamentary democracy in a digital world’ specifically says that:
‘Parliament should … experiment more with Facebook: use of polls; use of Facebook groups; Facebook advertising; and development of a Facebook app for news sharing’.
Social media, particularly Facebook, allows politicians to move beyond their core supporters and makes communications easier. It can provide a ‘behind the scenes’ look at the real person so constituents get to really know their MP. Normally people just see a Prime Minister or a few key ministers / shadow ministers but that doesn’t now have to be the case.
More than anything, an effective social media strategy provides a scale of engagement which can be applied to a constituency level as well. Looking at the statistics provided by Facebook and quoted in the Washington Post, President Obama’s 2012 campaign got 3.8 times the penetration in swing states, where it focused its ad efforts, than it did in non-battleground sites. Also, 72.7 million Americans saw Obama’s Facebook content, more than half those who voted and the virtual ‘I voted’ stickers really did get people out to vote.
Not that Facebook or other social media provide a total solution for engagement but they are valuable tools which, in the UK at least, are not really being grabbed with sufficient enthusiasm.
They can also help to deliver more openness and transparency which the public undoubtedly wants to see and the political parties talk about delivering. Openness should be the new default but that isn’t the case yet and will not be until politicians are willing to grasp the opportunities presented by technology.
That is not to suggest that this is all about technology for technology’s sake but instead using it where it can help to address defined issues and problems.
For those involved in campaigns, MPs are always on the look out for good examples and best practice where it comes to social media. Many MPs still struggle to use emails so opportunities to help certainly exist. In addition, social media can also be about campaigns and working with businesses, it is not just about efforts to increase a share of the vote.
If you are wishing to engage with an MP, you need to make their Facebook and other social media activity, part of your research to help get to know your audience. You too can get to understand them better by seeing what they are involved in and talking about.
Until Facebook really does change UK politics, political engagement will continue to be curtailed.