When likes and votes collide

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In Singapore, the NSP’s Nicole Seah must wish that Facebook Likes counted as votes. The 24-year old ex-advertising agency exec clocked up an impressive 72,000 Facebook Likes within a week of creating her page. In the week prior to the election she was out-Liked by just one other politician, PAP Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew. Her virtual rise to fame continues, and she now boasts 104,000 Likes against Minister Lee’s 82,000.

All fluff, no action?

Lee won on 7 May, with his party claiming 81 of the 82 contested seats. Seah was left drafting a letter to her supporters saying “thanks, maybe next time”.

Why didn’t Seah’s social media triumph translate into success at the ballot box? Maybe there wasn’t sufficient overlap between her localised constituency and her national Facebook fan base; or maybe her social media supporters were too young to vote?

Winning the war

Demographics change and elections will happen again in 5 years’ time. In the meantime Singapore embraces mobile technologies and social media like few other countries. 72% of mobile devices in Singapore are smartphones, representing the 3^rd highest penetration rate globally.

According to TNS Mobile Life 2011, mobile users in Singapore display the most advanced usage habits in the world, with high demand for “always-on” access, location-based services and social content. 62% of device owners use mobile internet, helped by world-leading network coverage, and Facebook is the most accessed site on mobile devices.

Count me in

Intelligent social media users know that it’s about more than immediate conversions (votes, sales or otherwise). There is value in long-term conversations. By the next election, Seah’s young Facebook supporters will have been Liking her for 5 years. By then, more of them will be able to vote.

And the ability to measure and track brings other benefits: Swarm and JamiQ maintained a visualisation chart showing hot election topics. Want to know how to connect people with politics? Then go and see what they’re tweeting about. Unsure what percentage of your audience is using social media? Why not monitor the number of Foursquare and Facebook check-ins at your next big rally?

Now vote for me, dammit

What makes a politician’s social media campaign successful?

Seah rose to stardom with no political pedigree. Her social media popularity is based on the perception that she is straight talking and has substance. People relate to her and they believe her.

In contrast, some of her opponents used YouTube and Facebook in an attempt to “mobilise the youth vote”. Their attempts were seen as insincere, and they had little online success.

Media channels don’t change politics. People do. But savvy politicians have always exploited social trends to engage voters. The successful politicians of the future may never be elected on the strength of their social media strategy alone, but chances are that they will find it impossible to be successful without it.