Presidential Campaigning and Social Media An Analysis of the 2012 Campaign

Social media are revolutionizing the American electoral process. Their integral role in facilitating campaign communication and networking has rapidly evolved into a standard element of candidate strategy, voter engagement, and media reporting.

Featuring work by an esteemed line-up of contributors, Presidential Campaigning and Social Media: An Analysis of the 2012 Campaign is the first book to provide a detailed analysis of the role that social media and social networking sites (SNS)--including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Tumblr, Google+, Instagram, Pinterest, and others--played in the 2012 Republican presidential primaries and the general election campaign. Using both quantitative and qualitative methodological approaches, the book thoroughly examines the 2012 campaign's use of each form of social media technology and social networking sites and considers which strategies were effective in connecting with and motivating the electorate to vote. Presidential Campaigning and Social Media is ideal for courses in campaigns and elections.

John Allen Hendricks is Chair and Professor of Mass Communication at Stephen F. Austin State University. He is the author of six books including Communicator-in-Chief: How Barack Obama Used New Media Technology to Win the White House (2010), which was the recipient of the National Communication Association's Applied Research Division's 2011 Distinguished Scholarly Book Award.

Dan Schill is an Associate Professor of Communication Studies at James Madison University. He is the author of Stagecraft and Statecraft: Advance and Media Events in Political Communication (2009) and has published work in numerous journals including Review of Communication,, PS: Political Science & Politics, and Presidential Studies Quarterly.

I: SOCIAL MEDIA AND POLITICAL COMMUNICATION

Chapter 1. "The Presidential Campaign of 2012: New Media Technologies Used to Interact and Engage with the Electorate," John Allen Hendricks and Dan Schill
The 2012 Republican Primary and Social Media
Social Media Platforms
General Election
Presidential Campaigning and Social Media
Social Media and Changing American Demographics
Overview of the Book

Chapter 2: "The Evolution of Digital Media Use in Election Campaigns: New Functions and Cumulative Impact," Daniela V. Dimitrova
Social Media Growth, Age and Partisanship
Characteristics of Digital Media
Multiple Opportunities for Political Engagement
Lower Cost of Citizen Participation
Interactivity
Data Tracking and Data Mining
Differential Impacts
Method
Results
Discussion

Chapter 3: "Creating a Win-Win Situation?: Relationship Cultivation and the Use of Social Media in the 2012 Campaign," Emma Svensson, Spiro Kiousis, and Jesper Stromback
The Promise of Digital and Social Media
The Philosophy--Mutual Beneficial Value
Input--The Willingness to Adopt
Outcomes--Long-term Commitment, Trust and Loyalty
Maintenance--Strategies for Sustaining and Strengthening the Relationship
Method
Relationship Cultivation Strategy Measurements
Results
Different Strategies in Different Channels
Helping the Candidate--Different Types of Collaboration
Discussion

II: SOCIAL MEDIA AND POLITICAL KNOWLEDGE

Chapter 4: "Of Networks and Knowledge: Young Adults and the Early 2012 Republican Presidential Primaries and Caucuses," Jody C. Baumgartner, David S. Morris, and Jonathan S. Morris
Social Networks & Knowledge
Age and Social Network Usage Patterns
Social Media Use and Campaign Knowledge: Expectations
Method
Analysis: Political Use of Social Networking Sites and Political Knowledge
Discussion

Chapter 5: "Technology Takeover?: Campaign Learning during the 2012 Presidential Election," Terri L. Towner and David A. Dulio
Political Knowledge
Type of Information Source
Research Questions and Hypotheses
Method
Dependent Variables
Control Variables
Media Use Variables
Testing Procedures
Results
Discussion

Chapter 6: "Don't Push Your Opinions on Me: Young Citizens and Political Etiquette on Facebook," Kjerstin Thorson, Emily K. Vraga, and Neta Kligler-Vilenchik
Facebook as a Context for Doing Politics
The Research Context
Context Collapse and the Networked Audience
One Golden Rule
Keep Your Opinions to Yourself (Unless they're Funny)
Discussion

III: SOCIAL MEDIA AND THE PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY ELECTIONS

Chapter 7: "Uses and Gratifications of Following Candidates' Twitter Campaign during the 2012 U.S. Primaries," Raluca Cozma
Political Uses and Gratifications of Social Media
The Relationship between Political Attitudes and Uses of Social Media
The Effects of Uses and Gratifications
Method
Measures
Results
Discussion

Chapter 8: "Fitting Social Media into the Media Landscape during a 2012 Republican Primary," Paul Haridakis, Gary Hanson, Mei-Chen Lin, and Jennifer McCullough
Media Choice
Motives for Using Media for Political Information
Perceptions of Media Bias
Method
Sample
Measures
Statistical Analysis
Results
Amount of Media Use
Age Differences and Similarities in Motives for Using Media for Political Information
Media-Selection Differences among Members of the Major Political Parties
Discussion

Chapter 9: "Whose States are Winning?: The Adoption and Consequences of Social Media in Political Communication in the American States," Hyun Jung Yun, Cynthia Opheim, and Emily Kay Balanoff
Theoretical Underpinnings
The Growth of Social Media in Political Campaigns
Social Media's Effect on Political Attitudes and Behavior
Political Cynicism
Political Information Efficacy
Social Media, Geography, and Political Ideology
Method
Sample
Variables and Measures
Results
Political Utilization and Legitimacy of SNSs
Political Interests, Information Efficacy, & Cynicism of Political SNS
Users
Perception and Expression of Political Opinions via SNSs
Purpose and Gratification of Political SNS Users
Discussion

Chapter 10: "YouTube/OurTube/TheirTube: Official and Unofficial Online Campaign Advertising, Negativity, and Popularity,"Jacob Groshek and Stephanie Brookes
Social Media, Election Campaigns, and Political Advertising
YouTube and the Online Campaign
YouTube and Campaign Advertising
Methods
Official Advertising on YouTube
Searching Advertising on YouTube
Variable Categories
Findings
Discussion

IV: SOCIAL MEDIA AND THE PRESIDENTIAL GENERAL ELECTION

Chapter 11: "The Spirals of Newly Transcending Political Voices: Social Media Purify the Atmosphere of Political Dialogues in Cyberspace," Hyun Jung Yun
Theoretical Underpinnings
Political Mavericks in Social Media
Crosscutting Spirals of Expression in the Political Grounds of Social Media
In-Group Identities Embedded in the Spirals of Political Discourse in Cyberspace
Method
Data and Sample
Variables
Results
Dynamics of Demographics
Main Source of Political Information
Political Interests and Information Efficacy
Political Cynicism: Internal Powerlessness and External Alienation
Political Expression
Discussion

Chapter 12: "Evaluating Textual and Technical Interactivity in Candidate E-mail Messages during the 2012 U.S. Presidential Campaign," Andrew Paul Williams and Roxana Maiorescu
Candidate Use of E-mail
Interactivity
Research Questions
Method
Sample
Categories
Coding Process and Reliability
Results
Discussion

Chapter 13:"Social Network Sites and Interactivity: Differential Expression Effects in Campaign 2012," David Lynn Painter, Juliana Fernandes, Jessica Mahone, and Eisa Al Nashmi
Theoretical Framework
Political Information Efficacy
Agenda Building: Salience of the Election
Online Information Sources
Interactivity
Expression Effects
Method
Participants and Procedure
Manipulation
Dependent Variables
Results
Participants and Manipulation Check
Main Effects of Information Source
Main Effects of Interactivity
Interaction Between Online Information Source and Interactivity
Discussion

V: SOCIAL MEDIA AND VOTER/MEDIA ENGAGEMENT

Chapter 14: "Issue Debates in 140 Characters: Online Talk Surrounding the 2012 Debates," Dan Schill and Rita Kirk
Twitter Use in the 2012 Election
Twitter, Second Screens, and Presidential Debates
Method
Campaign Twitter Use
Source Frame
Media Validation Frame
Framing Frame
Journalist Twitter Use
Interpretation Frame
Evaluation Frame
Citizen Twitter Use
Discussion
Second Screen
Media Convergence
Agenda Setting
Chapter 15: "Social Media and Voter Behavior during Presidential Campaigns," Monica Ancu
What We Know So Far About SNS Users
Who Are The Politically Active SNS Users?
Do SNS Have Influence On Offline Behavior and Attitudes?
What Motivates SNS Users To Engage Politically?
Method
Sample
Measures
Results
Demographics of Political SNS Users
Connection between SNS Behavior and Offline
What Brings People to Political SNS
Discussion

Chapter 16: "Maligned Youth or Political Activists?: Young Citizen Political Engagement using Social Media," Benjamin R. Warner, Joshua Hawthorne, and Sarah Turner McGowen
Social Media as a Digital Place for Political Engagement
Profiling the Politically Engaged
Political Cynicism
Political Information Efficacy
Political Polarization
Method
Sample
Procedure and Variables
Analytic Procedures
Results
Discussion
References

Chapter 17: "YouTube and the 2012 Presidential Election: An Examination of how Obama and Romney's Official YouTube Channels were used in Campaign Communication," LaChrystal D. Ricke
Politics and Online Video
YouTube and Politics
Method
Findings
Obama for America
Believe in America
Discussion
Index