Social media will not be integral to 2010 elections

Traditional communication platforms will engage public the most, says analyst

Tools such as Twitter can contribute to more political awareness

Social media tools will contribute to shaping public opinion in the lead up to the election but it will not become an integral part of core campaigning strategies in the UK, according to Ovum.

The analyst said that web sites such as Twitter and Facebook still have some way to go until they play a significant role in the electoral campaigning processes.

Ovum added that the broadcast of yesterday’s chancellors’ debate and the upcoming leaders’ debates make it far more likely that 2010 will be remembered as "TV election" year rather than a period when politics pressed ahead with well-structured social media campaigns.

The analyst goes on to suggest that online discussion in the UK revolves almost exclusively around an established group of politicians, journalists and interest groups using such platforms.

“The parties acknowledge that social media can be used to mobilise activists, engage new audiences, or harvest a long tail of donators”, said Ovum senior analyst Vuk Trifkovic.

“Unless the parties have a surprise up their sleeve, we do not believe that social media will play an integral part in the campaign efforts in the forthcoming elections,” said Trifkovic.

“Whether the parties will regret not taking the initiative, by implementing strategic and far-reaching social media engagement campaigns, remains to be seen,” he said.

According to a report on Twitter and UK politics released by online media utility Tweetminster in January, the microblogging site is becoming increasingly perceived as a political communications tool and notes that there are now more MPs tweeting than blogging.

“This shift in social media activity may be because Twitter posts connect with a wide number of users and conversations and require less investment of time than long-form blogging… it is easier for politicians to gain visibility using Twitter than competing for web traffic with more established bloggers,” says the report.

While the pace to innovation of UK user engagement with social media platforms is moving faster than political parties or the media, the report states that the impact of such tools on the 2010 general election will drive improved digital engagement in local and national politics.

The public’s participation on the internet was the real winner during the chancellor debate, according to Charlie Beckett, director of media think-tank Polis.

“Of course, the party spinners were online as well as in the press room. And no doubt, many of the journalists will also be casting an eye across Twitter and the blogs before writing and broadcasting their verdicts,” Beckett wrote in his blog.

“It all makes for much richer, multi-layered reportage. The TV debate alone would have been worth it. But the fact that tens of thousands of people were taking part reminds us that citizens do care about politics. And they want to be part of reporting the debate as it happens.”

For author and blogger Mark Kobayashi-Hillary, who was live blogging the event for Reuters during last night’s debate, platforms such as Twitter will contribute towards more political awareness from the public.

"Social media can't excite people if they don't care about politics and would rather watch soaps, but it does encourage more debate and transparency, and people get drawn into talking about politics online where they might not have even been thinking about taking part in an election debate,” he said.

“This is the first UK general election where social media is available, and as we can see from the Labour party crowdsourcing jokes about the airbrushed David Cameron posters, it is going to be an important source of opinion."