Social Media to Serve as New Opinion Polls

For the 31st consecutive year, The University of Alabama’s Office of Media Relations offers predictions from faculty experts for the coming year.

One of the biggest changes from the 2008 presidential election to the 2012 election is the increase in social media outlets and usage.

Dr. Kristen Heflin, assistant professor of advertising and public relations in The University of Alabama’s College of Communication and Information Sciences, says she expects the public to have more access to candidates than ever before – and that access will include the good, the bad and the ugly.

“Social media will continue to serve as an echo chamber for candidate gaffes, as we’ve already seen with Rick Perry’s Vermont speech and Herman Cain’s interview response to a question about Libya,” Heflin says. “This echo chamber will not only require candidates to be more scripted and conscientious, but it will require them to continually monitor and participate in the conversation online.”

Heflin says voters should expect to hear more directly from candidates, “without the interpretation from ‘middle men’ like journalists.”

While this level of access certainly opens the door for more visible and potentially viral mistakes from candidates, Heflin says it will also have implications for both journalism and candidate platforms.

“Social media will be mined for information on public opinion. Social media buzz will serve as the new opinion polls,” Heflin says. “With so many platforms that enable you to monitor social media buzz, politicians and news organizations will tap into the buzz as a way to gauge public opinion. Politicians will craft and fine-tune their platform from ideas tested on social media outlets or ideas proposed via social media outlets. News organizations will base their stories off of social media buzz.”

Heflin says she also expects to see more low-budget campaign ads distributed via YouTube and picked up by news channels, such as Perry’s recent “Strong” ad that has been viewed nearly 7 million times on YouTube.

Contact

UA Media Relations, 205/348-5320

Source

Dr. Kristen Heflin, 205/348-8944, Heflin@apr.ua.edu