MUSO ASPIRANTS: IGNORE SOCIAL MEDIA AT YOUR OWN PERIL

By Mohammed Doyo
It is indisputable, social media is the next platform for successful political campaigns. Going by the recent March 4 elections, a lot happened in social media networks. Both CORD and JUBILEE alliances invested millions in their social media campaigns to drive their agendas to the masses.

Uncountable Facebook pages and groups were created, influential people on social media were hired by the competing factions and so were bloggers and propagandists. By the end of the frenzied elections, Jubilee alliance emerged victors. While there may be other reasons for the win, a section of communication scholars attributed the Jubilee victory to a good communication strategy.

The same scenario was witnessed during the 2012 USA presidential campaigns where the sitting president Barack Obama, despite the growing resentment on his economic policies during his first term in office easily triumphed over the Republican candidate Mitt Romney. Political analysts to a certain extent attributed his win to an excellent use of the interactive new media to woo supporters.

A Key analysis of MUSO’s electoral process in the past and the current climate will inform the belief that the upcoming elections may end up being the most heated and dramatic ever in the history of the Union. While no one can predict with certainty what exactly would be the outcome, it is clear that social media will play a pivotal role in driving messages and will be a huge battle ground in the forthcoming students’ elections.

Why will Social media be crucial during the upcoming 2013 MUSO elections?

Majority of university students are tech savvy and well informed. Almost every single student owns at least one of these: Twitter, facebook, whatsapp or a blog where they discuss ideas and share what is in their mind or what is happening. In Main Campus context, a close look at one of the popular pages- The 3rd Eye reveals that main campus students have embraced the new age media. A single post in the page that has over 20,000 likes attracts at least 10,000 views!

Aspirants must therefore come up with a good social media strategy if they are to remain relevant in this tough race. And speaking of good social media strategy, it doesn’t just involve opening up of facebook pages and groups and posting political messages while adding members randomly and haphazardly. It is more than this. The content of these interactive media must well thought of, audience friendly and thought provoking. It must capture the aspirations of the comrades while at the same time invoke questions and constructive debates among students.

Into the bargain, having a team of social media campaigners is fundamental. This team effectively answers all questions from the comrades, makes updates in popular groups and pages, and persuades comrades into identifying with the aspirant while tackling character-assassinating propaganda that might emerge in the course of campaigns. Use of graphical representation, images to explain policies is a boost to the social media campaign.

Advertising in popular pages that have huge fan bases is advisable too. These adverts are able to reach the masses at the comfort of their rooms. Students can effortlessly tell what an aspirant stands for.

However, this doesn’t mean the traditional avenues such as use of posters, banners, Door-to door campaigns, forums on the ‘ground’, crossfire, Kamukunjis and barazas will be less important. No! A successful campaign strategy is one that is able to effectively use social media alongside the aforementioned avenues.