Obama entered White House through social media

Such was the influence of social media in the 2012 US presidential elections that some commentators called Facebook the most important swing state. Barack Obama was the darling of social media in the 2008 polls as well.

Anxious for an encore, his 2012 campaign team had, among others, a chief technology officer, a chief innovation officer and a team focused on data analytics. Social media was used as one of the important tools to connect with young voters, asking them to register for votes and exercise their democratic right. It was also used as a tool to gather additional information about undecided voters; their likes and dislikes, kind of friends who could influence their voting behaviour, the issues and concerns they had and the kind of policy response they expected.

It was social media that helped team Obama get many volunteers on board and collect a record sum through online donations. More than 60 per cent of voters use social media in the US.