2016 Presidential Election and Social Media

The 2016 presidential race is heating up and the political candidates have been stepping up on social media sites such as Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter showcasing their social media strategies and strengthening their campaign. Current President Barack Obama began using social media strategies in his 2012 campaign, but only ventured as far as Twitter and Reddit. Now, these current candidates, such as Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump and Jeb Bush, are using social media to their advantage on multiple sites in hopes of connecting to the millennial market.

Hillary Clinton is one of the most active presidential candidates seen on social media. She has a strong presence with more than one million likes on Facebook, more than five million followers on Twitter, and more than 700,000 followers on Instagram. Through these social media platforms she has created an image for herself that has humanized her and made her more relatable by posting Instagram pictures of her with younger children or pinning a board on Pinterest of inspiring women.

Republican Candidates Jeb Bush and Donald Trump have also utilized social media during their campaign, starting from the very beginning when they used various platforms to announce their candidacy. Social media providers are also getting involved with the campaign, especially Snapchat. Snapchat has launched stories that showed behind-the-scene clips of the Republican and Democratic debates. The use of social media has helped broadcast the candidates campaign as well as connect them to the millennial market. It will be interesting to see how the use of social media might influence or swing the Presidential election.