In today’s dynamic world, How politicians where the digital environment is ever expanding, the political landscape in many ways seems to be anchored in the past. The current political climate is largely dominated by traditional media.
But there are exceptions. During the campaign period for the 2021 Dutch elections, some parties actively advertised on social media. In the last election week, the FVD even spent more than €150,000 on social media advertisements . The party ended up with 8 seats.
Yet politicians often prioritize television programs (if they connect at all) and television remains a primary platform for political communication. And that while the younger generations are much less interested in it. This absence of social media in political communication leads to missed opportunities for in-depth conversations and connections with citizens.
The importance of real conversations in politics
Many political parties remain stuck in traditional forms of communication and seem afraid to make strong statements. They want to please everyone, except for a few. This reluctance makes it impossible to have real, meaningful conversations. And that automatically reduces the chance of attracting loyal followers who will go through fire for you.
What you don’t want as a political party is that people vote for you one year through a voting guide on the internet, but then choose someone else a few years later. Once again blindly guided by the results of a voting guide that they don’t even know is objective.
illustration results voting guide
An illustration of the results of a voting guide. Source: NOS.nl
Being present on social media is not just about sharing pakistan email list 2.5 million contact leads content, but also about inviting dialogue, debate and active involvement. In a world where we are more connected than ever, having conversations can lead to a real following that stays loyal to you. Even in bad times – are you reading along, CDA?
Politics and social media: what’s going wrong?
A quick glance at the socials of some current ministers shows that many opportunities remain unused. Take Hanke Bruins Slot as an example. On her Instagram, superficial messages predominate. They learn the following tools to improve customer experience and how to use them perfectly lack depth and do not invite meaningful conversations or discussions. Instead of stimulating, substantive messages that start a conversation, we mainly see messages in her feed such as “A nice evening at the CDA mayor’s association” and “Yesterday I paid a working visit to Twente together with His Majesty the King…” And we see the same with almost all other politicians.
Posts by politicians often function as one-way communication. alb directory They do it ‘because everyone else does it too’. There are only a few who understand this game and see how important socials can be for your success in the Hofstad.
A lack of content makes followers feel disengaged from the posts, thus losing the opportunity to build a good following.
On the other side of the spectrum, we have the striking approach of parties like FVD. They use social media to share their vision of the world and set up these platforms according to their own ideas, such as with FVD news. This leads to a more involved and active base of followers and that will come in handy at the next elections.