PA Primary Elections: TV or Social Media?

By Roy J. Wells, President, Triad Strategies

This morning I read an article in the English publication New Media Age arguing that the elections in England will be more influenced by television than social media. As someone who has been talking over the last few months about the role of social media and elections, the article really forced me to think about the upcoming Pennsylvania primary elections.

As you will see below, the Pennsylvania candidates for Governor and U.S. Senate have not been setting any records in the number of Facebook fans and Twitter followers they have been collecting. Though some are doing far better than others, no one is pulling in the numbers we have seen with Scott Brown in MA, Rick Perry in TX, Gavin Newsom in San Francisco, or if you saw Triad’s Facebook update today, Governor Tim Pawlenty in MN.

If the candidates’ social media followings stay relatively low compared to the number of registered or likely voters in PA, then the article from across the pond will be accurate. If you can not reach likely voters through social media channels, you will be left with no choice but to reach out to them through traditional media channels.

The only problem with relying on traditional media to get the word out in 2010 is that the public is less likely to be tuned in to it. With more cable channels being added every month, with more DVRs being used to fast forward through commercials, and with younger voters choosing to find their entertainment on the Internet, I wonder if traditional media buys will be as valuable as they were in the 20^th century. We would love to hear what you think on this topic.