Election battle goes online

Political parties are rallying for votes on online platforms ahead of the 2014 elections.

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A number of political parties are using social media platforms to engage with voters ahead of the 2014 elections.

The ANC recently upped its online game after its Western Cape (WC) arm launched an app on social platform Mxit, called the MyANCWC application. The party announced last week that 400 000 new members aged between 17 and 25 have signed up on the ANC app and says this number is growing daily.

Mxit had 9.6 million 90-day active users in December.

ANC WC chairman Marius Fransman says the party aims to focus on the youth and, therefore, it chose a platform used mainly by the youth to be able to engage with them directly. The application allows users to learn more about the ANC, get more information about voting and how to register, and check whether they are registered.

The party did not respond to questions regarding its national social media strategy by time of publication.

Official opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) also regards social media as an effective tool to reach voters. DA spokesperson Mmusi Maimane says the party will run a number of targeted campaigns in the build-up to elections, in addition to its normal social engagement activities.

"We already have a substantial footprint across various social networks," says Maimane. This includes over 27 000 likes on the party's Facebook page, more than 32 000 followers on Twitter, and 206 000 Mxit members. DA leader Helen Zille boasts more than 240 000 Facebook likes and over 303 000 Twitter followers.

"The two-way nature of social media communication means that we can engage users, both in communicating to our communities and actively listening to them ahead of the elections. Social media enables us to build direct relationships with existing, new and prospective voters. In addition, it gives us scale, reach and frequency in terms of communication and engagement capabilities," says Maimane.

Freedom Front Plus (FF+) is also not missing out on the online interaction, with more than 11 000 likes on Facebook and just over 2 600 followers on Twitter. MP and chairman of the party's federal information committee, Anton Alberts, says the party also engages via e-mails to a database of approximately 100 000 people.

"We will definitely run a specified online campaign in the build-up to the elections," says Alberts. "[Online engagement] is of crucial importance and, apart from the media, the most important form of communication for the party. Without it, no political party will have contact with the voting public."

New kid on the block Agang says it is already running targeted online campaigns that are set to be intensified in the run-up to the elections. These include polls on key issues, opinions on policy positions, and highlighting to young people the importance of voting and registering to vote, says party spokesperson Thabo Leshilo.

"We make extensive use of social media to talk about key issues, to listen to what people think and feel, and to raise awareness of our vision to restore the promise and hope of SA," says Leshilo.

"Online platforms are central to our communications strategy for both the public, members, volunteers, supporters, donors and other stakeholders. They enable us to broadcast our message unfettered. We realised very early on that we can't depend on the mainstream media to reach our members and potential voters."

Leshilo notes the power of online platforms has already been proven by helping to mobilise more than 5 000 people to the party launch, without it having to spend a cent on advertising. "Our online communities are very engaged, people interact with each other, and they can speak to [party leader] Dr [Mamphela] Ramphele directly with Facebook and Twitter chats."

Congress of the People and Economic Freedom Fighters did not respond to enquiries from ITWeb.

Political parties' online footprint: