Why Facebook 'likes' matter to politicians?

Social media seems to be have caught up the imagination of political leaders in India, and, like everything else in Indian politics, it has sparked a new controversy. 

Indian media reports say that Indian politicians are ‘faking’ it online. A news report on NDTV- an English national news channel- says that number of ‘likes’ on the Facebook page of the Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has suddenly doubled in just a month (216049 likes). Interestingly, the report says the most number of ‘likes’ have been clicked not in his home state, or in India, but in Istanbul! India’s opposition party the BJP has accused the Congress chief minster of buying the ‘likes’.  

The use of social media by political parties and governments are increasingly becoming popular across the world. The Chilean government was one of the first to broadcast press releases on Twitter. The US State Department, for example, actively engages with its audience by organizing a series on events on its Facebook page. It allows the audience to directly interact with key figures in the US political circle.

Following Mr. Kerry’s visit to India, the US Department of State organized a Facebook event titled “India and America: A Defining Partnership of the 21^st Century”, where Ambassador Robert O Blake directly took questions from the audience all over the world. It was an example of reaching out and directly engaging with the most important stakeholder “the people”.  This is probably one of the major advantages of using social media: to be able to interact directly with the audience.

In India, the Gujarat’s chief minister, Narendra Modi has been on the forefront of integrating various digital media tools. His dynamic website www.narendamodi.in is rich in content, and his social engagements and agendas are actively posted on Facebook and Twitter. His public speeches are instantly put on YouTube.

Social media tools are a great way of communicating with the public. It obviates the traditional modes of communication, and the public, in turn, can directly interact with their leader.

If a person’s query is responded to on social media platform, it can help create a favorable image for the party and of  the politician.  The follower feels acknowledged and derives satisfaction.

Managing digital reputation

Imagine a situation where a, voter is undecided whom to vote for. He might simply Google the name of the leader to make up his mind based on the content the search result generates. It can simply influence his decision. However, in absolute terms more Facebook 'like' doesn't mean more votes! 

Can the search result be managed, manipulated or controlled? Yes, to a certain degree by putting a massive content on the website, blog and on other social media platforms.  Google is more likely to toss up information on the top of a page if the ‘subject’ or the ‘topic’ is invariably linked to social media sites.

The manner in which Google optimization works, it is likely that the content on Facebook, Twitter, blog or website will show up on the top of a page. In public relations, the strategy adopted for maintaining such an outcome is called digital reputation management.

Many politicians and corporates hire PR firms both in India and abroad to manage their digital reputation.  Flooding the internet with positive information on a topic or a person and then maximizing it with  ‘hits’ can push existing negative reports on the back pages of a Google search.

 For example, if you type ‘Narendra Modi’, you are likely to notice that his website will appear above a popular news website that carries his name on that day.  His Twitter, Wikipedia, Facebook and YouTube will also be ranked amongst the top ten pages.  A general search on Modi will not show anything that is negative about him. It is precisely for this reason the politicians like to have more followers on their Facebook and Twitter accounts.

Sometimes, smart PR companies dispatch hundreds of not very relevant press releases to smaller targeted news organizations. Once these smaller organizations publish the release online, it can be used as a reference to make a Wikipedia entry- another website that Google loves. (In Wikipedia every sentence requires reference.)

In India, the use of the Internet and smart phones are growing phenomenally. Creative digital videos and smart management of social media tools will soon become an important tool for campaigning.  If done wisely, it will have a decisive say in the over outcome of elections results in the years to come. Let the cyber war begin!