Twitter: it built my team, but didn’t win me votes

By Stuart Bonar, on Tuesday, June 15, 2010

I stood as the Liberal Democrat candidate in Plymouth Moor View in last month’s General Election. While I didn’t unseat Labour’s incumbent, Alison Seabeck, I did learn a great deal more about campaigning.

From the off I was determined to use social media as an integral part of my campaign. Why so determined? Well, not least because I was hardly rolling in campaign funds and I had about 70,000 voters to reach.

Central to this was Twitter. I have to confess to having become a Twitter addict. It is wonderful, and of course free. Follow the right people and you can know straight away if something’s happening, what and where.

How useful was it as a campaigning tool? Well, I just checked and @stuartbonar (that’s me) has 455 followers. Not all of them are from Plymouth, say 300 are. Halve that to exclude those in the other Plymouth seat and I am maybe down to 150 constituents. I suspect that’s an overestimate, and bear in mind that many will be opponents (@CouncillorTudor being an example… and someone worth following).

Bear in mind too that I had 70,000 voters to reach, so 150 followers turns out to be a tiny fraction of one percent. In terms of broadcast then it’s not a runner. Leaflets, getting in the Plymouth Herald and door-knocking were far more important in reaching lots of different people.

To end my analysis there however would be a big mistake. Social media and Twitter are not broadcast media. That’s not what they are about; Twitter is about quality of contact, not quantity… well it is for those of us who aren’t Stephen Fry anyway.

By enabling people to get to know me and ask me lots of questions, I probably picked up a few new members and a few new deliverers – a much deeper level of political engagement than just a cross on a ballot paper. And remember it’s free – very important for a cash-strapped candidate.

Online campaigning generally, like blogs, are just the same. For a lucky few, their blog is a broadcast medium reaching hundreds of thousands, but for most they are a new way of opening up lines of communication. I felt open and accessible to local voters thanks to social media in a way that I would never have been previously.

Many long-standing politicians don’t seem to get that yet, but with each year and with each election, more and more politicians will start using these new tools properly. That can only be a good thing.

So, if you’re not on Twitter, I’d urge you to dip your toe into its warm waters. Watch any TV programme, and you’ll be chatting about it simultaneously on Twitter – the water-cooler of the 21st century. Just be sure to follow me, @stuartbonar, for lots of sage and witty bon mots.