Obama, Romney and Social Media

On the eve of the 2012 presidential election, let’s have a look at a snapshot of the social media presence of both President Obama and Governor Romney and see what we can glean:

 

	Barack Obama	Mitt Romney	Variance
Website Traffic*	8,689,194	2,601,141	Obama +234%
Facebook (Likes)	32,032,038	12,054,086	Obama +166%
Twitter	21,845,410	1,716,225	Obama +1173%
YouTube (Subs / Views)	259,656 / 262,333,200	29,161 / 29,349,489	Obama +790%/+794%
Google+	2,314,119	1,023,803	Obama +126%

  

This is but one barometer that probably has little bearing on actual sentiment (judging by the razor-thin margins in most pre-election polls) but one cannot help notice just how much more vibrant Obama’s online support is. This is not only a clear indication of his followers' passion, but more importantly, the demographic profile advantage – specifically age group - for the democrats.

As in 2008, younger, (more progressive, socially tolerant and tech savvy) voters squarely prefer Obama. This skews social media metrics by a wide margin, but still the margins are still just so great, especially in such a close election where both sides claim tremendous voter enthusiasm. Of course, the way our electoral college works, these #’s have even less relevance, as they probably over index coastal, urban population centers that index higher in tech adoption and already lean democratic. And how many of us really are on Twitter, FB or YouTube clicking and liking our candidate? So who knows…

Nonetheless, one take-away is simple: These #’s are real, and they support the case that the Republicans have A LOT of work to do to address their ever-decreasing dependency on the older white, male vote. This will be the last election where they can have such a close race without really garnering significant support from minorities or women. The demographics in this country have forever changed and the Republicans will need to rethink how they can appeal to a broader, moderately conservative base with a more inclusionary message. There are some very valid pillars to the Republican platform that seem to just get lost in the mix. Oh, and also de-couple themselves from the oppressive right-wing grip. Details, details!

Looking forward to this evening’s returns!

*Website Traffic  Source: Compete.com September 2012