How are political parties harnessing the power of digital media for General Elections 2018?

There are two weeks to go for General Elections 2018. Campaign activities of all contesting political parties are in full swing in every corner of the country. Almost all political parties and independent candidates are using the power of social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to get their election campaign across a wide population.

According to the candidates of election 2018, digital media has become a very useful tool to target youngsters and convey their messages and manifesto of their party. This is how political parties are using the power of digital marketing to pursue people to vote for them:

1. Digital promotion of manifesto

Different political groups are accelerating their political campaigns and promoting their manifesto with different digital tools like buying ads on various websites, SEO marketing and Digital Signboards.

2. Social media campaigns

Many famous politicians like Bilawal Bhutto, Imran Khan, Maryam Nawaz and Shahbaz Sharif are active users of social media platforms to create a one-on-one connection with their people. Besides them, various other representatives of Political parties have active Facebook and Twitter pages where they propose their political agenda to get the support of people in upcoming elections. According to the statistics of Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), 58 million people have access to the broadband internet. So there will be numerous Pakistanis on social media who play an important role in the coming few days.

3. Recruiting digital media cells

Nowadays, every political party has their own media cell. It is no less than a lethal weapon which is used by various political parties through which they can start sending a message to their voters or can start a campaign against their opponents.

4. Ad campaigns on different websites

Various political groups have also started ad campaigns for their political agendas on different websites and TV channels to get their message across the masses.

As compared to the previous General Elections 2013, the impact of social media has increased by many folds, which can be attributed to multiple reasons. Most of the millennials were not registered voters then but now they are actively participating in the political discourse on digital media. Additionally, mobile broadband penetration such as 3G/4G services was limited to big cities but have now made its way to rural areas as well. Moreover, there is an active presence of social media users that do not only comprise of political candidates campaigning but also citizens engaging with candidates and non-partisan entities urging registered voters to use their right wisely.