A friend of a friend’s wife is relishing the opportunity to vote in the upcoming election. She is originally from Zimbabwe and now a British citizen. She says, quite rightly, that it is a serious business. So she is taking it seriously. She has downloaded and read each of the manifestos in detail. Then she prepared a list of questions and invited each of the local candidates to her home where she interviewed them over a cup of tea and a slice of homemade lemon cake. She has now made an informed decision.
Her enthusiasm lies in stark contrast to many British young adults who are notoriously difficult to engage with the election process. Perhaps this year it will be different as social media seems to be playing a starring role. Whether it’s the fact that the Jeremy Clarkson for PM Facebook group has 443,422 members, while the Gordon Brown for PM group has just 171 members, or that ASDA has cashed into the ‘mumsnet election’ by handing over blogs and Q&A party leader sessions to its ‘Asda mums’, the amplifying effect of social media feels increasingly important in the race for No 10.
Crucially, social media is not just for campaigning – research by PR firm Fishburn Hedges reveals that 84% of MPs will use Twitter, Facebook and blogs to communicate with their constituents once elected. So there’s the point. Social media isn’t just for you to ask your agency to do something cool like a “Cadbury gorilla”. It’s the opportunity to keep the conversations going with your consumers.
We’ve been working hard at starting a conversation with you all at our Linkedin Group and new blog. If you haven’t already tuned in, our new blog has been generating new stories, insights and conversations with regular contributors including Adam Morgan, Alan Mitchell, Martin Hayward, Faros Yakob and many more. Mark the page, bookmark us. I promise we’re worth following…

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