political marketing and social media

Social Media in Canadian Politics

Social Media in Canadian Politics: The Future of Campaigning

Social Media and Politics

1. Overview of Social Media and Politics in Canada Social media and digital channels have influenced almost every area of human life and endeavor so political campaigns are no different. More than 85% of the Canadian population uses social media on a daily basis, making it a critical piece of the political campaigning jigsaw puzzle. Consequently, social media in Canadian politics has seen a staggering growth over the past few years. From municipal to federal elections, candidates and political organizations have taken to popular platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Google, TikTok and Twitter amongst others to engage and woo voters, especially those aged 18-30 and first-time voters. 2. Rise of Facebook Advertising in Canadian Politics Since 2008, social media has been a standard fixture in political campaigns around the world as evident from Barack Obama’s highly innovative campaign which brought the use of Facebook in the limelight. Аt home, in Canada, Facebook advertising has been a mainstay of Canadian political campaigning for quite some time as well. Over the last few years, it has seen increased investments and interest from all parties, especially after its compliance with the bill C-76 (when Google, Twitter, Snapchat and many others backed out). At EOK Consults, a leading Digital and Social Media Marketing Agency for Political Campaigns, we have seen firsthand how political parties in Canada have subsequently invested record amounts in online advertising during the 2021 federal elections. Facebook remains a vital tool in reaching voters, especially as other platforms restrict political advertising. 3. Pandemic Boost to Social Media in Campaigning The use of social media in Canadian politics was clearly on the rise, however, the pandemic accelerated the growth to unprecendented levels. In the wake of Covid-19 stay-at-home orders, internet and social media use skyrocketed. The health regulations and guidelines further restricted traditional campaign strategies like door-knocking and meet-and-greets forcing politicians and political organizations to adapt. With most people staying home and utilizing social media to stay connected, political campaign spending moved mostly online in a strategic pivot. This led to a boom in spending and focus on social media for campaigning.  Over $2.7 million was spent by all federal parties during the first half of the 2021 Federal Elections campaign, only on Facebook and Instagram!  As per publicly available data, the total spending on Facebook advertising by all parties combined was more than C$6.7 million in the final 3-month period up to the election. In the context of other online platforms (news outlets & media conglomerates), the online political advertising estimates for Canada’s 2021 Federal election range from $10-15million highlighting the massive growth over the past few years. In addition, Pierre Poiliever’s campaign during the Conservative Party Leadership elections in 2022 had an impressive digital media advertising strategy. A solid grassroots campaign complimented by a well-thought out digital direct-to-the-public media strategy with over 33K of ad spending on Facebook helped him secure a thumping victory over his competitors. As evident, political candidates and organizations are increasingly establishing an online presence on a continuous basis. Given the high engagement levels and measurable return-on-investment of digital platforms, we might reasonably assume that those numbers will increase in future elections.  4. Social Media in Canadian Politics – Is This The Future of Political Campaigning? One thing is clear – digital political campaigning is here to stay and grow as people are more social than ever. Canada’s political parties have embraced the Internet and social media; the online world is now a critical part of any political campaign. The variety in media formats, the congregation of voters and most importantly, the scalability and measurability of social media political campaigns make them a preferred choice for any political operative and campaign team. Heading into the future, the ground rules for a successful social media political campaign include consistent messaging, brand building and focus on offering valuable and engaging content. With the help of EOK Consults, a top-tier Digital and Social Media Marketing Agency for Political Campaigns, political candidates can create well-thought-out campaign strategies that resonate with voters and drive measurable results. Stay in touch with our blog or get in touch today for a free consultation on how we can help add the winning touch to your political campaign.

Conservative Party Leadership Race -2022; Facebook Advertising

The Conservative Party’s Leadership Race and Facebook Advertising – What we learned? 

Campaign Advertising Insights

The race to elect the new leader of the Conservative Party of Canada just ended. We saw that Pierre Poilievre won decisively with an overwhelming margin over his opponents. As seen in previous federal and provincial elections across Canada, digital media played a prominent role and that was the case in this election cycle as well. What follows is a brief analysis of the conservative party’s leadership race and Facebook advertising. We’ll focus on the key candidates’ social media presence as well as their advertising strategy and spending on Meta (Facebook) ad platform to uncover if social media played a key role in the results or not. Researchers at the Media Ecosystem Observatory found that Facebook remains the No. 1 source of Canadian political news online, YouTube ranks second, and Twitter ranks third. A prominent feature of Pierre Poilievre’s campaign was his extensive use of online video on platforms such as YouTube. That way, he bypasses the traditional media and reaches out directly to voters. Digital media experts believe that Poilievre’s extensive use of the platform could have had a significant impact on the leadership campaign in several ways – including perceived credibility, fundraising, and influencing which issues candidates choose to emphasize with. Social Media Presence of the 6 Candidates: Poilievre has more than 248,000 YouTube subscribers, surpassing his rivals for the Conservative leadership. Leslyn Lewis is closest with more than 4,000 subscribers, followed by independent Ontario MPP Roman Baber with more than 3,000. Conservative MP Scott Aitchison has a little over 300 subscribers, while Charest is not on the platform, having chosen instead to focus on other mediums such as Twitter.  Interestingly, Poilievre also leads the way on Twitter, with over 435,000 followers, compared to Lewis (over 100,000), Baber (over 89,000), Charest (over 26,000), and Aitchison (over 11,000). Additionally, he leads his competitors on both Facebook and Instagram – the two most common platforms for Canadian voters between 18-40. It is only on TikTok that Baber exceeds Poilievre in terms of followers, and even that margin is narrowing. The closest rival of Pierre Poilievre in terms of votes, Jean Charest, does not have a large social media presence. Facebook Advertising (Apr 1, 2022 – Sept 9, 2022) : Not only do we see the gap between the candidates when we consider their social media presence, but also how much they have spent on social media advertising. By analyzing the publicly available data for the period between April 1st and September 9th from Facebook’s Ad Library, we can clearly see that Pierre Poilievre was in the lead with more than $33K. He is followed by Leslyn Lewis with $16K spent on Facebook advertising during that period. Scott Aitchison, on the other side has spent close to $8K, while Roman Baber and Jean Charest are at the bottom of the ranking with $4K and almost $3K respectively. At EOK Consults, a leading Digital and Social Media Marketing Agency for Political Campaigns, we specialize in optimizing ad spend to ensure campaigns maximize their reach while staying within budget. Poilievre’s strategy of utilizing video ads on social platforms illustrates how digital strategies can dominate modern election cycles. Furthermore, it is worthwhile to examine how many advertisements each candidate ran during that time frame, as well as the content of those advertisements. Pierre Poilievre has run more than 100 ads in that same period. The use of video has been a go-to format for most of his advertising campaigns, since it offers a more engaging method of wooing potential voters and party members. Leslyn Lewis has only created 24 ad campaigns, while Scott Aitchison has done 64. This distinction shows that Aitchison has done more ad variations with less money spent compared to Lewis. The same can be said for Jean Charest who has ran 62 ads but has also spent much less than Lewis. Roman Baber’s strategy was apparently different as he has done only 2 ads while spending $4K. In Summary, we can see that Pierre Poiliever’s campaign not only had an impressive grassroots campaign in play but its digital strategy was on-point as well. Extensive use of well-established social media profiles, leading spending on Facebook and Instagram advertising, and employing a variety of ad formats (including video) worked in their favour and helped ensure a thumping victory over the other candidates in the 2022 Conservative Party of Canada leadership race. Running for office or managing an election campaign in Canada, get in touch with EOK Consults Inc – one of the fastest growing digital and social media marketing agency for political campaigns with a full suite of services to meet your needs. Speak to us today for a free consultation.

social media in Canadian politics

Facebook Advertising in 2021 Canadian Federal Elections: 4 Facts You Must Know

Political Digital Strategy

Over the last few years, political digital marketing has become more and more prevalent in Canada. In terms of social media platforms where political advertising is permitted, Facebook and its platforms have a lopsided share. Ever since new political advertising legislation in Canada mandating digital archives and other reforms was enacted, many platforms such as Twitter and TikTok responded by opting out of participation. Due to additional public pressure, especially after the 2016 US Elections, these platforms went a step further and banned all paid political advertising altogether. Therefore, Facebook advertising, particularly when guided by a digital and social media marketing agency for political campaigns, presented an ideal opportunity for Canadian political parties and candidates aiming to woo the population online. Interested in seeing how this impacted the recently concluded Canadian federal elections? Here are four facts regarding Facebook advertising in the 2021 elections that you must know. Total spending by all parties combined In terms of digital marketing for political campaigns, parties and candidates did not hesitate to spend millions of dollars. As per data publicly available, the total budget for Facebook advertising for all parties combined was more than C$6.7 million between June 17th and September 14th, 2021. This doesn’t include the millions of dollars spent combined by all candidates and third-party advertisers. For comparison, the amount spent by the three parties on their entire digital campaign in 2019 totaled around C$9.7 million. As can be seen from these statistics, politicians are increasingly establishing an online presence on a continuous basis. Given the high engagement levels and measurable return-on-investment of digital platforms, we might reasonably assume that those numbers will increase in future elections.  Number of Ads placed on Facebook by all parties It is important to note that in 2021, the number of ads made on Facebook alone varied considerably among the three major parties. Based on information from Facebook’s Ad Library, the Liberals made over 12,000 Facebook advertisements during the last election. Comparatively, the Conservative Party ran only 1243 advertisements, while the New Democratic Party produced 1148 advertisements. As shown by the statistics, Liberals are the ones putting up more Facebook ads than any other party. In total, the Liberal Party placed five times as many advertisements as the New Democrats and the Conservatives combined. This speaks volumes (pun intended) about their sophisticated digital media strategy and resourceful social media team. The Liberal Party of Canada outspent its rivals Each of the three leading parties in Canada spent a proportionate amount on their advertising relative to the number of advertisements they ran. In the period between June 17, 2021 and September 14, 2021, the Liberal Party spent a staggering amount of $2.3 million. Comparatively, the Conservative Party had spent C$1.4 million during the same period while the New Democratic Party spent C$1.1 million. Taking these numbers into account, there are two important conclusions that can be drawn. First, the Liberal Party spent more on Facebook advertising than the Conservatives and NDP combined. Second, they spent twice as much as the Conservative Party which won the popular vote but still lost key ridings and their chance to govern. A/B testing and dynamic advertising: The winning formula In addition to a difference in the number of ads and money spent, there was also a key difference in the number of ad variations. While the Conservatives published over a thousand different ads on Facebook, the Liberals generated more than 5,000, and the NDP conducted approximately 750. This data demonstrates that the Liberals had a more sophisticated marketing strategy than their competitors. Having a variety of content layouts and messages indicates that the Liberal team was proactively responding to online engagement, voter preferences and demographic targeting. This dynamic digital advertising phenomenon clearly stands out as the winning formula employed by the Liberal Party of Canada, possibly enhanced through a digital and social media marketing agency for political campaigns, to retain power for the third time. There was also an indication of this trend during the previous federal elections in 2019, where the Liberals ran 7500 ad variations, while the Conservatives ran about a thousand ad variations between June and October. During the 2021 Federal Elections, it was the Liberals who clearly dominated Facebook advertising and digital marketing when compared with its national counterparts. The data does not only relate to the amount of money spent on Facebook, but also the number of advertisements and variations on the ads. Our recent blog post provides further details regarding the last federal election in Canada, which gives some unique insights into digital advertising and campaigning. To learn more about our digital campaigning services, contact us today! Check out our blog regularly for the latest information on digital marketing for political campaigns in Canada.

Political Marketing Canada

Political Marketing: Here’s Why Online Advertising Works

Political Digital Strategy

It’s November 04, 2008 and Barack Obama, a little-known senator created history as the first African American to win the Presidential in the United States. As TV pundits and political analysts debated how Obama managed this historic feat, there seemed to be a consensus when it came to one of the key factors in his surprising win. Barack Obama, they said, ignited hope and a desire for change in how politics was done. And he used social media, online advertising and technology to do just that. Above all, in that process, he changed political marketing forever. In the US and beyond (Canada included). Obama’s campaign went big with over $16 million on online advertising in 2008. Compared to a measly $3.6 million spent by John McCain’s camp tells half the story. In about 12 years since then, online advertising’s share in US political advertising has just exploded. Together, the Trump and Biden Campaign spent over $175 million on online advertising platforms – a lion’s share going to Facebook. This represents a staggering 792% increase in online political advertising! In Canada, while our numbers are significantly smaller, the growth has been equally significant and dramatic. For instance, the three major political parties spent at least over $10 million on online advertising in the 2019 Federal election. The overall spend increases manifold when you include third-party advertising and online media used in political and local campaigns. There’s one key reason behind this rise of online advertising in political campaigns in Canada – it simply works! As a Digital and Social Media Marketing Agency for Political Campaigns, we can attest to the effectiveness of these strategies. Here are some key reasons why online advertising works in political marketing 1. Unparalleled reach Canada is known to be one of the world’s most connected populations. With over 25 million social networking users, we have a social network penetration rate of 67 percent! That is 25 million and more potential viewers for political messages available at a few clicks. Platforms like Facebook and Google further allow advertisers to select and curate custom audiences as per their needs. Compare this with traditional political marketing channels. These include canvassing, tele-calling, lawn signs, flyers, banners or radio advertising. While definitely important for any campaign, such approaches suffer from key limitations. Limitations including limited scalability, inaccurate data, need for human resources and lack of measurable results and accountability. Using TV and mass media channels involves significant overheads and budgets. Similarly, such platforms often reach out to a generic or homogenous audience and offer limited data on engagement and response. 2. Microtargeting Online advertising channels like Facebook and Google encourage advertisers to find and target the kind of audience they desire for a paid communication. The kind of audience to be used can include various demographic characteristics like age, location as well as interests or online behaviours.  For political campaigns, this is golden. It allows campaigns to find the right kind of people that will engage with their key policy issues or causes. In addition, campaigns can showcase different messages to different audiences and evaluate response and future action. This is a flexibility which no other mass media tool can offer.  A key aspect for any political campaign is to make sure that their advertising budget is spent within their riding or constituency. That is another feature where online advertising shines. Campaigns have the ability to geo-fence their target location carefully and only show their ads to people who live or reside there.  3. Return on Investment Political campaigns spend a lot of their effort in fundraising and are required to keep a close watch on every dollar going out. This is another area where online advertising really shines. All popular platforms like Facebook and Google ads offer granular metrics on the results ad campaigns achieve. Whether that’s website views, number of times a video was watched or how many people were reached, there’s all kinds of data available. For every $1 a political campaign spends on online advertising, they can be sure of the impact it makes.  In the 2015 Federal Election, Tom Pitfield, the Liberals’ chief digital strategist for the campaign commented how “digital had the greatest ROI (amongst all their advertising platforms)” and how they “focused on it as a strategic advantage”. We have managed numerous digital campaigns for political candidates and parties. Naturally, we have seen some interesting trends (with certain assumptions). Here are some major ones that highlight the ROI aspect of online advertising in political marketing – Very few mass-media platforms can compare with those kinds of metrics. This explains the fondness modern campaign managers have for social media and online advertising. 4. The Perfect Testing Ground The rise of digital media and online advertising in political campaigns doesn’t mean that traditional tools aren’t required anymore. In fact, online advertising can serve as the perfect testing ground for campaigns.  A key characteristic of a Facebook or Google campaign is the ability to A/B test different messages, images or videos as well as custom audiences. All within a small testing budget. Furthermore, campaigns can track performance of each ad set on a daily basis and turn off any non-performing ones with a couple of clicks. For instance, testing which issues or messaging connects better with the voters online before committing to these through mainstream channels. Certainly, Online advertising and traditional political marketing can complement each other to be part of a holistic winning strategy. Above all, this strategy can be one that connects with all kinds of voters across demographics. 5. Building Momentum and Fundraising Online advertising allows political campaigns to amplify the work they do on ground – knocking doors and meeting voters. With the power, reach and affordability of digital tools, campaigns can build momentum and get people ‘talking about’ the issues that matter. There’s a reason why the mainstream media covers ‘what’s trending on Facebook or Twitter’.  Moreover, online advertising often contributes to creation and expansion of ‘viral moments’ and that extends to

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