Taking an In-depth Look at Political Parties on Facebook: What they are Saying, How they are Saying it, and How Party Members Respond

Abstract

This study identifies the various communication tools and content styles political parties use to reach their Facebook constituency, examines the degree to which they are used, and evaluates the effectiveness of their engagement.  Three means of analysis are used: number and frequency of posts by the party, types of posts being made, and responses to the posts by the public.  This work thus provides a baseline for discussion on the question of how political parties can and have capitalized on online social media networks in order to effect political engagement, participation, and mobilization.