State legislators – Who’s “connected”?
09.20.2010
In:
Public Affairs,
Social Media
A February 2010 study of global Twitter use reported an average daily volume of 50 million tweets - more than 600 tweets every second. While Tweeters range from occasional posters to ten-an-hour fanatics, the medium itself is a mainstream phenomenon that is reaching into more and more households. Elected officials at all levels are taking notice. Members of the U.S. House and Senate have been using social media for some time, but until recently there didn’t seem to be much interest among state officials and candidates for state office.
Capstrat examined how North Carolina legislators use social media – defined for our immediate purposes as Facebook and Twitter -- to get a sense of the volume of use and range of individual involvement. While this movement is still in an early stage of development, we found data sufficient to draw some initial conclusions.
Connect and engage
Legislators are clearly beginning to connect with constituents via social media. Some are also using social media tools to engage constituents and campaign supporters in specific causes or activities. How officials use social media varies considerably: some share district news or let constituents know what they are doing on their behalf in the state capital. Others aim to get potential voters enthused and ready to show up on Election Day.
Part of social media’s growing popularity likely stems from its convenience for both elected officials and their constituents. Constituents can find a great deal of information in one place, making it easy to take the pulse of elected officials. A candidate’s mindset is also pretty clear when their thoughts on a given issue are just a “tweet” away. One can also get a good idea what is important to public officials simply by “friending” them on Facebook, where their thoughts, philosophies and positions are neatly gathered in one place.
A very public forum
Social media is by definition and practice a remarkably transparent environment. Gathering data on which North Carolina legislators are Facebook or Twitter users is simply a matter of searching each tool by name and location. In some instances, legislators have separate pages or handles targeted to distinct audiences. We tried in our research to distinguish between personal and professional uses of social media, though the distinction is often blurry. We tallied Facebook pages, groups and personal pages separately. To determine the “most connected” legislators, we looked at all this information broadly, tallying total friends from all three.
The numbers
North Carolina legislators have more than 58,000 Facebook friends across the state. Connected legislators average more than 550 friends on Facebook and more than 120 Twitter followers.
We also characterized legislators’ social media use by reference to influencer-ranking site Klout.com. Klout measures Tweeters’ overall influence on 25 separate variables, with scores ranging from 0 (none) to 100 (major online influencer). Klout also places Tweeters into one of 16 different influencer types based on specific tweeting practices.
Legislators' average Tweet frequency was 1.99 per day. While some of the Facebook and Twitter pages had little activity, hundreds of people subscribe to their feeds. We think this shows sustained constituent interest in receiving information online. We suspect that it will not be long until the legislators begin to take fuller advantage of this fast, easy and inexpensive communication channel.
Feeders: Audience relies on them for a steady flow of information about their industry or topic. Their audience is hooked on your updates and secretly can’t live without them.
Observers: Don’t share very much, but follow the social web more than they let on. They may enjoy observing more than sharing or are just checking stuff out before jumping in full-force.
Explorers: Actively engaged in the social web and constantly trying out new ways to interact and network. They’re exploring the ecosystem and making it work for them. Level of activity and engagement shows that they “get it,” we predict they will be moving up.
Connectors: A constant source of information to friends and co-workers. There is a good chance that they introduce friends to Twitter. Their taste and opinion is respected and their judgment is trusted.
Who's on top?
So who were the most connected legislators in the North Carolina House and Senate? Which political party is forging ahead faster into social media? Do women or men seem to have the edge?
Most Connected Members
(As of September 20, 2010 10:34 p.m.)
| Senate | |
| Most Facebook Friends in NC Senate | Andrew C. Brock (5941) |
| Most Twitter Followers in NC Senate | Phil Berger (988) |
| Highest Klout Score | Phil Berger (9) |
| Democrat w/ Most Facebook Friends | Don Davis (4,815) |
| Democrat w/ Most Twitter Followers | Malcolm Graham (191) |
| Republican w/ Most Facebook Friends | Andrew C. Brock (5941) |
| Republican w/ Most Twitter Followers | Phil Berger (988) |
| House | |
| Most Facebook Friends in NC House | Rick Glazier (2,829) |
| Most Twitter Followers in NC House | Paul “Skip” Stam (653) |
| Highest Klout Score | Tricia Cotham (25) |
| Democrat w/ Most Facebook Friends | Rick Glazier (2,829) |
| Democrat w/ Most Twitter Followers | Tricia Cotham (419) |
| Republican w/ Most Twitter Followers | Paul “Skip” Stam (653) |
| Republican w/ Most Facebook Friends | Paul “Skip” Stam (2,817) |
Grand Online Party?
The Democrats may currently control the North Carolina House and Senate, but the Republicans lead social media in virtually every category. More Republicans are considered connected based on top grades for total friends, followers and activity. The Democrats trump them in one category – average number of friends per Facebook account.
What’s next?
The cost-effective nature of social media – at least in terms of financial resources – probably means that cash-strapped campaigns will look seriously at these tools as the 2010 campaign season heats up over the next few weeks. We are already seeing Facebook pages being used to arrange and promote fundraisers. If these events are successful, the expensive engraved invitations are likely to be a thing of the past.
Want to follow North Carolina legislators?
Capstrat has a custom Twitter list available at: http://capstr.at/4P.
