posted on 2016-04-07, 11:13authored byB. Lee, Vincent P. Campbell
Academic analysis of the growth and nature of political campaigning online has concentrated
largely on textual interactions between politicians, parties, their members and supporters as well
as voters more widely. In evaluating the shift from traditional to online campaigning techniques
the use of social media’s increasingly visual capabilities has been comparatively neglected in
research. This article considers one type of online visual political communication, the online political poster, in terms of its strategic campaign functions relating to persuasive and
organisational roles. The article uses a case study of an extensive dataset of online political
posters collected from political parties in the UK, on Facebook, between September 2013
through to and including the General Election in May 2015, to try to understand how parties
used online political posters and how audiences responded to them. The findings show that
despite a clear emphasis on sharing images, very few received widespread attention arguably limiting their persuasive role. However, their prevalence suggests a role relating to parties trying to maintain relationships with existing online supporters as a form of displaying virtual presence, credibility and belonging, paralleling the function of traditional window posters and yard signs but in a social media setting.
History
Citation
International Journal of Press/Politics, 2016, 21 (3), pp. 313-337
Author affiliation
/Organisation/COLLEGE OF SOCIAL SCIENCES, ARTS AND HUMANITIES/Department of Media and Communication