According to American recording artist and actress, Jennifer Hudson, “the only way you can sustain a permanent change is to create a new way of thinking, acting and being.” For some time, I have taken keen interest in the political climate in Nigeria. Politics in Nigeria can be indeed fun to follow and Nigerian youths who had hitherto shown apathy towards politics are also beginning to show interest in politicking.
One of the platforms where their thoughts can be monitored is via the social media. They are increasingly expressing their interests and dissatisfactions about happenings around them via the new media.
The 2012 American election between the incumbent President Barack Obama and his challenger Senator Mitt Romney is adjudged as one of the most competitive elections in history because their campaign teams deployed social media tools strategically.
It’s so unfortunate, Nigerian politicians are more social gathering-inclined than social media inclined. They call meetings upon meetings with no clear view of what they are in for come 2015. Nigerians have already started talking and we are people that enjoy talking. Go to the newsstands and listen to what most Nigerians are saying, it’s politics, politics and politics. Now, we have taken it to a whole new level, the use of social media. The change has come.
With more youths enjoying political discourse on social media, the rate at which political news spreads is unimaginable. For instance, debate and criticisms followed the girl-child marriage issue last week, causing a senator to weep like a baby. Some may have inadvertently ended their political career with the positions they took on the topic The social media tagged the drama, #ChildNotBride. The change has come.
With the ban on pasting of posters by the Lagos State government, political aspirants are now expected to go about their campaign via social media. More politicians are beginning to see the need to move over to the social media.
During the final debate session between President Obama and Senator Romney, Obama came up with the phrase, ‘’horses and bayonets’’ in the course of the debate. It became the most memorable catch phrase of the debate between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, as the Democratic president reached far back into the past to paint the Republican’s foreign policy ideas as outdated.
Immediately after the debate, Twittersphere exploded. The hash tag #horsesandbayonets trended on Twitter and the proceedings of the debate was incredible at a rate of 105,767 tweets per minute.
If you want to fulfil your dream as a politician come 2015, here is my advice:
Start now
Familiarise yourself with basic social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube etc. Social media is one of the easiest things to learn. Once you are on the platform, explore.
Meet people
Have meaningful conversations with people. Don’t be scared when people confront you with questions. It’s their way of knowing what you have in store for them. Remember there is no age discrimination on social media. We are mates. Your age and qualification doesn’t come to play on social media.
Engage with your voters
With the huge population on social media, it is the ideal place to start your campaign. Content is key here. Have your say on every national and current issue. It shows you are a candidate who has your market in mind and you are not afraid of challenges. People will begin to trust you.
Call your contacts by their names
Remembering people’s faces and names is no doubt a good gift. It’s a way of earning people’s trust and creating a bond. Calling your fans on social media them by their names will help you create a relationship with them and it won’t be difficult to earn their trust.
Be consistent
Interactions on social media is not a one-off thing. You have to be consistent. Keep your timeline buzzing! Get a mobile gadget that will enable you do your social media stuff. Nigerian youths between the ages of 18 and 35, who, according to statistics constitute 62.4 percent of the 73.5 million people registered by the Independent National Electoral Commission in 2011, may not have the luxury of time have to read poster or attend campaign rallies. If you want their votes, meet them online where they spend quality time on a daily basis.