This week on the Webwindows blog,
we ask why the Yes campaign is winning
the fight for Scottish independence on social media, and what you can learn
from it.
Social Media is King
If Webwindows has learned anything
crafting extensive web marketing campaigns over the past ten years, it’s that
social media is king. By using social media
to your advantage, you are not only gaining access to hundreds of millions of
potential customers, but you can take advantage of these sites’ ability to
amass specific information, to target said customers with pin point precision.
This is a lesson that both sides
of the debate over Scottish independence – the Yes and the Better Together campaigns
– have taken to heart, in their bids to sway the people of Scotland to vote for
them. But who’s been more effective?
Who’s got the Most Followers on Twitter and Facebook?
Let’s start by looking at raw
numbers. According to ITV, the Yes campaign got on Twitter first. By doing so, @YesScotland has managed to amass
nearly 80,000 followers since April 2012. Meanwhile, @UK_Together got on Twitter a month
later, and as of the time of writing, it has only managed to accrue just over
36,000 followers.
Furthermore, the Yes campaign was
first on Facebook as well, and has gathered more than 266,000 likes, whilst its
equivalent on the other side has only managed to rack up 188,000 likes at the
time of writing. So in the raw numbers stakes, Yes has won, but what does it
mean for that bastion of social media success, share-ability.
What Can Shareability Tell Us About the Success of the Yes and Better Together Campaigns?
As it turns out, it may have had
a huge impact on shareability. ITV have gone on to show that using the neutral
hashtag, #indyref, evidence
shows that the two most re-tweeted images had a significant pro-independence
bias.
Meanwhile, the third most
retweeted image was a graph. Specifically, it was a graph from YouGov showing
the first time Yes beat Better Together in the polls, again something that is
more likely to have been retweeted by supporters of independence. This brings
up a valid point. Yes has gone up, whilst no has gone down, further
illustrating the comparative effectiveness of the Yes campaign on social media.
Get on Social Media as Soon As Possible
So what does this tell you? Well,
in Webwindows’ opinion, it shows the effectiveness of a well thought out,
consistent social media campaign. The earlier you start, the more followers you
amass, the more interest you generate in your ad campaign. That is why Yes is
edging out Better Together at the time of writing in the polls.