UK election: Tory policies get most buzz on social media sites after ‘bigotgate’

i-level, the digital communications agency and it’s social media division Jam,  has carried out some research to find out in real-time what the burning issues are for the three main parties.

Using Google Buzz to monitor news, blogs, forums, Twitter and rest of the social media landscape, the resulting graphs shows peaks and troughs in each individual policy area.

These spider-web graphs represent just how volatile public opinions is; dictated by peaks in buzz and sustained conversation the inebriated spider that is social media conversation weaves three very different pictures of discussion focus in the run up to  the general election.

The first diagram represents buzz from the 23rd of April, the day after the second leader’s debate. Focus on tax and the economy comes as no surprise, with conversation on defence & foreign affairs flared by debate over the war and Trident developments. A broad level of buzz on each subject is expected, as the candidates promote and defend their policies, but it is enlightening however, to see parliamentary reform receive little conversation.

The second graph representing the following Monday’s buzz, shows a different picture, as conversation surrounding the leader’s debate matures and new factors affect buzz. A student in Southampton challenges Cameron’s education policy, causing a peak in buzz around the subject and the environment comes in to focus as the leaders clash over green credentials. It is interesting to note that buzz surrounding education is sustained going into the next graph, whereas environmental conversation once again subsides.

The third graph, taken from the 28th of April shows the development of online conversation in the lead up to the final leader’s debate. It also denotes response to ‘bigotgate’, a catalyst for increased conversation on Labour and immigration. Talk of parliamentary reform is an upward trend and the Conservatives take the lead on employment and equal opportunities and defence and foreign affairs. The peak in Conservative buzz on education also seems to cause general conversation surrounding the subject to increase for all parties.

These figures aren’t a representation of popularity or effectiveness of communication; they merely give an indication of the level of public opinion surrounding the parties and policies in the social media space.

They also indicate how effective social media can be in following political progress and give parties an idea of where their conversation is focused.  It is interesting to note that focusing on a particular media platform can produce a very different graph.

Comparing Twitter buzz and forum buzz from the 23rd of April produced very different results. On Twitter, Labour can be seen to dominate buzz on the economy with Conservatives leading on education.

In forums buzz from the 23rd there is less focus on environment and heavier Conservative focus on economy and taxes. It may be interesting to note that the conditions of Twitter, allowing only posts of 140 characters or less, deter the elaborate discussion that forums provide. Forum posts are more likely to discuss all parties, where Twitter promotes a more focused response.

In conclusion, online buzz can’t predict the winner of the election but it can give a good idea of what people are talking about and where parties should focus their efforts.  However, if it could predict a winner the Conservatives seem very set to take the lead.

Source: www.i-level.com

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