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High social media following won't guarantee 2022 election win: analysts

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Katrina Domingo, ABS-CBN News

MANILA - Several campaign teams have been working to drive more engagements in the social media pages of several political aspirants months before election day, as physical campaigning is expected to be limited due to the COVID-19 pandemic.While social media followers cannot be converted into actual votes, several politicians are instead using the platform to appear popular and relevant in hopes that some voters simply join bandwagons, some analysts said.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/spotlight/07/13/21/can-social-media-win-elections-analyst-says-digital-campaigns-a-game-changer">Can social media win elections? Analyst says digital campaigns a ‘game changer’</a></li></ul>Candidates in the 2022 elections are expected to &quot;stay in the social media space much longer,&quot; political analyst Tony La Viña said.&quot;Ngayon wala nang rallies (Now that there are no more rallies) because of the pandemic so they will just stay in the social media sphere and the local governments,&quot; he said.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/02/05/21/comelec-political-parties-must-police-themselves-in-campaigns-during-pandemic">Comelec: Political parties must ‘police themselves’ in campaigns during pandemic</a></li></ul>&quot;It is a matter of economics. Mas mura ngayon kaysa bumili ka kapag kampaniya na,&quot; Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso&#x27;s campaign manager, Lito Banayo, told ABS-CBN&#x27;s TeleRadyo in an earlier interview.(It is cheaper to buy spots now that buy during the actual campaign period.)But having a strong social media presence, even during a pandemic, does not guarantee an election victory, said campaign strategist Gerardo Eusebio.&quot;There are people who are interestingly following your career, may be benefitting from your program as a vlogger, but will not necessarily vote for you,&quot; he said.&quot;That&#x27;s a whale of a difference really to vote for you and to be your fan. It doesn&#x27;t translate automatically,&quot; he said.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/03/21/read-comelecs-new-normal-rules-for-halalan2022">Comelec sets &#x27;new normal&#x27; rules for #Halalan2022 campaign activities</a></li></ul>It is also easy to manipulate popularity on social media with troll farms selling followers, comments and trending topics, he said.&quot;A lot of people in our field have been telling me that if you do not have trolls yourself, you would probably be left out,&quot; he said, noting that paying for a troll farm&#x27;s service is now included in the arsenal of some political aspirants.Some politicians use paid followers to either attack a political rival or boost good news about them, Eusebio said.&quot;It is a show of strength... It creates a bandwagon effect,&quot; he said.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/17/21/paggasta-ng-politiko-social-media-ads-tutukan-watchdog">Paggasta ng mga politiko sa social media ads dapat tutukan: watchdog</a></li></ul>Data from social media may also be skewed as not all Filipinos have access to the internet and social media sites, even if the Philippines remains to be one of the most active countries on social media, Eusebio said.And unlike on election day where a voter can only choose one president and one vice president, people on social media are allowed to follow all candidates simultaneously, he said.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/02/01/21/filipinos-lead-the-world-in-time-spent-on-social-media-internet">Filipinos lead the world in time spent on social media, internet</a></li></ul>Communications and branding expert Joyce Ramirez explained that social media followers &quot;can never be converted into actual votes.&quot;&quot;What social media does is to merely amplify the message,&quot; she said.&quot;Ultimately, it is the messaging that will determine a win or a loss.&quot;<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/08/20/21/comelec-sets-rules-health-protocols-for-filing-of-coc">Comelec sets rules, health protocols for filing of certificate of candidacy</a></li></ul><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1781966" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

Several campaign teams have been working to drive more engagements in the social media pages of political aspirants, months before election day.

High social media following won't guarantee 2022 election win: analysts

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High social media following won't guarantee 2022 election win: analysts

Katrina Domingo,

ABS-CBN News

Published Sep 24, 2021 11:15 PM PHT

|

Updated Sep 25, 2021 10:45 AM PHT

Read More:

Halalan 2022

2022 national elections

social media

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