The 2012 Presidential Election is quickly approaching, and with less than three months until voting day, candidates are hitting the pavement hard in their attempts to win over voters. However, it’s not just the pavement the candidates are hitting. The candidate’s social media profiles are getting hit hard too as they try to reach voters.

Let’s back it up eight years to the 2004 election. Eight years doesn’t seem that long ago, but Facebook had just been created in February of that year and Twitter was still two years away. Needless to say, social media did not play a role in that presidential race. Fast forward to the 2008 election. Social media played a much more prominent role, but people used it to discuss their plans for voting and reveal their thoughts about the race. Little of the social media participation was actually used by the candidates to promote their campaigns.

This brings us to today. 2012: the digital era. Twitter now has more than 500 million users and Facebook has around 955 million. Granted, this is across the globe, but these numbers are impossible to ignore regardless and the presidential candidates certainly have not ignored them. Both Mitt Romney and Barak Obama have personal Twitter accounts and tweet throughout the day, informing their followers about updates on the race and their campaigns. Romney has made popular the hashtag “We built it” while Obama has been uploading pictures to further sell his arguments. Of course, both candidates are also on Facebook.

Social media has swept our country by storm in the last decade. While candidates are still spending large amounts of money on television advertising, the number of television viewers is decreasing while the number of social media users is increasing. This simple fact is important not only for the presidential candidates but for advertisers in general. To sell anything, whether it is an idea or a product, social media is a good place to start.

What do you think about the candidates’ use of social media — effective or overkill? Let us know in the comments below! If you need help developing your own social media, contact Creative Spot at info@creativespot.com or call us at (614) 280-9280.