Colorado GOP Senate Showdown: Norton Leads On Twitter, Buck Is Better On Facebook

For the GOP to take control of the U.S. Senate, Republicans will have to net 10 seats in November.  Electing a Republican in Colorado will be vital for this takeover effort.

On August 10, Colorado voters will decide their Republican Senate nominee.

Today, I examined the social media efforts of the frontrunners for the Colorado Republican nomination. My analysis is restricted to the candidates’ efforts on Twitter and Facebook, as these are the leading social media platforms in this election cycle.

If you have any comments, corrections or additions, please leave a comment and I will update my analysis.

Twitter

Analysis:

Republicans Ken Buck and Jane Norton present two different Twitter strategies.  Buck, who incorporates FourSquare into his Twitter, uses his account primarily to show his supporters what he is doing offline, while Norton concentrates on the issues, with some offline activities mixed in. While it is next to impossible to know who is actually tweeting for the candidates, it is my guess that Buck and his staff are both disseminating tweets because Bucks’ Twitter messages continuously switch between the 1^st and 3^rd person (even though it is not denoted in the tweets when it is Buck or his staff).  Norton’s tweets, on the other hand, keep to the 1^st person, which gives a more personalized feeling to her tweets (whether or not it is her).

Buck dominates Norton in tweet frequency, with Buck tweeting multiple times a day and Norton not following any real schedule.  Buck also uses Twitter to occasionally interact with individuals through replies, while Norton does not.  Both use multiple hashtags and incorporate links.

Winner: Norton.  Even though Buck is using FourSquare and interacting with his followers, I think he lacks a variety of content and his overall presence on Twitter is less polished than Norton’s.

Facebook:

Analysis:

When it comes to Facebook, Buck and Norton utilize their pages in a similar fashion to their use of Twitter.  Buck’s posts are more about offline events or thanking his supporters, while Norton posts links about national issues or the campaign, with some offline events sprinkled in.  Both have several calls to action for their supporters to help online.  However, I like the way Buck asks his supporters for their input on every post. This tactic has led to a significant amount of commenting on each of the campaign’s post.

This is a tough decision because Buck is utilizing the “social” aspect of Facebook, while Norton posts better content than Buck.

Winner: Buck.

What I Saw:

Both candidates are doing an above average job on both Facebook and Twitter.  From analyzing their social media accounts, it seems Ken Buck is focused heavily on grassroots campaigning, while Jane Norton is more concerned with national issues.  To be fair, my analysis is primarily based on their Facebook and Twitter accounts.

–Chris Walling, Political Editor