Election Campaign through Online Social Media of Democrat Party’s Candidates for President of Songkhla Provincial Administrative Organization

Abstract

         The objectives of this qualitative research were 1) to study election campaign patterns, 2) to determine election campaign topics, and 3) to investigate election campaign strategies. Twenty key informants who were directly involved in electoral campaigns via social media were in-depth interviewed. The research tool was a semi-structured interview, and the data obtained were analyzed by forming conclusions. The research results revealed that 1) the campaign patterns consisted of (1) website because it could create high credibility; (2) Facebook because it could create a good image and trend; and (3) Line Group because it could help create a group of all key leaders. 2) For determining the campaign topics, three phases were categorized, and these phrases were composed of (1) the launch phase, emphasizing history and background, concept and vision, and development policies; (2) the election decree phrase, emphasizing in-depth policy and self-introductory activities; and (3) the last phrase with an emphasis on the main policy in both overall and each area. 3) The campaign strategies consisted of (1) campaigning through key leaders from different areas to distribute communicative messages in all places; (2) campaigning with the main topics covering history and background, concept and vision, and development policy; (3) selection of media suitable for target groups, selection of websites for target government officials, knowledgeable people residing in urban areas, and people who needed the information to make decisions, and selection of  Facebook for target Facebook users who were over 30 years old, and selection of Line Group for specific key leaders; and (4) for communication evaluation, making the evaluation by using the following ways: talking in a tea shop, following up and commenting through social media, conducting a survey, and communicating with key persons.