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Position Paper IV: Social Media

 Joyce Elliott


It goes without fail, that every time I get on Youtube or any other social media platform, I will see a campaign add for Joyce Elliott. It is so frequent that her name and face has stuck with me. I find her ads and use of social media to be very interesting and effective. She clearly knows how to sell herself and pander to her target audience; both qualities which are highly necessary for a politician. It is often the factor for their success. 

Besides their frequency, a reason her ads stuck out to me was how clear her message was. Often times, I find campaign ads to be vague at best and forgettable at worst. They aren't definite and go more for the flowery speech with little sustenance than actual content. I am often left wondering, Wait, who as that? What are they standing for? What are they running for again? And they are soon forgotten as the video I was waiting to watch begins to play. 
 

But that is not the case with Mrs. Elliott. Her stances are clear, her name is loud and bold, and her face is in focus and centered. She is adamant to let her audience know exactly who she is and exactly what she stands for, to the point, that she has stuck with me for the past couple of weeks. I recognize her immediately, and I remember her name. Both vital characteristics for politicians. Get the people to remember your name alone puts you leaps and bounds ahead of the competition, and effective use of media is how one accomplishes that this day and age.



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What I also found interesting was her platforms themselves, and the ones that pop up on my feed. The two main campaigns I see for her are: affordable healthcare and public education. Both subjects I find particularly interesting giving the demographic I fall under. I am a college student, so I find it very strategic that I get the ads for those two things. Affordable health care and affordable schooling are topics people my age (facing possible student debt and looming medical insurance bills) are very passionate and opinionated about. So as far as marketing herself and using media coverage to her advantage to advertise to a specific demographic, I must tip my hat to Mrs. Elliott because so far she's the best I've seen. 



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Because she successfully peaked my interest, I began to take a dive into her social media platforms. I was not surprised at all to find that she is very active on them and keeps her followers updated on her events and campaign. Since her target audience is the younger demographic like myself, she is very smart to be active on social media as this is how most of us get our information. 

She seems to favor Twitter the most, and I find that strategic. It is quick and easy to use, and it allows for fast updates and easy reposts. Her account is clean, appealing, and current. She optimizes the use of it and keeps her feed active so her posts are constantly being refreshed on your screen. She is painting herself in a positive light, and doing so enough, that you at least see her posts daily if not several times a day. I find this a great use of social media as her name stays in the front of your mind the closer election day gets. 



She likes to post on her social media what she is doing in her community. Since she loves to boast about her pride and dedication to the state of Arkansas, she ensures she lets her fellow Arkansans know what she is doing to better our communities. Taking a quick scroll through her Twitter, you can see in just the past 24 hours, she has posted about Little Rock, Morrilton, and Searcy. She has pictures with the people there and is showing the rest of her followers how she is being proactive. As election day is rounding the corner quickly, these steps are critical to ensure her success. 

Mrs. Elliott impressed me with her proactive use of social media and media coverage. She took initiative to use those platforms to her advantage and get someone like me, who often time doesn't take an interest in politics, to remember her. I can appreciate, as a mass communications student, how she is effectively using media and making a name for herself this election year.

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