1. The 2012 Social
Election Survey
Exploring the Role of Social Media in Influencing
Perceptions and Voter Behavior in the 2012
Presidential Election
January 2013
#socialelection

2. Objectives of the 2012 Social Election Survey
To understand:
– How the public was using social media to learn about and
engage in discussions about the election
– The perceived credibility of social media relative to other
sources of information
– The influence of social media in shaping perceptions about the
candidates and issues
– How effectively the candidates used social media to engage the
electorate
– Demographic differences in perception and behavior
2

3. Demographics
#socialelection

4. Demographics
Gender & Age
AGE
SAMPLE SIZE
n=806 18 - 25 years 8%
Fielding: 10/29/12 - 11/13/12
17%
Margin of Error: ±3.45 26 - 35 years
36 - 45 years 15%
GENDER
46 - 55 years 24%
Female
23%
55% 56 - 65 years
Male Over 65 years 13%
45%
4

5. Demographics
Education & Income
HIGHEST EDUCATION COMPLETED HOUSEHOLD INCOME
Some high school 2% Less than $25,000 17%
High School Diploma 15% 23%
$25,000 to $50,000
Some college 22% 20%
$50,000 to $75,000
Associate Degree 10% 13%
$75,000 to $100,000
Bachelors Degree 25%
$100,000 to $125,000 9%
Masters Degree 20%
$125,000 to $150,000 7%
Doctorate 5%
12%
More than $150,000
Other 1%
5

6. Demographics
Employment Status
EMPLOYMENT STATUS
Employed full 54%
time
Employed part 9%
time
Unemployed 12%
Student 4%
Retired 16%
Other 5%
6

7. Demographics
Political Orientation & Candidate Supported
POLITICAL LEANING CANDIDATE SUPPORTED
49%
Obama
More liberal than 48%
conservative 36%
Romney
12%
More conservative 52% Neither
than liberal 3%
Other
POLITICAL AFFILIATION
Democratic Party 41%
Republican Party 29%
Independent 23%
Libertarian 1%
Green Party 0%
Other 5% 7

8. Election Interest and Vote Influencers
#socialelection

9. Interest in the Election
Overall, Gender & Age
Overall 37% 32% 20% 8% 3%
45% 32% 14% 6% 2%
GENDER
Male
Female 30% 31% 25% 10% 5%
18-25 31% 27% 25% 9% 7%
26-35 27% 36% 24% 10%3%
AGE
36-45 31% 33% 19% 9% 8%
46-55 36% 30% 21% 11%2%
56-65 42% 32% 19% 6%
1%
Over 65 55% 25% 16% 2%
2%
Extremely Very Moderately Slightly Not At All
How closely are you following the 2012 presidential election?
9

10. Top 3 Issues Determining Presidential Vote
Top 3
Total
52% 26% 16% 94%
The economy and jobs
29% 32% 22% 83%
Health care
15% 30% 29% 74%
The federal deficit
22% 19% 26% 67%
Education
National security and defense 9% 23% 31% 63%
Social Issues, incl. abortion and gay marriage 16% 21% 21% 58%
Energy 4% 15% 23% 42%
The environment/climate change 9% 10% 15% 34%
Immigration 7% 9% 18% 34%
Other 9% 5% 9% 23%
Rank 1 Rank 2 Rank 3
Please rank the top three issues determining your vote for president.
10

11. Ranking Top 3 Issues
Gender & Political Leaning
PERCENTAGE WHO RANKED EACH ISSUE IN THEIR TOP 3 VOTE DETERMINANTS
GENDER POLITICAL LEANING
OVERALL Male Female Liberal Conservative
The economy and jobs 94% 95% 93% 92% 95%
Health care 83% 78% 87% 87% 78%
The federal deficit 74% 79% 66% 56% 82%
Education 67% 61% 73% 77% 54%
National security and defense 63% 65% 60% 53% 69%
Social Issues, such as abortion
58% 43% 67% 67% 46%
and gay marriage
Energy 42% 50% 34% 38% 46%
Immigration 34% 37% 32% 30% 40%
The environment/climate
34% 31% 38% 49% 11%
change
Assume you are going to vote in the November election. Please rank the top three issues 11
determining your vote for president.

12. Participation in the 2012 Election
#socialelection

13. Political Engagement and Participation
Overall
ACTIVITIES ON BEHALF OF A CANDIDATE OR PARTY
Donated money 25%
Connected through social media 23%
Subscribed to online news 13%
Participated in rallies or meetings 10%
Volunteered time 10%
Participated in fundraising activities 6%
Other 3%
Led or organized group events 1%
None of the above 54%
In the past 12 months, which of the following activities, if any, have you engaged in on
behalf of a candidate or political party: 13

14. Method Used to Make Political Donations
Overall
77%
Online/website
52%
Mail
36%
In-person
19%
Facebook
Mobile phone/text 18%
message
8%
Other
Which of the following tools did you use to make a donation to a candidate, political
party, or political action committee in the past 12 months? 14

15. Learning About and Discussing the
Election
#socialelection

16. Discussing Politics with Family & Friends
Overall, Gender & Candidate Supported
HOW OFTEN YOU DISCUSS POLITICS & CURRENT EVENTS
Overall 46% 37% 13% 4%
Male 51% 33% 14% 3%
GENDER
Female 41% 40% 14% 4%
45% 41% 11%3%
SUPPORT
Barack Obama
Mitt Romney 57% 32% 10%1%
Very often Sometimes Rarely Never
How often, if ever, do you talk about politics or current events with your family and
friends? 16

17. Sources of Information – Top Tier
Overall
Mean
The candidates and their campaigns 50% 3.4
Cable television news, including CNN, 47% 3.2
FOX News, and MSNBC
Broadcast news channels, including 42% 3.1
ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX
Friends and family 41% 3.2
Academic or issue experts 37% 2.9
Online national publications including 36% 3.0
newspapers and magazines
Internet searches 36% 3.0
Public television, including C-SPAN and 36% 2.9
PBS
How valuable are each of the following as ways for you to learn about policy issues? 17

18. Sources of Information – Bottom Tier
Overall
Mean
Print national publications 34% 2.9
The political parties 33% 2.9
Online local publications 29% 2.8
Print local publications 27% 2.7
Survey and poll results 20% 2.5
Social media 20% 2.3
Interest-groups & advocacy organizations 19% 2.5
Inside-the-beltway publications 19% 2.3
Blogs 18% 2.2
Lobbyists 8% 1.9
Other 15% 2.1
How valuable are each of the following as ways for you to learn about policy issues? 18

19. General Use of Social Media
#socialelection

20. Social Networks Currently Used
Overall Size of the Social Media Universe
2011-2012
Top Social Networks by Unique PC Visitors Year on Year
(Audience, ‘000’s) Change
Facebook 152,226 -4%
Blogger 58,518 -3%
Twitter 37,033 +13%
WordPress 30,945 +10%
LinkedIn 28,113 0%
Pinterest 27,223 +1,047%
Google+ 26,201 +80%*
Tumblr 25,634 +55%
Myspace 19,680 -13%
Wikia 12,594 +20%
Source: Nielsen Social Media Report 2012
*Google+ is July 2012 v. Sept 2012, the first month the site became public 20

21. Social Networks Currently Used
Overall & Gender
81%
74%
69%
32%33%
25% 30%
24% 24% 24%24% 24% 23% 21%
15% 18%
13%
3%4%3% 7% 3%4%3%
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Google+ Foursquare Pinterest Other I do not
use social
networks
Overall Male Female
Which of the following social networks do you currently use?
21

22. Connecting to Social Networks
Trends in Multi-Platform Connectivity.
Trends in How We Connect to Social Media
94% 97% 2011-2012
46%
37%
2011
2012
16%
7% 7%
4% 3% 3% 4% 2% 3% 2%
Computer Mobile Handheld Game Tablet Internet E-Reader
Phone Music Player Console Enabled
Television
Source: Nielsen Social Media Report 2012
22

23. Comparing the Quality and
Credibility of Traditional and Social
Media
#socialelection

24. Comparing the Quality of Social and Traditional
Media
Overall & Age
Overall 24% 39% 31% 6%
18-25 31% 40% 25% 4%
26-35 28% 37% 30% 5%
AGE
36-45 32% 36% 25% 7%
46-55 24% 45% 24% 8%
56-55 16% 43% 36% 6%
Over 65 18% 39% 39% 4%
Higher Quality About the Same Lower Quality Don't know
How do you compare the quality of information you find on social media to
traditional news channels? (Traditional news channels are defined as Broadcast and 24
Cable TV, radio, newspapers and magazines)

25. Using Social Media to Follow the
Election
#socialelection

26. Use of Social Networks for Political Activities
Overall
PERCENTAGE RATING SOCIAL NETWORKS AS SOMEWHAT OR VERY IMPORTANT FOR:
43%
Keeping up with political news
Debating or discussing political issues with 39%
others
Finding other people who share your views 38%
about important political issues
Recruiting people to get involved with 31%
political issues that matter to you
Overall, how important are social networking sites to you personally when it
comes to each of the following? 26

27. Use of Social Networks for Political Activities
Age
52%
58%
Keeping up with political news 54%
39%
32%
39%
46%
55%
Debating or discussing political 45%
issues with others 32%
30%
36%
44%
Finding other people who share 54%
your views about important 46%
33% 18-25
political issues 29%
35% 26-35
42% 36-45
Recruiting people to get 45% 46-55
involved with political issues 37%
24% 56-65
that matter to you 25%
25% Over 65
Overall, how important are social networking sites to you personally when it
comes to each of the following? 27

28. Social Media Engagement in the Presidential
Election
Overall
Watched an online video about a candidate or issue 41%
Responded to a post about a candidate or issue (including 35%
by a comment, retweet or +1)
Liked a candidate or political group on Facebook 34%
Created a post, tweet or status update about a candidate
25%
or issue
Encouraged others to vote 20%
Indicated you voted 19%
Followed a candidate or political group on Twitter 11%
Pinned something about a candidate on Pinterest 4%
Checked in a location such as a rally or event for a
candidate on Foursquare
4%
Added a candidate or political group to you circles on
Google+
3%
In which of the following social media activities have you engaged in related to the
candidates or issues in the presidential election? 28

29. Sharing Political Views on Social
Media
#socialelection

30. Display Political Affiliation on Social Media
Overall & Age
OVERALL AGE
No 45%
72% 60%
70%
Yes 77% 84% 82% No
28% Yes
55%
40%
30% 23% 16% 18%
18-25 26-35 36-45 46-55 56-65 Over 65
Some social media sites allow you to indicate your political affiliation? Do you display
your political affiliation on any of your social network profiles? 30

31. Other Political Views in Social Network
Overall & Age
POLITICAL VIEWS OF OTHERS IN YOUR SOCIAL NETWORKS
54%
25%
13%
8%
Most share my There's an even Most do not Don't know
political views mix who do and share my political
do not share my views
political views
How would you describe the political views of the people in your social networks?
31

32. Using Social Media to Engage in Political Discussions
Overall & Age
OVERALL AGE
No 48% 49% 54%
Yes 68% 63% 63%
59%
41% No
Yes
52% 51% 46%
32% 37% 37%
18-25 26-35 36-45 46-55 56-65 Over 65
In the past 6 months, have you engaged in a political conversation online with other
people in your social networks? 32

33. Form of Political Discussions on Social Media
Overall & Gender
72%
65%
59%
52% 52%
49%
25%
19%
13% 10%
6% 4% 6% 6% 6%
One-on-one Group video Private Public messages Other
video chats (ex. chats (ex. on messages such that anyone can
on Facebook or Google as Facebook see, such as
Google+) Hangouts) messages, tweets and wall
Twitter direct posts on
messages or Facebook
Google chats
Overall Male Female
[For those who engaged in political discussions] What form did those political
conversations take? 33

34. Blocking Connections Because of Their Views
Overall & Political Leaning
OVERALL POLITICAL LEANING
No
81%
Yes 78% 85%
No
19%
Yes
22% 15%
Liberal Conservative
In the past 12 months, have you defriended, blocked or hidden a connection because of
their political views? 34

35. The Influence of Social Media
#socialelection

36. Extent Social Networks Increased Knowledge of
Candidates
Overall, Gender & Age
Social Media Increased Knowledge of
Candidates and Issues
Total 19% 32% 42% 7%
GENDER
Male 22% 26% 46% 6%
Female 17% 37% 38% 7%
18-25 32% 37% 25% 6%
26-35 29% 43% 26% 1%
AGE
36-45 30% 33% 31% 6%
46-55 10% 31% 52% 7%
56-65 12% 34% 49% 6%
Over 65 19% 16% 53% 12%
Significantly/Moderately Somewhat/Slightly No effect Don't know
To what extent has the information posted in your online social networks increased your
knowledge of the candidates' positions on issues or character? 36

37. Extent Social Networks Increased Knowledge of
Candidates
Candidate Supported & Political Leaning
Social Media Increased Knowledge
of Candidates and Issues
SUPPORTED
CANDIDATE
Barack Obama 21% 34% 38% 7%
Mitt Romney 21% 29% 46% 4%
19% 37% 38% 6%
POLITICAL
LEANING
Liberal
Conservative 20% 28% 45% 7%
Significantly/Moderately Somewhat/Slightly No effect Don't know
To what extent has the information posted in your online social networks increased your
knowledge of the candidates' positions on issues or character? 37

38. Influence of Social Media on Shaping Opinions
Overall, Gender & Age
Social Media’s Influence on Shaping Total
Perceptions of Candidates and Issues Influential
Overall 3% 8% 18% 29%
18 - 25 7% 13% 24% 45%
26 - 35 6% 17% 26% 49%
5% 15% 22% 42%
AGE
36 - 45
46 - 55 1%6% 12% 19%
56 - 65 2% 3% 13% 19%
Over 65 2% 5% 16% 23%
Extremely influential Very influential Moderately influential
Compared to other sources, how influential has the information on social media been in
shaping your opinion of the candidates and issues in the presidential election? 38

39. Social Media’s Influence on Candidate Support
Overall & Age
Social Media’s Impact on Support of
Your Preferred Candidate
Overall 30% 67% 3%
18-25 43% 51% 6%
26-35 45% 53% 1%
36-45 38% 60% 3%
AGE
46-55 22% 73% 5%
56-65 21% 77% 3%
Over 65 26% 71% 3%
Increased Support Significantly/Slightly
No Change
Decreased Support Significantly/Slightly
Thinking specifically about your preferred candidate in this election, how has the
information posted in your online social networks shaped your perceptions of him? Has it: 39

40. Which Candidate Was More Visible on Social Media
Age
Overall
Barack Mitt
Obama Romney
26% 15%
Both,
about
Don't
equally
know
38%
21%
Which of the two main presidential candidates, Mitt Romney and Barack Obama, have
you seen more information about in your social networks? 40

41. Portrayals of the Candidates on Social Media
Overall & Political Leaning
PERCEIVED CANDIDATE PORTRAYAL
OBAMA Overall 43% 13% 28% 16%
ROMNEY Overall 31% 15% 37% 17%
OBAMA Liberal 55% 10% 20% 15%
POLITICAL LEANING
ROMNEY Liberal 24% 16% 43% 17%
OBAMA Conservative 34% 16% 36% 15%
ROMNEY Conservative 38% 15% 33% 14%
Positive Neutral Negative Don't know
How would you describe the information you’ve seen about each candidate on social
media? Has it been: 41

42. Grading the Candidates Use of Social
Media
#socialelection

43. The Candidates Are Using Social Media Effectively
Overall, Political Leaning & Candidate Supported
Overall 37% 44% 19%
POLITICAL
LEANING
Liberal 43% 41% 16%
Conservative 33% 46% 21%
SUPPORTED
CANDIDATE
Barack Obama 45% 41% 14%
Mitt Romney 33% 44% 23%
Agree Neither Agree nor Disagree Disagree
To what extent do you agree with this statement: "The presidential candidates are using
social media effectively to communicate with people like me.” 43

44. Tone of the Presidential Election
#socialelection

45. Overall Tone of the Presidential Election
Overall, Gender & Candidate Supported
Overall 5% 34% 36% 25%
GENDER
Male 6% 28% 35% 31%
Female 5% 38% 37% 20%
SUPPORTED
CANDIDTE
Barack Obama 7% 38% 35% 20%
Mitt Romney 3% 27% 36% 33%
Very civil Somewhat civil Somewhat uncivil Very uncivil
Overall, how would you describe the tone of the presidential election? This includes TV
ads, speeches by the candidates, the political commentary and the debates. Would you 45
say it is:

46. The Tone of the Election on Social Media
Overall
Comparing the Tone on Social Media to the
Overall Tone
More civil,
14% About the
same, 30%
Don't
know, 25%
Less Civil,
31%
Compared to the overall tone of the political discussion, would you say the tone of
political discussion on social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ is: 46

47. Bias in Social Media
#socialelection

48. Comparing Bias in Social Media to Traditional
Media
Overall & Age
Overall 13% 23% 52% 11% 1%
24% 32% 36% 2%
18-25 7%
26-35 12% 23% 49% 15% 1%
36-45 11% 23% 54% 12% 1%
AGE
46-55 12% 24% 51% 12% 1%
56-55 10% 23% 55% 10% 1%
Over 65 10% 17% 64% 8%
A lot more biased More biased About the same Less biased A lot less biased
Is the information you see on social media more or less biased than the traditional
media? The information on social media is: 48

49. Conclusions & Implications
#socialelection

50. Conclusions & Implications
It may not be the first place people turn to learn about candidates or issues,
but social media is critical forum to share and shape opinions.
Social media has closed the credibility gap as a news and information
source, driving the imperative to monitor discussion of your brand.
The accelerating rise of second- and third-tier networks creates new
opportunities for customized content and engagement strategies
across different platforms.
Build your social networks before you need to use them, for the
strength of your connections will determine the amplification of your
message.
Organizing on social media, younger voters are turning into a powerful
voting block on social issues.
50

51. Conclusions & Implications
Political orientation is no longer a private affair but social media bumper
stickers can never be removed.
Your political statements can cost you some of your social media
relationships.
On social media, great visuals can be worth far more than a thousand
words.
Social analytics will become as important as polling in political science
and advocacy.
Are you using social media to gain insight into what energizes your
audience, and tailoring your messages accordingly?
51

52. Conclusion
A record breaking end to the first social election
Election Day was the most
retweeted event in history:
– 31 million tweets
– 327,425 tweets/minute
This is the most retweeted post
of all time:
This is most liked popular photo
on Facebook of all time:
– 4.4 million likes
– 215,000 comments
– 580,299 shares
52

53. QUESTIONS?
For additional information go to:
www.ORIresults.com/socialelectionsurvey
#socialelection