Campaign ads on social media can bring awareness, Manitoba prof says

Manitoba political parties vying for votes next week have taken to campaign advertising on social media.

According to a marketing professor at the University of Manitoba, there are thousands of potential voters to be won over on social media, and it’s a key way to reach younger demographics.

“Especially on Instagram, 60 per cent of the users are younger than 34 years old, so there’s no better platform,” Fang Wan told 680 CJOB’s Connecting Winnipeg.

Wan said social media ads also have the advantage of calling for — and attracting — real-time feedback and engagement from readers or viewers.

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“When you do the traditional media, you cannot talk back. Here, with all the comments and likes and sharing, all this gives you instant feedback, so you can evaluate the effectiveness of your content right away,” Wan said.

“If (a candidate) has a social media team, there is so much data… they can really observe and track data, for example what kind of content will attract more likes, more views.”

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Another benefit of social media ads is they can provide detailed information or links to detailed information about where would-be voters can cast their ballots, and increase the number of potential supporters showing up on Election Day.

Manitobans go to the polls Oct. 3.

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