The document analyzes social media sharing of the 2014 US midterm elections. It found that:
- Facebook was the dominant platform for sharing about candidates and issues, accounting for 71% of total shares. The top issues shared were climate change, healthcare, and immigration.
- Sharing varied significantly by state and race, with more sharing supporting Republican candidates in states like Arkansas, Kentucky, and Wisconsin compared to Democratic candidates.
- Millennials were more likely than older groups to share about politics and midterm elections, especially issues like climate change, student loans, and net neutrality. They also reacted more quickly to new events, with twice as much sharing within 24 hours.
2. 2
TIMEFRAME: JUL – OCT 2014 AUDIENCE: 2.9M USERS ACTIVITY: 4.9M SHARES
68%
WHERE THEY SHARED
9%
10%
3%
71%
15%
8%
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Reddit
Blogger
Email
Other
WHAT THEY SHARED ABOUT
1.4M
Shares
3.4M
Shares
The Candidates The Issues
497K Shares
301K Shares
WHO THEY SHARED ABOUT
Democrats Republicans
Outer circle: midterm sharing
Inner circle: general sharing
SHARING THE MIDTERMS
3. 3
3,664
2,934
1,753
1,335
1,328
1,215
1,214
960
TOP ISSUES, BASED ON
SOCIAL ACTIVITY
(share counts in thousands)
903
835
780
734
Climate Change
Healthcare
Immigration
Taxes
Foreign Affairs
Student Loans
Economy
Net Neutrality
Equal Pay
Same Sex Marriage
Drug Policy
Abortion
88%
86%
81%
75%
73%
69%
69%
65%
64%
64%
50%
40%
TOP ISSUES, BASED ON
GALLUP SURVEY
Sept 25-30, 2014
(% Extremely/Very Important)
Economy
Jobs
Government Effectiveness
Equal Pay
Federal Budget
Taxes
Foreign Affairs
Immigration
Healthcare
Income Distribution
Abortion
Climate Change
THE ISSUES
4. 4
In-state sharing activity surrounding selected key races
SENATE GOVERNOR
9,055
14,861
ARKANSAS
Tom Cotton
KENTUCKY
Joni Ernst
Mitch McConnell
Alison Lundergan Grimes
5,181
6,768
1,403
Bill Cassidy
LOUISIANA
Mary Landrieu
6,176
23,086
Bruce Braley
IOWA
4,785
Mark Pryor
59,561
73,608
ARKANSAS
Asa Hutchinson
FLORIDA
Rick Scott
Charlie Crist
24,829
8,423
PENNSYLVANIA
Tom Corbett
Tom Wolf
9,889
26,917
WISCONSIN
Scott Walker
Mary Burke
3,456
6,324
Mike Ross
THE CANDIDATES
6. 6
THE NETWORKS
CANDIDATE ACTIVITY BY CHANNEL Democrats Republicans
58%
27%
13%
79%
14%
6%
FACEBOOK TWITTER REDDIT
7. 7
ISSUES BY CHANNEL SHARING LIFT BY CHANNEL*
Comparison between topic breakouts within channels. For example,
Facebook sharers were 34% less likely to share about climate change
IMPORTANCE OF ISSUES BY PARTY
IDENTIFICATION
Climate Change
Equal Pay
Abortion
Healthcare
Economy
Foreign Affairs
Taxes
Immigration
More important
to democrats
More important
to republicans
-34%
-14%
-41%
+6%
+42%
+21%
+14%
+21%
+46%
+11% +16%
-13%
+24%
+10%
-14%
-21%
+67%
+32%
+12% +15%
-41%
+23%
-64%
-24%
FACEBOOK
Source: Gallup, 9/25 to 9/30
REDDIT TWITTER
8. Based on margin of sharing activity
Republican Democrat
FLORIDA
D - 57%
R – 43%
KENTUCKY
D - 38%
R – 62%
WISCONSIN
D - 30%
R – 70%
8
ARKANSAS
D - 14%
R – 86%
IOWA
D - 22%
R – 78%
LOUISIANA
D - 65%
R – 35%
PENNSYLVANIA
D - 75%
R – 25%
Current Senate Party Membership
RECOLORING THE MAP
9. 9
MILLENNIALS – UNAFFILIATED, BUT NOT UNINVOLVED
% OF PEOPLE WHO SHARED GENERAL POLITICS CONTENT:
47%
GEN. POP. 20%
MILLENNIALS
% OF PEOPLE WHO SHARED ABOUT THE MIDTERMS:
33%
16%
# OF CLICKBACKS ON MIDTERM-RELATED SHARES:
23
14
2.4x
As likely to share about
politics
2.1x
As likely to share about
the midterm elections
1.7x
As likely to influence
others with their shares
10. 10
TOP ISSUES FOR MILLENIALS
Heightened dialogue around education, earth, drugs, and the internet
Compared to the general population,
millennials are 50% more likely to share about
climate change…
….2.6x as likely to share about student loans
….3.1x as likely to share about net neutrality
….2.4x as likely to share about drug policy
1.5x
2.6x
3.1x
0.7x
2.4x
1.3x
0.8x
1.0x
1.3x
0.7x
1.2x
0.7x
Climate Change
Student Loans
Net Neutrality
Healthcare
Drug Policy
Foreign Affairs
Immigration
Economy
Same Sex Marriage
Taxes
Abortion
Equal Pay
Millennials Lift vs Gen Population
11. 11
2.1x
24 HOURS
1.2x 1.1x
0.9x 0.8x 0.7x
18-25 26-35 36-45 46-55 56-65 65+
1.0x
1 - 2 DAYS
0.9x 0.9x
18-25 26-35 36-45 46-55 56-65 65+
1 - 2 WEEKS
1.2x
0.8x 0.7x 0.8x
0.9x
1.1x 1.2x
1.2x
1.5x
18-25 26-35 36-45 46-55 56-65 65+
MILLENIALS ARE THE FIRST TO REACT
Within a few days, older users begin picking up on it.
After 1 – 2 weeks, millennials aren’t nearly as
involved in the discussion as their elders.
VOLUME OF SHARES
LIFT VS AGE GROUP
AVERAGE
Millennials are nearly twice as likely to share about
an issue within 24 hours of an important event.
(in this case, we looked at the ongoing ISIS conflict in the
middle east and sharing about foreign policy)