The UK's political parties have not embraced social media as they were expected to do before the upcoming May elections, concludes research carried out by analysts at Ovum, a consultancy.
Vuk Trifkovic from Ovum argues that US politicians use social media as a "marketing tool" which is key to its success, while in the EU and particularly in the UK, social media is used "tactically and exceptionally."
The analyst cites many reasons why US political caucuses outsmart the UK on the web and recommends that UK politicians launch direct mailing or TV campaigns to prompt voters to talk online.
"Politicians should be using chat platforms like the popular Twitter website to drive immediate responses to publicised events like televised political debates."
UK's narrow social media aim
In addition, the US has done a better job at getting voters from all corners of society involved, whereas in the UK, social media politicking tends to stay within parties' political castes, which include politicians, journalists and interest groups.
This is not just down to the narrow aim of political campaigners but also due to the fact that some groups have taken to social media better than others.
"The UK has its own idiosyncrasies and we must not lose sight [of the fact] that many social media platforms have not been adopted by all ages and classes in society," the analyst added.
Moreover, compared to the US, UK political discourse is less "populist" and does not lend itself to social media campaigns, explains Trifkovic.
American political rhetoric and the country's sheer size make for a great breeding ground for massive "viral" campaigns, which in the EU are more likely to happen as a reaction to popular music or other media, he says.
As an example, the analyst cites the level of Internet commotion in the US surrounding Barack Obama's "first 100 days" in office, an idea that first gained ground during Franklin Roosevelt's administration in the 1930s.
MEPs still catching up
According to research done last year, the EU's MEPs also trail behind their American counterparts (EurActiv 20/05/09).
According to a study by Fleishman Hillard for the last EU parliamentary elections in June 2009, 116 of the 535 members of Congress were already using Twitter (22%) compared to only 27 MEPs (3.5% of the 785 members of the European Parliament).
"The vast majority of MEPs are using the Internet and are certainly being inspired by the success that Barack Obama has had, but too many of them still believe that digital tools are less effective than traditional forms of communication, such as television and newspapers," said James Stevens, senior vice-president for digital services at the consultancy.
With less than a month to go before the EU elections, the Party of European Socialists (PES) was beating other leading political groups in the European Parliament in utilising online technology, the survey found.
By using Facebook, Flickr, Twitter and Digg, PES members were more likely to be "early adopters" than members of other major parties, said Stevens.
