How Snapchat and Facebook could win the 2016 election

Nicole Goodkind
·Nicole Goodkind

On Monday, Hillary Clinton held a live question and answer session on Facebook. Clinton responded to users’ questions, posted gifs, exclaimed in all-caps and posted links to her campaign store during the hour-long chat. The session was the first of its kind but will likely lead the way for other candidates and secures Facebook’s place as an integral election tool.

While the 2012 presidential candidates recognized the importance of social media in campaigning, this is perhaps the first election where a decent social media strategy is now a vital part of any campaign. Many presidential hopefuls announced (or announced that they would be announcing) their candidacy on Twitter, post in "throwback Thursdays" on Instagram, pose for selfies on the trail and even participate in Snapchat’s election coverage.

Senator Lindsey Graham proved that candidates are thinking about “how to go viral” by responding to Donald Trump giving out his phone number by participating in a video Wednesday that featured him destroying his cellphone via a blender, golf club and toaster oven.

Related: Jeb Bush launching his campaign with a Snapchat Story

“Part of this whole social media thing is an attempt to reach younger and maybe more tech savvy voters than the traditional methods will reach,” says Yahoo Finance senior tech reporter Aaron Pressman.

Pressman believes that Clinton came across well and “with it” during her Facebook chat, but was lacking in substance.

Social media can be important to the election says Pressman, “but if it’s used the way Hillary used it...it’s a sideshow—just one more extra thing that everybody’s doing and that’s fine. It’s not going to make the difference as you suggest.”

Related: Watch Lindsey Graham destroy his cell phone after Donald Trump gives out his number

The way it could make a difference, says Pressman, is if there’s a goof up. “When somebody posts something that they aren’t supposed to post or a secret video gets posted on Twitter or Facebook…it’s the unexpected, the behind the scenes, the revealed secret on social media which we’ve seen so many times from other people.”