Hillary Clinton’s social media efforts could backfire, says Brandwatch political analyst
In light Hillary Clinton’s announcement that she will be running for president, social media has erupted with mentions of the politician, but that may not be a good thing, according to data gathered by Brandwatch.
The former first-lady, who made her big announcement via Twitter, isn’t entirely unfamiliar with social platforms.
I'm running for president. Everyday Americans need a champion, and I want to be that champion. –H https://t.co/w8Hoe1pbtC
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) April 12, 2015
According to Dadaviz, Clinton already has more Twitter followers – a whopping 3.3 million -- than all potential republican candidates combined.
She has been active on the platform for the past few years, voicing her opinion on polarizing issues, possibly as an attempt to prime younger voters.
In the last week, Clinton has received more than 234,000 mentions, according to data garnered by Brandwatch. Still, not all mentions are good ones.
"Getting a truckload of mentions isn't necessarily a good thing," said Brandwatch politican analyst Marcus Beard. "When politicians become the center of attention, we often see social media swing up to 70 percent negative. It's actually abnormal for any mainstream politician to have more positive mentions than negative ones."
Since yesterday, the politician has received almost twice as many bad mentions as good ones. Yesterday, #whyimnotvotingforhillary was the top trending hashtag in relation to the campaign.
"Before her announcement, positive and negative sentiment for Clinton were almost neck-and-neck - quite an achievement, given the generally hostile environment on Twitter toward women," added Beard. "Unsurprisingly, the announcement brought a large amount of negative mentions."
Trending topics relating to the campaign included “Hillary Clinton’s gender tightrope,” the Benghazi scandal, and the recent email scandal.