When it comes to social media use in the election campaign, some candidates have it figured out.
They're using Facebook and Twitter to help them connect with voters, interact with the community and help spread their campaign messages.
Here is our "report card" on those candidates who are doing a good job on the social media front - led by Carrie McLaren of the Burnaby Municipal Greens, Harman S. Pandher of the Burnaby Citizens Association and Jeff Kuah of TEAM Burnaby.
THE WINNERS
CARRIE McLAREN, Burnaby Municipal Greens candidate for council
Twitter: @cwalkker
Facebook: www.facebook.com/Carriemclaren.bc
Pros:
Carrie McLaren is one of the most established social media presences in the race and (thanks at least in part to previous candidacies in federal and provincial elections) had already developed a public profile before the campaign began, which gives her a clear edge in using social media effectively.
Carrie has built herself a follower base of 136 on Twitter, and she is following 272 people. She has tweeted a whopping 2,016 times, which puts her well ahead in the numbers game.
She's tweeting not just about the election (although she's using the #bbelxn hashtag to great advantage) but about other green-related issues and stories that catch her eye, which keeps her feed interesting.
She's also a liberal retweeter of other groups and individuals who have interesting things to say - in fact, occasionally perhaps even at cost of tweeting her own ideas and identity. (It's a fine line on Twitter, and there's no absolute right or wrong, but I would like to see more "Carrie" and fewer impersonal retweets.)
Her Twitter bio links back to her blog, which is a plus - but her blog hasn't been updated for this municipal campaign and refers most recently to her last run at federal politics, which is a minus. We'll call that a wash.
On Facebook (where, by the way, she accepted a friend request almost instantly), she has 242 friends, and the page is largely personal in nature. She isn't using the Facebook page as actively for her own campaign and appears instead to have focused her campaigning on Twitter, although occasional posts do refer to her campaign.
Cons:
Her Twitter handle, @cwalkker, is not immediately obvious as Carrie McLaren (although it does come up in searches).
Her Facebook presence could be used more effectively for campaigning - perhaps by creating a personal "page" if she doesn't want to use her personal Facebook identity to campaign. However, an active Burnaby Green Facebook identity helps to take care of some of that.
Visibility: B+
Interaction: A
Overall effectiveness: A-
*
HARMAN S. PANDHER, Burnaby Citizens Association candidate for school board
Twitter: @Pandher4Burnaby
Pros:
Harman S. Pandher is another high-profile presence on social media, and he is using it to advantage in this campaign.
He's an active Facebooker, with 471 friends, and was clearly established here before the campaign began.
He includes visuals and links to news stories, which keep the page lively and interesting.
He has a great deal of engagement from the community, with friends and supporters frequently posting on his wall, which speaks well to his level of interaction with others.
He has linked his Twitter and Facebook pages to maximize use of his social media time.
On Twitter, Harman is one of the busiest tweeters in the campaign.
He has only tweeted 79 times, but for a short period on Twitter, that's not bad.
He posts frequent updates about what he and the BCA are up to, and he's also liberally retweeting the tweets of other people engaged in the Burnaby community. He has obviously figured out the importance of targeting community leaders and bringing himself to their attention with retweets and responses to posts, and he's using the #bbyelxn hashtag to keep his conversations visible.
Although his Twitter handle is a slightly more obscure @Pandher4Burnaby (there is in fact an unrelated @HarmanPandher, and I'm guessing that name was already taken by the time Harman arrived on Twitter), he's nonetheless easy to find with a search.
Cons:
Harman's Twitter presence is still relatively small, with 31 followers, and he is following 78 people. He could make a concerted effort to boost the number of people he is following.
However, with his current level of interaction with the community, it seems likely that his follower count will grow.
Could benefit from saving a Facebook username so that voters could have a direct link to his page, rather than having to search.
Visibility: B+
Interaction: A
Overall effectiveness: A-
*
JEFF KUAH, Team Burnaby candidate for school board
Twitter: @JeffKuah
Facebook: www.facebook.com/JeffKuah
Pros:
Jeff maintains an active - and bilingual - presence on Twitter, @JeffKuah.
Like many of the other candidates, Jeff is fairly new to the Twitter game and has only tweeted 29 times, but those tweets offered some interesting links to photo and video, as well as related news articles.
Jeff is also active on Facebook (although his friends list is hidden from me, so I can't see how many friends he has).
His profile appears to be quite active, with frequent links to photos, video and the occasional news story, and there is some interaction with the community.
Jeff has also set up a "page" for his candidacy, but at the moment it is inactive (and I believe I was its first follower).
Jeff has linked his Twitter and Facebook accounts to maximize his social media time.
Cons:
Again, Jeff has a fairly small follower count, with 63 followers on Twitter, but he is following 406 people so is clearly spending time on Twitter building up his profile.
Should be using the #bbyelxn hashtag to ensure that all interested Burnaby voters - and not just those who go out seeking him specifically - can find him.
Could also benefit from retweeting and engaging with others in the community, not just his colleagues in TEAM Burnaby but various leaders, groups and individuals who have influence in the Burnaby community.
Could benefit from spending more time tweeting news stories and other links, rather than just the "photo-op" moment.
Visibility: A-
Interaction: B
Overall effectiveness: B+
THE RUNNERS-UP
JIM FAVARO, TEAM Burnaby candidate for council
Twitter: @JimFavaro
Facebook: www.facebook.com/jim.r.favaro
Pros:
When it comes to social media, Jim is one of the higher-profile candidates in the race in Burnaby - although he is new to the game.
He has created a "community page" on Facebook, which is frequently updated and promotes interaction with his followers.
He has an online donation link from the page, which is easily accessed and easy to see - the only candidate I saw who had built in such a feature. He has also been conscious to include visuals and links to news stories, which make the page look lively and interesting.
On Twitter, Jim has only tweeted 17 times - but, on the plus side, he posts frequent links (to news stories, TEAM Burnaby information, etc.).
His Twitter bio is another plus - it's short, to-the-point and humanizing (including the details that he is "married 28 years with 2 sons, plays accordion well, sings poorly").
Bonus points for being the fastest candidate out of the gate to respond to reporter inquiries to all parties!
Cons:
Despite his active presence, Jim still has relatively few followers - his community page on Facebook has only 46 likes, and he has only 11 followers (and is following nine people) on Twitter.
This is likely because he is a relatively new presence on both sites and hasn't yet established a large follower base.
For social media to become a truly effective tool, he will have to increase his follower count.
On Twitter, he could benefit by going out and seeking out more Burnaby-based groups, businesses and individuals to follow, and he could also make his presence known more visibly by ensuring that he retweets and mentions other groups, businesses and individuals more often.
Investing more time will likely reap rewards.
Visibility: B+
Interaction: B+
Overall effectiveness: B+
*
BALJINDER K. NARANG, Burnaby Citizens' Association candidate for school board
Pros:
Like many of her BCA colleagues, Baljinder is rocking the Facebook numbers, with a whopping 1,134 friends at last count.
She gets special mention for her very well-thought-out use of her Facebook profile to strike a balance of providing information, offering humanizing and personal glimpses of herself, posting news links and offering a visually interesting page with photos.
She's doing a great deal to actually make her Facebook profile page a place where you will stay and peruse a bit, and she gets extra points for including shout-outs to her colleagues on her page.
She's also using it regularly and responds quickly to friend requests - which, if you're a politician wanting to be found by voters, is a good thing!
Cons:
Could benefit from saving a Facebook username so that voters could have a direct link to her page, rather than having to search for her. (Fortunately, however, her name is unusual enough that she's reasonably easy to find.)
Based on her success with Facebook, I was sorry to find that Baljinder wasn't on Twitter, as I have a feeling her Twitter feed could be one of the more interesting and lively ones out there. Having more entry points for voters who may not be on Facebook would be a good thing.
Visibility: B-
Interaction: A-
Overall effectiveness: B
*
OTHERS OF NOTE:
Jade Tomelden, independent candidate for school board
Jade isn't on Twitter and is on Facebook but hasn't yet accepted my friend request. What I can see of her profile doesn't indicate that it is being used much for the campaign. However, she gets points for being the only candidate I found with an independent blog - and a good one at that, detailing information about her, her stance on the issues and why she's running. Find her at http://jadetomelden.wordpress.com.
Sav Dhaliwal, Burnaby Citizens Association candidate for council
The incumbent, running again for the Burnaby Citizens Association, is on sheer numbers one of the most popular Facebookers in the race, with some 1,311 friends. He clearly has benefited from the fact that, as an incumbent, he has a higher profile than the newcomers. He also tweets as @BurnabySav. However, he is not particularly active on either front at the moment.
Paul McDonell, BCA candidate for council
Like his colleague Sav, Paul is a popular Facebooker, with a whopping 1,607 friends. However, his page does not contain many visuals, interesting links or interactions. (He had not yet accepted my friend request, so there may be more info that his "friends" can see that the public can't.)
Glen Power, TEAM Burnaby candidate for school board
An active tweeter as @GlenPower72, but could benefit from doing more varied tweeting rather than simply retweeting @TeamBurnaby tweets. Also active on Facebook but yet to respond to friend request.
Dan Johnston, BCA candidate for council
The incumbent BCA councillor doesn't have a Facebook presence but is active on Twitter, with a steady stream of varied tweets and retweets. Still a fairly small Twitter following (75 at last count) and could benefit from more interaction with the community.
Jeffrey Chiu, TEAM Burnaby candidate for council
Not on Twitter, but has set up a Facebook page for his candidacy. Although still being "liked" by only a small number of people (48 at last count), the page is showing the promise of being lively, if he continues in the way he has started - with links to video and "talking points" to start discussions with followers.
Bonda Bitzer, TEAM Burnaby candidate for council
Bonda's Facebook profile shows promise, with links to photos, video, campaign info and just enough personal information to "humanize" without being too personal. Still a small friend count, but could grow. Newly on Twitter (@BLBitz), but with only four tweets and a small handful of followers.
* NOTE: All numbers accurate as of Monday morning, Nov. 7. Because of the nature of social media, all totals are likely to have changed by press time. To comment on this story, visit Julie MacLellan's blog - use the link off the home page, or check under the Opinion tab.
