The question often arises if politicians should use entertainment to gain their support or strictly their political views as leverage. Entertainment is an effective way to gain the public’s support.
Using social media and other forms of entertainment can grab people’s attention and instantly hook the public. Placing views and ideas as a politician in an entertaining way makes people more interested than someone who only convey their ideas.
Creating a social media strategy has become an essential part of every candidate’s plan to get into the office. Using entertainment through social media is a quick way to be in touch with large numbers of people, constantly and at a low cost. As mentioned on twitter, “If you want to connect with younger generations that don’t watch TV news, it’s essential.”
Every politician who decides to use entertainment to gain support and more leverage against their opponents is successful.
With the 2016 presidential race heating up, each candidate is stepping up and executing entertaining social media strategies. These entertaining strategies will influence who becomes the next president of the United States. According to the Media Psychology Blog, “Not only was Obama the first African American to be elected president, but he was also the first presidential candidate to effectively use social media as a major campaign strategy.”
For example, Obama logged twice as many Facebook likes and 20 times as many re-tweets as Romney. Obama’s team knew the importance of social media as a tool and used it to create both influence and action.
Republican Donald Trump has further blurred the lines between entertainment and politics. According to US News, “He has become a larger than life figure, certainly larger than anyone else in the presidential field, as he dominates the news media day after day.” Donald Trump is a reality star as well as a successful presidential nominee. He uses comedy and entertainment on the stage and on social media to lure people into supporting his ideas.
The first main hit was the reality TV show, The Apprentice, which he hosted for 14 seasons. This show was a success and at its peak received more than 20 million views weekly. According to The National Business, Donald Trump received $3 million per episode. In entirety this results in a lot of exposure for Mr. Trump and his campaign.
No matter what way it is shown, entertainment sells and receives great support from the public. Obama and Trump are two of the many examples of how politicians are not only using their knowledge and ideas as leverage against their competitors.