Social Media and Political Communication in Ghana: Views of Inhabitants of Tema Metropolis

Abstract

Though political parties are increasingly adopting social media to increase voter support, the efficacy of social media campaign strategies in enhancing political fortunes remains a subject of discussion in Ghana. This study explored the views of Ghanaians on the use of social media campaign strategies as a political communication tool. In all, 384 social media users who are voters residing within the Tema Metropolis participated in the study. Data was obtained using a questionnaire and analyzed descriptively. The study observed that Ghanaian political parties have a strong presence on social media. Again, Ghanaian political parties effectively rely on social media platforms to engage electorates. Also, they effectively use social media distribute creative and visually appealing contents about their policies and achievements to the electorates. Further, they adopt campaign-specific hash tags which are creative, memorable, catchy, and engaging to help them to capture attention of voters. The study concludes by accentuating the need for political parties to employ social media for constructive dialogue and engagement with voters to amplify the impact of social media campaigns on the political fortunes in Ghana. Finally, practical implications of the findings have been provided to facilitate effective application of social media campaign strategies for democratic governance.