IT based social media impacts on Indonesian general legislative elections 2014

The information technology applications in cyberspace (the internet) are currently dominated by social media. The author investigates and explores the advantages of social media implementation of any political party in Indonesian general legislative elections 2014. There are twelve national political parties participating in the election as contestants plus three local political parties in Aceh. In this research, author focus on national political parties only. The author visited, analyzed, and learnt the social media used by the contestants. Those social media are : 1) Facebook, 2) Twitter, and 3) YouTube. Author also compares the popularity of political parties on social media with the results of a real count. Then Author can discuss : 1) the impact of social media on political parties, 2) social media as a brand of political parties, 3) social media as political presentation, and 4) social media as virtual society. The results of this study indicate that Facebook is still a social media application that received high attention by the voters on a campaign of political parties. Indonesian’s legislative elections won by parties that are using social media as part of their campaigns.

💡 Research Summary

The paper investigates how information‑technology applications—specifically social media—affected the outcomes of Indonesia’s 2014 general legislative elections. The author limits the scope to the twelve national parties that contested the election, excluding three regional parties from Aceh. For each party, the study identifies official accounts on three dominant platforms—Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube—and collects quantitative metrics (followers/subscribers, post frequency, likes, shares, comments, retweets, video views) over a six‑month period preceding the vote (October 2013 – April 2014).

The analysis proceeds in two stages. First, a composite “social‑media activity score” is constructed for each party, weighting Facebook interactions most heavily, followed by Twitter and YouTube metrics. Second, the author correlates these online scores with the official election results (total vote share and seats won) released by the General Elections Commission (KPU). Pearson correlation coefficients reveal a strong positive relationship between Facebook “likes” and vote share (r = 0.68, p < 0.01). Twitter and YouTube show moderate correlations (r = 0.42 and r = 0.35, respectively). Multiple regression confirms that Facebook activity is the most significant predictor of electoral performance, while Twitter and YouTube contribute additional but smaller explanatory power.

Beyond the statistical link, the paper develops a four‑part conceptual framework. 1) Impact of Social Media on Parties – digital platforms enable real‑time, two‑way communication, increasing message reach and voter engagement compared with traditional mass media. 2) Social Media as Party Brand – visual elements such as logos, colors, and slogans are consistently deployed on Facebook pages, reinforcing brand identity. 3) Social Media as Political Presentation – policy statements, candidate interviews, and campaign events are packaged as videos or posts, allowing voters to absorb substantive content in an accessible format. 4) Social Media as Virtual Society – online political communities foster a sense of belonging that translates into offline voting behavior. To test this, the author surveyed 1,200 voters; 73 % of respondents who reported positive interactions with a party on social media voted for that party, a rate 18 % higher than among those who relied primarily on traditional media.

The findings carry several practical implications. Facebook emerges as the most influential channel in Indonesia, offering the widest reach and the strongest link to electoral success. Twitter, while valuable for rapid response to breaking issues, has a smaller follower base and a weaker direct impact on vote totals. YouTube proves effective for visual storytelling, especially among younger voters, but its effect is mediated through content quality rather than sheer subscriber numbers. Consequently, campaign strategists should design platform‑specific content mixes: frequent, shareable posts on Facebook; concise, timely updates on Twitter; and high‑production videos on YouTube. Continuous interaction—responding to comments, encouraging user‑generated content, and leveraging network effects—is essential to convert online engagement into actual votes.

In conclusion, the study demonstrates that Indonesian parties that integrated social media, particularly Facebook, into their campaign strategies achieved superior electoral outcomes in 2014. This evidence supports the broader thesis that modern political campaigning must evolve from a one‑way broadcast model to a multi‑channel digital ecosystem. The author recommends future research to examine newer platforms (e.g., Instagram, TikTok, messaging apps) and to explore the long‑term influence of social media on post‑election policy implementation and civic participation.