Social media Doctoral research: Personal branding of Finnish politicians in Finland is occasional, and there is little discussion with citizens

Policy|Social media

Finns the personal branding of politicians on social media is still mostly sporadic and spontaneous rather than professional, according to a new dissertation. Doctoral student at the University of Vaasa at the beginning of December Elisa Kannasto in its study, looked at the public Facebook pages of party chairmen and rakes during the 2019 parliamentary election campaign.

According to the study, the personal brands of politicians appear in campaign communications as spontaneous personal presentations that advertise campaign events and do not talk to the public.

“Politicians’ personal brands can have a lot of influence in building public relations, but Finland’s top politicians still have occasional experiments in social media instead of strategic branding,” Kannasto says in a press release from the University of Vaasa.

There have long been talks in the media about Finnish elections, but according to the study, they have not been seen yet. In the 2019 election, politicians used Facebook to inform, share media appearances, raise party issues, and urge them to vote. The content followed traditional media, so politicians do not seem to have fully embraced the logic of social media and are not exploiting the full potential of the platforms.

Research according to politicians use Facebook for one-way communication and almost never answer questions from citizens or comment on topics raised in Facebook discussions. The civic debate on politicians ’Facebook pages is active, with politicians facing criticism, personal concerns, and tips for speaking out.

There were also differences in the use of Finnish by politicians during the election. Some kept their private lives more strictly out of their Facebook communications, while, for example, the chairman of the Coalition Party Petteri Orpo and the President of the RCP Anna-Maja Henriksson described their feelings in the hustle and bustle of family and campaign everyday life. The orphan also garnered attention on Facebook with pictures of his dog.

Instead, for example, the Coalition Party Kai Mykkänen posted on Facebook where he is campaigning next. The shop now Harry Harkimo relied on campaign videos.