It’s one thing to say you like something, but to Facebook users, “like” has an entirely different meaning. With over 5,000 users “liking” Sarah Palin, will voters love her in the 2012 election?
SocialCode, a full-service Facebook agency and subsidiary of Washington Post Co., tested seven potential GOP candidates against five major issues.
The candidates tested included Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty, Ron Paul, Jon Huntsman, Michele Bachmann, and Sarah Palin. Of the seven, Sarah Palin outperformed them all.
The five major issues included anti-Obama sentiment, healthcare, the economy, values, and national security. Palin topped each category, but was “liked” least frequently when paired with economic issues.
Users considered Palin’s strongest category, “Values” fourth most important out of the five.
Between May 23 and June 4 the study counted the number of “likes” received by candidates among voting-age Facebook users in critical early voting states, New Hampshire and Iowa.
Social Code reports that more than 69 percent of New Hampshire and Iowa residents are on Facebook.
SocialCode designed the study to analyze the 2008 election’s social networking phenomenon. "We believe this message test shows just how effective Facebook is as both an advertising and research platform for brands and politicians," said Laura O'Shaughnessy, General Manager at SocialCode.
Palin’s close competitor in recent polls, Mitt Romney, performed equally as well on issues of economics — his campaign’s centerpiece— and healthcare. But, Romney was still topped by Palin overall.
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