POLITICAL PR ON THE SOCIAL NETWORK FACEBOOK DURING EASTER HOLIDAYS

Text topic: Modern Media and PR

Text author: Лидија Мирков

Political marketing during election campaigns seems to be an everyday reality for an average citizen in Serbia. The Internet used to be considered as a bastion of freedom, different from traditional, controlled media. However, social networks have changed this – it’s getting harder to isolate from politics. Voluntarily or not, we see political messages online just as we see them on TV, billboards or in the press. Not only in commercials, politicians also speak from their Facebook pages to their fans – because politicians have become celebrities, the stars. Exposure to political messages is relevant in forming public opinion, but the manipulation gets more hidden, especially during traditional and religious holidays like the Easter. It’s easier to access people during leisure times and politicians tend to present themselves as “one of us”. We researched the type of activities of political parties on Facebook and we proved that, even though the style of campaigns may vary among parties, their political PR follows the same rules as in the traditional media.