The Republican Primary: Scoring The Final Four

A lot has happened since we originally scored the Republican nominees back on January 3rd.  Since that initial post, three primaries have been held resulting in three different winners.  Additionally, three candidates have suspended their campaigns, leaving us with four remaining contenders vying for the nomination.   

The changing landscape (attrition) of the field undoubtedly provides heightened exposure for each candidate. As a result, one would assume that each candidates popularity across social media would improve as well.   For example in just three weeks:

• Ron Paul saw his popularity across Twitter and Google+ improve by 42% and 77% respectively
• Newt Gingrich witnessed a nice jump in YouTube views (most likely as a result of his recent debate performance) by 35%.
• Mitt Romney saw an increase on Twitter and Google+ (2,000% Increase)
• Rick Santorum saw huge percentage increases in each platform, but remains low in terms of overall fans and followers.
  
  

Note:  Santorum's campaign has recently made our building it's Florida headquarters.  As I write this, I can't help but think of the social media strategy meetings taking place in the offices just 10 feet below.  The irony.

It's also interesting to see how each campaign places more emphasis on certain platforms over others... and subsequently dominates the other candidates on those platforms.  For example, when looking at the raw numbers:

• Ron Paul = YouTube
• Newt Gingrich = Twitter
• Mitt Romney = Faceook
• Rick Santorum  = ?
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Below is a recap of each candidates overall social media statistics from January 3 vs. today (January 26).

Ron Paul:

Twitter Followers:  150,000   vs.  213,500  (42% Increase)

Facebook Followers:  675,000  vs.  796,500  (18% Increase) 

YouTube Views:  36,000,000  vs. 41,112,000   (14% Increase)

LinkedIn Connections:   500+

Google+ Followers:  107,000  vs. 189,500  (77% Increase)

Klout Score:  75  vs. 79  (5% Increase)

PROskore = 95

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Newt Gingrich:

Twitter Followers:  1,385,000  vs. 1,424,000  (2% Increase)

Facebook Followers:  224,000  vs.  251,000  (12% Increase)

YouTube Views:  6,300,000  vs.  8,489,000  (35% Increase)

LinkedIn Connections:   500+

Google+ Followers:  63,000  vs.  63, 322  (<1%)

Klout Score:  78  vs.  83  (6% Increase)

PROskore = 91

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Mitt Romney:

Twitter Followers:  220,000  vs.  293,000  (33% Increase)

Facebook Followers:  1,267,000  vs.  1,385,000  (9% Increase)

YouTube Views:  4,051,000  (Note: We did not originally score YouTube views for Romney)

LinkedIn Connections:   No LinkedIn Profile  (still no LinkedIn Profile)

Google+ Followers:  4,300  vs.  85,300  (2,000% Increase)

Klout Score:  78  vs.  85  (9% Increase)

PROskore = 82

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Rick Santorum:

Twitter Followers:  53,000  vs.  95,000  (79% Increase)

Facebook Followers:  42,000  vs.  88,000  (100% Increase)

YouTube Views:  43,000  vs.  1,114,000   (3,000% Increase)

LinkedIn Connections:   350

Google+ Followers:  No Google+ Profile  vs. 700  (700% Increase)

Klout Score:  70  vs. 79  (13% Increase)

PROskore = 63

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