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Political marketing and social media influence on young voters in Ghana

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Abstract

As the political and media landscape becomes more complex, political parties and candidates worldwide are continually exploring new ways and ideas to effectively communicate their messages to their target audience. Throughout the political history of Ghana, the mass media has played an integral role in political marketing successes. However, with the advent of the digital economy, social media platforms have unfolded new possibilities for politicians to engage with citizens. The study examined the extent to which political message dissemination on social media by politicians in Ghana influence young voters’ political knowledge, efficacy, and participation. A quantitative approach was adopted and data were analysed using structural equation modelling. Findings revealed positive and significant relationships between political message dissemination on social media and political participation, political knowledge, and political efficacy of young voters. Overall, the findings revealed that political participation, especially amongst young voters, could be enhanced through the use of social media.

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Data availability

The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Dr Adelaide Kastner formerly at University of Ghana Business School for her insightful comments and suggestions.

Funding

No external funding was received by the authors for this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Entrepreneurship and Business Sciences, University of Energy and Natural Resources, P.O. Box 214, Sunyani, Ghana

    Justice Boateng Dankwah

  2. Department of Marketing and Entrepreneurship, University of Ghana Business School, University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana, P. O. Box LG 78, Accra, Ghana

    Kobby Mensah

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  1. Justice Boateng Dankwah
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  2. Kobby Mensah
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Correspondence to Justice Boateng Dankwah.

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The authors of this article did not receive any funding or what so ever from any entity, and therefore declare that we (severally or jointly) have no conflict of interest.

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Dankwah, J.B., Mensah, K. Political marketing and social media influence on young voters in Ghana. SN Soc Sci 1, 152 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43545-021-00151-4

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