As we officially transition into an election year, it’s coming to the point in time that avoiding pre-election propaganda is virtually 
impossible. As the Republican primary progresses and candidates continue to fall by the wayside, more targeted strategies will begin to emerge. The question then becomes; how are these candidates going to market their campaigns? The popular answer by an overwhelming majority is through the tactical use of social media platforms.
The use of social media played a crucial role in Obama’s 2008 bid for the presidency and it appears that the open communication networks are going to be a driving force in deciding the outcome of the upcoming election once again.
Battling for presidential re-election, Barack Obama is even taking advantage of F-Commerce, which allows his campaign to sell licensed products directly through his Facebook page. With over 80% of internet users ages 18-29 taking advantage of various social networking avenues according to the Pew Research Center, the ability to reach out and effectively express a strategic message to a wildly influential audience is irreplaceable.
The Pew Research Center survey also revealed that 65% of adults have now found their way into the social networking scene, making political activity across multiple social media venue’s a necessity in the months to come. Don’t think for a second, however, that the integration of social media’s into candidates political strategies is going to slow down the televised smear campaigns that continuously litter every commercial break. It doesn’t appear that there is any marketing force that will ever be strong enough to pull those wonderful advertisements off the air.