What do politicians do on Twitter? Functions and communication strategies in the Spanish electoral campaign of 2016

Abstract

Twitter has been incorporated as an essential tool in the communication strategies of political actors. However, we need to know more about its use. Our objective is to analyze the main functions attributed to Twitter in electoral campaigns. We studied the 2016 election in Spain based on an analysis of quantitative content. The sample consists of 9,042 tweets, published by the four parties that received the most votes and their candidates. The results show: First, the most widely use function was the dissemination of political proposals. Second, a low level of personalization was detected. Third, there was an incipient tendency towards hybridization between new and conventional digital media in the use of this platform. Finally, it was shown that the functions given to Twitter are conditioned, in different ways, by three factors: the historical trajectory of the party, its position on the government-opposition line, and the individual or collective dimension.