THE recent Queensland election illustrated the power of social media. It is not a lesson that has fallen on deaf ears in the ACT Government. For example, Chief Minister Andrew Barr is reaching out to a broader and broader demographic to convey government messages – no doubt with his eye on the 2016 ACT election.

Through its period in government, and particularly going into the election, the Newman government in Queensland was focused on working closely with the mainstream media – particularly the dominant Murdoch outlets.

In the meantime, the centre left of politics was on social media going berserk with constant criticism on forums such as Facebook and Twitter. Parallel to that were a series of thoughtful analyses, often critical of Premier Newman and his government, in a range of blogs such as “The Conversation” and “Crikey”.

The shock outcome of the Palaszczuk victory provided lessons for politicians across the country.

Innovative use of social media seems to be the hallmark of Barr. He works this form of media relentlessly. He was an early adopter, is comfortable about posting his own videos and is prepared to use systems more popular with a younger demographic such as Instagram. And it is a cheap way for any politician to communicate.

One of the outstanding successes of the last federal election is also regularly attributed, at least in considerable part, to the use of social media.

A major upset of the election was achieved when independent candidate Cathy McGowan powered to a resounding victory over Sophie Mirabella, who was considered unassailable as a long-term, sitting member in a safe Liberal seat.

As part of the explanation Cam Klose, the McGowan team media liaison person who helped manage his candidate’s social media accounts, pointed out that the day before the election, McGowan (@IndigoCathy) had 2130 followers on Twitter (all real) and 2706 likes on Facebook.

“We maintained a very active social media presence and it was just fantastic to see so much engagement in a rural electorate,” he said.

“But what was really important was our ability to convert social media followers to volunteers.”

This sentiment was echoed by Barr, @ABarrMLA), with nearly 8000 followers, who told “The Canberra Times”: “Social media is an incredibly important tool in communicating with a broad range of constituents, particularly younger people and the growing number who do not engage with traditional media.

“Quality video content is becoming increasingly easier to capture with basic equipment. My picture and video posts generally use digital cameras and smartphones.”

It seems to me that video posts are on the cusp of taking on a whole new political presence with the advent of “Periscope”. And certainly the impact will be felt by the time of the next ACT election.

The social media also has financial ramifications for sitting and budding politicians.

The power of social media also helps explain how Cathy McGowan raised more than $100,000 for her campaign.

“The innovative social media strategy included crowdfunding through Chip In, YouTube videos of supporters and Cathy and it was also key to other fundraising efforts,” says Klose.

“The day before the election, Cathy’s campaign had raised upwards of $117,000.”

With a heavy social media presence the Chief Minister is not as dependent on the mainstream as has been the case for ACT politicians in the past.

When Joy Burch was under heavy criticism by “The Canberra Times”, reporter Tom McIlroy points out that Barr simply did not invite the journalists of Canberra’s daily newspaper to his press conferences.

The next ACT election will be different. The traditional methods such as door knocking, shopping centre attendance and conventional advertising will still play a role. However, any candidate who wishes to be taken seriously will also need to have a well-established and sophisticated social media presence.