Republican presidential hopefuls trying to break from the crowded primary field are taking to cutting-edge social media to connect with more and younger voters, in the latest sign that -- come 2016 -- GOP candidates are determined to close the digital divide with historically tech-savvy Democrats.
While still stumbling on some digital basics, the fluid procession of Republicans jumping into the 2016 race are showing a willingness to experiment. Not only blanketing social-media megaphones Facebook and Twitter, the campaigns are road-testing new apps in a bid to quickly build their circle of political friends.
Earlier this week, former Hewlett-Packard chief executive Carly Fiorina announced her candidacy on Facebook and Twitter, but then turned to the video-streaming app Periscope to connect more directly with voters.
In the hyper-paced world of social media, Twitter-owned Periscope debuted shortly before the Fiorina announcement, and allows users to broadcast and view live events on mobile devices. And its video-streaming rival, Meerkat, has been up and running only since late February. Already, both are being used heavily in the presidential campaign.
Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul -- one of more than a dozen Republicans who have either announced a 2016 White House bid or are considering one -- was the first in the pack to use the Meerkat smartphone app. He live-streamed a March 15 appearance at the South by Southwest festival, in Austin, Texas.
Craig Agranoff, a Florida-based digital marketer specializing in political campaigns, predicts that video streaming will be to the 2016 race what Facebook was to President Obama’s 2008, and to a lesser extent, 2012 victories -- reaching millions of young and previously untapped voters.
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