Measuring the Effects of Social Media Participation on Political Party Communities

Political parties can potentially benefit from Social Media to shape interactions between their members. This chapter presents the Social Media Participation Model (SMPM), which measures the effects of Social Media Participation on political party communities. As people and politicians increasingly adopt Social Media, measuring the effects of Social Media participation on party communities has become more important. However, a literature review revealed that currently there are few measurement methods. Furthermore, most politicians do not know how to use Social Media effectively. Therefore, we propose the Social Media Participation Model that reflects two concepts: Social Media Participation and Community Participation. To measure Social Media Participation, we developed the Social Media Indicator to assess the Social Media use by politicians. Additionally, we integrate media choice theory to evaluate appropriateness of Social Media for certain tasks and strategies. For measuring Community Participation, we deploy the following two constructs: Community Engagement and Sense of Community. By obtaining results from the Social Media Participation Model, it will be clear which use of Social Media positively influence member participation within political communities. This model is the first step in developing a standardized instrument to explore the impact of Social Media Participation on Community Participation.