The permanent campaign in social media: A case study of Poland

Abstract

New media technologies provide new venues for political communication enabling politicians to wage a permanent campaign. Participatory platforms have paved the way for new forms of political communication during non-election period when those seeking or holding office can increase media coverage, create their public image and foster deeper relationships with the public. The purpose of the paper is to contribute to the discussion on permanent campaign; specifically, the study focuses on presenting the method of embracing new media technologies (in particular Twitter) by politicians’ during a non-election period in Poland. The analysis aims to investigate online activity, the design of Twitter profiles and the implementation of campaign-like techniques by the politicians. The findings shed light on the Polish MPs’ application of participatory platforms as a tool of strategic communication used to increase media visibility, and share messages across in a one-way communication.