Political Marketing in Ghana The Role of Social Media - July 2016 PDF

University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.
gh
UNIVERSITY OF GHANA
POLITICAL MARKETING IN GHANA: THE ROLE OF SOCIAL
MEDIA
BY
JUSTICE BOATENG DANKWAH
(10316771)
THIS THESIS IS SUBMITTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF GHANA,
LEGON IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR
THE AWARD OF MPHIL MARKETING DEGREE.
JULY, 2016
University of Ghana http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh
DECLARATION
I do hereby declare that this thesis is the result of my own research and has not been presented
by any one for any academic award in this or any other university. All references used in the
work have been duly acknowledged.
I bear sole responsibility for any shortcomings.
.................................................................... ………………………...
JUSTICE BOATENG DANKWAH DATE
(10316771)
i
CERTIFICATION
We hereby certify that this thesis was supervised in accordance with procedures laid down by
the University of Ghana.
……………………….……… ….......………………..
DR. ADELAIDE KASTNER DATE
(SUPERVISOR)
……………………….……… .......…..……………….
DR KOBBY MENSAH DATE
(CO-SUPERVISOR)
ii
DEDICATION
I dedicate this dissertation to the Almighty God for his grace and divine mercy.
iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I wish to express my profound gratitude to my supervisor, Dr. Adelaide Kastner for her timeless
dedication, guidance, corrections and insightful suggestions throughout the supervision of this
thesis. I also wish to express my heartfelt appreciation to my co-supervisor Dr. Kobby Mensah
for his constructive criticisms and advice that helped give a better shape to this study.
My profound gratitude also goes to the following personalities, Dr. Raphael Odoom, Mr.
Fuseini Gariba, and Ms. Veronica Juliet Obiri for their immense support and advice during the
entire period of this work. I am most grateful to you all and may God continue to bless us all.
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ABSTRACT
As the political and media landscape become complex, political parties and candidates all over
the world and for that matter Ghana keep exploring new ways and ideas to effectively
communicate their political messages to the target audience. Social media tools nevertheless
have unfolded new possibilities for politicians to engage with citizens. The primary objective
of this study therefore is to examine the extent to which political message dissemination on
social media by politicians in Ghana influence young voters’ political knowledge, efficacy, and
participation. The mass media have played an integral role in the success of political marketing
throughout the political history of Ghana. However, social media has become a reality and a
fact of life as it continues to afford politicians the opportunity to disseminate political messages
to the target electorates unadulterated. This study employed purposive sampling using 320
young voters (18-29 yrs.) to examine the extent of the relationships between political message
dissemination on social media and the political knowledge, efficacy and participation of these
young voters. The study revealed a positive and significant relationship between political
communication on social media and political knowledge, efficacy and participation of young
voters. It was as well revealed that, a positive and significant relationship existed between
gender and political participation. The findings of this study further revealed that political
participation especially among young voters could be enhanced through the use of social
media.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
DECLARATION .......................................................................................................................................... i
CERTIFICATION ........................................................................................................................................ ii
DEDICATION ........................................................................................................................................... iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ............................................................................................................................ iv
ABSTRACT................................................................................................................................................ v
TABLE OF CONTENTS.............................................................................................................................. vi
LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................................................... ix
LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................................... x
LIST OF ACRONYMS ................................................................................................................................ xi
CHAPTER ONE ......................................................................................................................................... 1
INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................... 1
1.1 Background of the Study ............................................................................................................... 1
1.2 Statement of the Problem ............................................................................................................ 3
1.3 Research Objectives ...................................................................................................................... 5
1.4 Research Questions ...................................................................................................................... 5
1.5 Significance of the Study ............................................................................................................... 6
1.6 Chapter Disposition....................................................................................................................... 6
CHAPTER TWO ........................................................................................................................................ 8
LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................................................... 8
2.0 Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 8
2.1 Marketing ...................................................................................................................................... 8
2.2 The Nature of Political Marketing ............................................................................................... 10
2.3 Defining Political Marketing ........................................................................................................ 11
2.4 Political Marketing Functions and Dimensions ........................................................................... 12
2.5 The Political Market .................................................................................................................... 15
2.6 Business Marketing vs. Political Marketing ................................................................................ 15
2.7 Similarities and Differences between the Markets .................................................................... 16
2.7.1 Same Principles .................................................................................................................... 17
2.7.2 The Selling of a Product ....................................................................................................... 17
2.7.3 The Voter as a Consumer ..................................................................................................... 18
2.7.4 The Exchange Process .......................................................................................................... 19
2.7.5 Needs & Wants .................................................................................................................... 19
2.7.6 Market Segmentation & Targeting ...................................................................................... 19
2.7.7 Positioning............................................................................................................................ 20
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2.7.8 Ideology and Brand Identities .............................................................................................. 20

2.8 The Political Marketing Mix ........................................................................................................ 21
2.8.1 Product ................................................................................................................................. 22
2.8.2 Promotion ............................................................................................................................ 23
2.8.3 Price ..................................................................................................................................... 23
2.8.4 Place ..................................................................................................................................... 24
2.9 Social Media ................................................................................................................................ 24
2.9.1 Social Media and Marketing ................................................................................................ 26
2.9.2 Social Media and Political Communications ........................................................................ 27
2.9.3 Social Media and the Internet.............................................................................................. 29
2.9.4 Social Media Statistics and Usage Pattern ........................................................................... 31
2.9.5 Social Media and Political Engagement ............................................................................... 31
2.9.6 Social Media, Young Voters and Politics .............................................................................. 32
2.10 Diffusion of Innovation Theory ................................................................................................. 33
2.11 Mediamorphosis Theory ........................................................................................................... 34
2.12 Democratic Participant Media Theory ...................................................................................... 34
2.13 Conceptual Framework ............................................................................................................. 34
2.13.1 Political Communication on Social Media and the Young Voter ....................................... 36
2.13.2 Political Participation and Political Communication on Social Media ............................... 36
2.13.3 Political Knowledge and Political Communication on Social Media .................................. 37
2.13.4 Political Efficacy and Political Communication on Social Media........................................ 38
2.13.5 Political efficacy and Political Participation ....................................................................... 40
2.13.6 Political knowledge and Political Participation .................................................................. 41
2.13.7 Demographic Variables, Social Media and Political Participation ..................................... 42
CHAPTER THREE .................................................................................................................................... 44
THE CONTEXT OF THE STUDY................................................................................................................ 44
3.0 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 44
3.1 Ghana .......................................................................................................................................... 44
3.2 Political and Media Background of Ghana .................................................................................. 44
3.3 Political Marketing in Ghana ....................................................................................................... 46
3.4 Political Mobilization and Participation in Ghana....................................................................... 48
3.5 Social Media in Ghana................................................................................................................. 51
3.6 Information and Communication Technology Penetration in Ghana......................................... 52
3.7 Policy Environment ..................................................................................................................... 53
3.8 Mobile Telephony in Ghana ........................................................................................................ 54
CHAPTER FOUR ..................................................................................................................................... 56
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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY .................................................................................................................. 56

4.0 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 56
4.1 Research Paradigm ..................................................................................................................... 56
4.2 Research Design .......................................................................................................................... 58
4.3 Research Approach ..................................................................................................................... 59
4.4 Target Population........................................................................................................................ 60
4.5 Sample and Sampling Technique ................................................................................................ 61
4.6 Eligibility Criteria ......................................................................................................................... 63
4.7 Questionnaire Development....................................................................................................... 63
4.8 Data Collection ............................................................................................................................ 65
4.9 Ethical Consideration .................................................................................................................. 66
4.10 Data Analysis ............................................................................................................................. 66
4.11 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 67
CHAPTER FIVE ....................................................................................................................................... 68
DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF RESULTS .................................................................................... 68
5.0 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 68
5.1 Demographic Profile of Respondents ......................................................................................... 68
5.5 Discriminant Validity ................................................................................................................... 75
5.6 Hypotheses Testing Using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) ............................................... 76
5.7 Discussion of Findings ................................................................................................................. 80
CHAPTER SIX.......................................................................................................................................... 84
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................. 84
6.0 Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 84
6.1 Summary ..................................................................................................................................... 84
6.2 Conclusions ................................................................................................................................. 85
6.3 Recommendations ................................................................................................................ 86
6.4 Implications of the Study ............................................................................................................ 87
6.5 Limitations of the Study and Direction for Future Research ...................................................... 87
REFERENCES .......................................................................................................................................... 89
APPENDIX: QUESTIONNAIRE ............................................................................................................... 111
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LIST OF TABLES
Table 3.1: Number of Internet Users and Penetration rate in Ghana ....................................... 51
Table 5.1: Profile of Respondents ............................................................................................ 69
Table 5.2: Descriptive Statistics .............................................................................................. 71
Table 5.3: Exploratory Factor Analysis ................................................................................... 73
Table 5.4: Confirmatory Factor Analysis Results.................................................................... 75
Table 5. 5: Descriptive, Correlations and AVEs...................................................................... 76
Table 5.6: Fit Indices of Model................................................................................................ 77
Table 5.7: Structural Model Assessment Results ................................................................... 78
Table 5.8: Test of Variations among Males and Females ........................................................ 79
Table 5.9: Test of Variations among First-time Voters and Savvy- Voters ............................ 80
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LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: The political marketing process of the 4P’s (reproduced from Niffenegger, 1989). 22
Figure 2: Internet Users by Region .......................................................................................... 30
Figure 3: The conceptual framework ....................................................................................... 35
x
LIST OF ACRONYMS
CDD Center for Democratic Development
GJA Ghana Journalist Association
ICT Information and Communication Technology
IMC Integrated Marketing Communication
IPR Institute for Public Relation
NCA National Communication Authority
NDC National Democratic Congress
NMC National Media Commission
NPP New Patriotic Party
PRINPAG Private News Paper Publishers Association of Ghana
SPSS Statistical Package for Social Science
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CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
Politicians and political parties as well as governments all over the world use marketing in the
pursuit of their political goals. Marketing has become an important tool in politics in general
over the past few years (Johanssons 2010). The application of marketing theory to the political
sphere seems to be a relatively new phenomenon (Henneberg 2004). According to Scammell
(1999) political marketing is seen basically as a response to latest developments in media and
communication technologies. Politicians and their political parties use a variety of media to
reach the masses which includes social media in modern day politics (Ndavula & Mueni 2014).
Social media tools have unfolded new possibilities for politicians to engage with citizens. The
use of social media in political campaigns is a global trend. The presidential campaigns of
Obama during the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections of the United States demonstrated the
use of social media as powerful tools for governments and political parties to mobilize their
supporters. (Ndavula & Mueni, 2014). The Obama presidential campaign sought to create a
whole new political constituency online raising about half a billion dollars through online
platforms such as Facebook (Gibson, 2009). The campaign which was run on fifteen social
media sites (Effing et al., 2011) produced 2,000 official videos which were viewed 80 million
times on YouTube alone and generated about 244,000 unofficial video responses.
In Turkey, social media usage in politics has rapidly grown in popularity over the past few
years and thus has become a competitive alternative to the print media (Okan, Topeu & Akyoz,
2014). Okan et al. (2014) further posit that internet technology and social media usage in
1
politics had begun in Turkey in the year 2002 and was significantly used by presidential
candidates and their political parties in the 2014 general elections of Turkey.
Khondker (2011) further alludes to the fact that social media played a crucial role in the Arab
Spring in the Middle East and have as well played a critical role in Egyptian politics. It is
worthy to note that political parties in Ghana are as well changing with times and have thus
embraced social media as an alternative channel to reach the voters especially the youth.
According to www.newsghana.com.gh (2016) social media played an important role in the
2012 presidential elections of Ghana with supporters of the two leading political parties; the
New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) continuously
engaging in political campaign on Facebook and Twitter even when official campaign activities
had ended.
Recently, a video post on the official Facebook page of the presidential candidate for the
National Democratic Congress (NDC) which was about the presidential candidate spending
time with one of his Facebook friends within the first four days of the post was viewed 155,000
times and shared 1127 times which seems to suggest that Ghanaian politicians as well as voters
have embraced the idea of social media as an alternative and effective communication tool as
well as political information source. (2016, April 5) Retrieved from http://www.
Facebook.com/JDMahama.
The value of social media especially in political marketing lies in the extent to which they
interlace with old media to provide a multimedia platform that allow for greater democratic
participation, inclusion and expression (Essoungou, 2010). A study investigating the
correlation between youth engagement on social media and their interest in politics seems to
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reveal social media to be an important source for political information among the youth.
According to Essoungou (2010), studies suggest that when African youth go online mostly
with their mobile communication devices they spend much of their time on social media
platforms, other internet platforms have thus, become less important to most African youth
who go online. Against this background, this study sought to examine the extent of impact of
political information or messages on users’ political knowledge, efficacy and participation. The
scope of this study shall be limited to young voters (adults) who according to Essoungou (2010)
are more inclined to the use of social media, and are therefore believed to be the target of
political message dissemination on social media.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
According to Wring (1997), previous efforts to introduce political marketing into mainstream
marketing was battled by marketing purists until the mid-seventies. Although not recognized
by some politicians, the task of getting elected is essentially a marketing one, and thus political
parties must determine the scope and the most effective way of communicating their political
messages to the target audience (Reid, 1988). Reid (1988) notes that the electorate is basically
lethargic and indifferent in making the needed effort to understand deeply the massages
politicians put across in their campaigns. It therefore befalls on the politicians to effectively
and efficiently communicate their political agenda through marketing applications to help
shape voter preferences (Benyi, 2013).
The public is largely influenced by the bias of the traditional media rather than relying on their
own opinions and inferences from the facts and history of the political candidates. For this
reason, politicians now face the challenge of the ever changing digital world where the
consumer /voter relies heavily on the media for a great deal of choices (Wring, 1999).
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With the advent of social media, a political candidate or party in recent times is often faced
with the challenge of reaching the masses through an effective and efficient channel or medium
(Druckman, 2014). Political marketing must also change with the times and current
technological trends and implement an integrated marketing communication practices towards
creating and sustaining brand relationships with voters as well as other equally important
stakeholders (Luck & Chapman, 2003). This study therefore examines the extent to which
political party message dissemination on social media in Ghana as an emerging and alternative
marketing communication tool influence political efficacy, political Knowledge and ultimately
political participation of young voters in Ghana.
Studies on political marketing has often been focused on managerial issues such as in the work
of Kotler and Kotler (1981), O’Cass (1996), Butler and Collins (1994), and Lock and Harris
(1996), with a robust marketing management emphasis (O’Cass, 2002). O’Cass (2002)
explains this by arguing that such areas of interest in the political marketing literature have
been related to the application of the marketing concept and of the structural and process
characteristics of political marketing and marketing strategy. To buttress his claims he cites
(O’Cass, 1996; Butler and Collins, 1994; Lock and Harris, 1996; O’Shaughnessy, 1996).
Nevertheless, there has been some interest shown to other areas such as consumer research
which sought to treat voters as consumers (Newman & Sheth, 1985; Shama, 1973) and the role
played by social media in political marketing (Ndavula, 2014) but have again concentrated on
post-election analysis on how social media were utilized during a specific election with no
attention to political dimensions such as political efficacy, political knowledge and political
participation even before an election. In Ghana, the limited amount of research that has been
carried out using political marketing has as well focused mainly on political marketing
strategies (Hinson & Tweneboah-Koduah, 2010). Literature on the role of social media in
4
political marketing in the Ghanaian context is simply nonexistent. This current study, therefore
seeks to apply political marketing to understand the extent to which political communication
via social media influence political dimensions such as political efficacy, knowledge and
participation among young voters.
1.3 Research Objectives
1. To determine the extent to which political message dissemination on social media influence
young voters’ political participation.
young voters’ political knowledge and subsequently participation.
young voters’ political efficacy and subsequently participation.
4. To determine the influence of demographic variables (age and gender) on the construct of
political participation.
1.4 Research Questions
The research seeks to find answers to the following research questions.
1. To what extent does political message dissemination on social media influence young voters’
political participation?
political knowledge and subsequently participation?
political efficacy and subsequently participation?
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4. What will be the influence of demographic variables (age and gender) on political
participation?
1.5 Significance of the Study
This study will undoubtedly enrich current discourse on political marketing and the use of
social media in politics by providing a Ghanaian perspective on the issue. It shall also
contribute to the scarce literature on political marketing in Ghana.
Additionally, the study shall be helpful to stakeholders especially the two leading political
parties; The National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) in
identifying the most effective and efficient ways of using social media for political expediency
in terms of disseminating political information on those platforms. The study shall as well be
useful to social media users who seek political information on those platforms.
1.6 Chapter Disposition
The study is grouped into six different chapters. Chapter one consists of the background to the
study, the research problem statement, aims and objectives of the study, the significance of the
study and finally the chapter disposition.
The second chapter critically reviews literature on marketing in general, political marketing,
internet usage and the use of social media in politics. A conceptual frame work is finally
developed to explain the discussions put forward by the researcher in the study.
Chapter three is the context of the study and assist in contextualizing the study. An overview
of Ghana as country is presented, political marking in Ghana, political mobilization as well as
internet usage and penetration in Ghana are discussed.
6
The fourth chapter details the research methodology used in the research. It is made up of the
research design and data collection procedures employed in the study. Data preparation
procedures and analytical approaches and tools that are used in this thesis are also explained in
this chapter. The fifth chapter showcases the presentation and discussions of the study findings.
The study conclusions and recommendations are captured in the sixth chapter which is the last
chapter.
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CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.0 Introduction
The review presents and details the conceptual definitions of marketing in general, political
marketing, as well as social media as provided by scholars in the field of marketing. Various
dimensions in political marketing and the use of social media as a communication tool by
politicians are also explored. The chapter finally ends with a conceptual framework for the
study of political marketing in Ghana; the role of social media.
2.1 Marketing
Marketing literature offers several definitions of marketing. However, at the core of them all is
the marketing concept (i.e. consumer-oriented approach) where the focus is directed towards
the consumer and the notion of exchange (Scammell, 1999). The American Marketing
Association (AMA) in the year 1985 formally sanctioned the broad view of marketing to
include “ideas” to the list of products/services appropriate for marketing (Scammell, 1999).
The American Marketing Association therefore defined marketing as “The process of planning
and executing the conception, pricing, promotion, and distribution of ideas, goods and services
to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational objectives”.
Marketing is all about identifying and satisfying human and social needs and also being
profitable at the same time. Simply put, marketing is “meeting needs profitably” (Kotler and
Keller, 2006).
8
The American Marketing Association (AMA) in 2004 defined marketing as “Marketing is an
organizational function and a set of processes for creating, communicating, and delivering
value to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the
organization and its stake holders”. By 2007, a new definition had emerged from AMA which
defined marketing as “the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating,
communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients,
partners, and society at large”.
In this new definition by the American Marketing Association, marketing is considered as an
“activity” instead of a “function”. Likewise, marketing is considered to be a wider activity, not
only a department within a company. Finally, the definition also places marketing in a position
as providing long term value rather than short term. To draw the line between marketing and
marketing management, Kotler and Keller (2006) see marketing management as the art and
science of choosing target markets and getting, keeping, and growing customers through
creating, delivering, and communicating superior customer value.
To Drucker (1973) also cited in (Kotler and Keller, 2006) the goal of marketing is to know and
understand the customer so well that the product or service fits him and sells itself. Marketing
comprises of actions carried out to reach a desired response from another party as a business
wants a purchase from consumers, a political candidate/party wants a vote from the electorates,
etc. (Kotler and Keller, 2006). According to Kotler and Keller (2006), Marketing entails
exchanges, transactions, and transfers. They explained that exchange is the process of obtaining
a desired product by offering something in return. A transaction involves a trade of values
between two or more parties upon the reach of an agreement, where as in a transfer, not
anything tangible is given in return though something is usually expected to be given in return.
9
Kotler and Keller (2006) argue that ten types of entities are being marketed: goods, services,
experiences, events, persons, places, properties, organizations, information, and ideas. They
further argue that the marketplace in recent times is considerably changing and different from
the days of mass production and/or consumption. And thus, today, societal forces continue to
create new behaviours, opportunities, and challenges, such as changing technology through the
internet, intranet, extranets, etc.
2.2 The Nature of Political Marketing
With the publication of their ground breaking analysis of non-profit organizations, Kotler and
Levy (1969) challenged the preoccupation of marketing with commercial activities. In view of
that, Kotler and Zaltman (1971) sought to identify a new and distinct field in marketing where
non-profit organizations could as well benefit from the adoption of an approach initiated in
business. Analysts therefore began to realize the need to study and improve understanding of
the non-commercial sector (Newman, 1999a; Wring, 1999). In the 1980s and 90s, the focus of
many studies was on public bodies such as charitable, religious, and governmental agencies.
Interest as well developed regarding party politics and more specifically how political
candidates can campaign to win elections.
As interest in politics grew, academic literature also emerged in the field of political marketing
(Savigny, 2007). It is to be noted that the academic development of political marketing as a sub
discipline is still at its infancy stage and till now, there is still much debate over the nature of
the role of marketing and its applicability in politics (Baines and Egan, 2001). Notwithstanding,
there has been a wide and speedily expanding international literature on political marketing,
especially in the field of election and political communications (Scammell, 1999). However,
10
literature on political marketing in most cases tends to focus on specific countries, and indeed
often to particular party or election situations (Butler and Collins, 1996).
2.3 Defining Political Marketing
Phrases such as “political management”, “packaged politics”, “promotional politics”, or
“modern political communications”, have often been used to describe what is most commonly
called “political marketing” (Scammell, 1999). Political marketing, according to Scammell
(1999) can be looked at as something democratic parties and candidates actually do to get
elected and that it is different from earlier forms of political salesmanship.
However, O’Shaughnessy (2001) argues that the loosely usage of the term political marketing
to refer to anything from rhetoric to spin doctoring or simply to every kind of political
communication that has its origin in public opinion research could be risky. Thus, the genre
“political marketing” could function at various levels since it is both descriptive and
prescriptive. It is descriptive in the sense that it “provides us with a structure of business derived
labels to explain, map, nuance and condense the exchange dynamics of an election campaign’’.
Prescriptive, also because many scholars claim that “this is something parties and candidates
ought to do if they are to fulfil their mission of winning elections” (O’Shaughnessy, 2001).
Scammell (1999) and Lees-Marshment (2001b) note that there is a significant level of
confusion among scholars regarding the general understanding and definition of political
marketing. By 1999 consensus on a definition of political marketing had still not been reached
(Scammell, 1999). Generally political marketing is seen as facilitating the societal process of
political exchange, Henneberg (2004) on the other hand describes political marketing
management as the ‘art and science’ of managing this (political) exchange process successfully.
11
Palmer (2002) posit that fundamentally political marketing consists of a network of agencies
offering relevant consultancy services and of political organizations (parties, candidates,
lobbyists) that engage them as well as a set of practices such as political research, opinion
polling, strategy development etc. that are involved in the discipline.
Activities in political marketing according to Henneberg (2004) consist of developing a
strategic political posture for a party, micro-managing an election campaign, coordinating the
spin on certain communications with “parallel” organizations and undertaking political
marketing research etc. Butler and Collins (1996) see political marketing as “the marketing of
ideas and opinions which relate to public or political issues or to specific candidates”.
Lees-Marshment (2001b) defines political marketing as the adaptation of business-marketing
concepts and techniques by political organizations for the achievement of political goals. He
further notes that, to identify major concerns of the citizenry political parties, interest groups,
and local councils are increasingly undertaking market intelligence research to enable them
communicate their product offering more effectively. Gronroos (1990) and Henneberg (1996)
also define political marketing as a process that seeks to establish, maintain and enhance long-
term voter relationships at a profit for society and political parties, so that the aims of the
individual political actors and organizations involved are met. Which is achieved through
mutual exchange and fulfilment of promises.
2.4 Political Marketing Functions and Dimensions
Political marketing has been described by many scholars as marketing designed to influence
target audiences to vote for a particular person, party, or proposition. As stated earlier there has
been several attempts to clearly define political marketing. Nevertheless, the essence of
12
political marketing theory remains somewhat unclear (Scammell 1999; Newman, 2002;
O’Shaughnessy and Henneberg, 2002a, O’Shaughnessy 1990; Kotler and Kotler, 1999).
Modern definitions of political marketing often classify the political marketing process as
related more with the communication process between voters and political entities (Shama,
1975; Lock & Harris, 1996; Wring, 1997) and often to the abandonment of the organizational
development perspective of the political entity in a way that most commercial marketing
definitions do not. In redefining political marketing Lees-Marshment (2001) states that political
marketing transcend the spin and campaigns of political parties and thus covers the role of
market intelligence in policy, leadership and organization of political parties.
As earlier stated, According to Henneberg (2004) and Marland (2003) the application of
commercial marketing techniques and tactics to elections is considered to be relatively new
and still at its infancy stages in many parts of the world (Henneberg 2004, Marland 2003).
However, the significance of particular aspects of marketing theory for political parties has
been illustrated by several scholars. According to Lees- Marshment (2001) a political party
attempting to use marketing in determining all aspects of its behaviour has to engage in four
main activities. These activities according to him include the use of market intelligence,
adapting party behaviour to suit those whose support it seeks, implementing this new behaviour
at all levels of the party organization and conveying this to the electorate.
Also, Henneberg (2002) describes eight generic political marketing functions which include,
product function, distribution function, cost function, news management function, fund raising
function, communication function, parallel campaign management and internal cohesion
function. He as well proposes six general applications of political marketing for most
13
democratic systems. These are; communication and spin, product image management, news
management, political marketing strategy development, political market research and political
market organization and professionalism. He further argues that a Market-Oriented Party
(MOP) is one which seeks to determine its total behaviours in order to provide voter satisfaction
and in doing so satisfy its own goals. It could be observed that the marketing concept is
employed in both the four core activities and eight functions of political marketing described
by Lee – Marshment (2001) and Hennerberg (2004). This suggests that the political product
should be deliberately designed to fit into both the social and economic context of the target
audience whose votes that particular political party seeks. This is where the practicality of the
product versus the environment in marketing theory, the marketing mix, that is the Product, the
Place, Price and Promotion as well as the People is show cased.
Nevertheless, the central role of both the product and the place in the marketing mix can be
inferred, this is because both promotion and price are dependent on the product and the place
where it is to be marketed, whereas the product design is determined by the expectations of the
consumers for whom the product is designed. Two key factors are believed to sell a product;
the characteristics of the product itself and how it is promoted. By deduction the political party
can be considered the political product with characteristics such as personalities, philosophy or
ideology, manifesto, past performance, dependability, reliability, and brand name or image
which can be said to determine the acceptability of that product within a defined environment.
The environment, to a larger extent, describes the citizenry, their beliefs, economic and social
disposition. The acceptability of a political product can be said to be tied to the degree to which
that political product satisfies the needs and aspirations of its prospective buyers, that is voters.
(Lott & Reed, 1989)
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2.5 The Political Market
According to Lott and Reed (1989) the political market is composed of voters, challengers and
incumbents. The political market can be said to be a meeting place or anywhere political parties
and voters meet or communicate to sell and buy political products. They further ague that voters
constitute the buyers while the political parties constitute the sellers and within that same
environment there are also competitors or other political parties with their own strengths and
weaknesses except in a one party state.
2.6 Business Marketing vs. Political Marketing
According to Lees-Marshment (2001b), political marketing can be seen as the permeation of
the political arena by marketing. It has been acknowledged by marketing literature (O’Leary
and Iredale, 1976; cited in Lees-Marshment, 2001b) that non-profit organizations are
substantially different to profit-making businesses. Nevertheless, Rothschild (1979) posit that
the transfer of marketing principles from business organizations to non-profit organizations is
a complex process and as such must be undertaken with care. To be precise, marketing
approaches must be adapted (Lees-Marshment, 2001b). A non-profit organization, like a
political party differ from a business in various ways (1) political parties have different goals,
(2) performance is more difficult to measure, (3) they may have several conflicting often
undefined and unknown markets, (4) they are usually seen as playing normative roles or
functions in society, and (5) their “products” are less tangible and are also more complex to
design, as well as imagine conceptually (Lees-Marshment, 2001b).
According to Scammell (1999) the political exchange processes have traces in service
marketing where the product often is also intangible, complex and not fully understood by its
customers. She further posits that, reputation, image, and leadership evaluations are all
15
essential factors in both politics and the service sector. Media plays a more active role in
politics than in any other service market, and so far the most important channel for political
information dissemination and also critical for political image (Scammell, 1999). However,
even though the media make the exchange dynamics in politics complex, it does not determine
them, the main exchange still remains that of party/candidate and voter(s) (Scammell, 1999).
2.7 Similarities and Differences between the Markets
Palmer (2002) argues that the theory of political marketing to a large extent rests on the
analogy between the marketing of consumer products and political persuasion. Nevertheless,
this parallel is not unquestioned. Managerial similarity with competition, decision-making,
communication channels, and persuasion have been the argument in favour of the analogy
(Palmer, 2002). Palmer (2002) further posits that those who are not in favour of the idea of an
analogy however argue that the political product has no practical value for the consumer, the
range of products is very limited, a large part of the labour force in politics consists of
volunteers, opposition is clearly defined, the consumer is more difficult to analyze, product
positioning is more difficult to perform, and finally, re-branding is more complex due to
ideology.
Nonetheless, according to Newman (1999) there are robust similarities between the business
market and the political market; (1) both markets employ standard marketing tools and
strategies, that is, marketing research, market segmentation, targeting, positioning, strategy
development, and implementation. (2) The voter can be analyzed as a consumer in the political
marketplace, hence using the same set of models and theories in marketing used to study the
consumer in the commercial marketplace. (3) Both commercial marketing and political
marketing are involved in competitive marketplaces and thus rely on similar approaches to
16
winning. According to Scammell (1999) the intensity of competition is a driver of change in
both politics and business marketing. She further argues that the two obvious differences
between the two marketplaces are differences in philosophy (goal) and the implementation of
marketing research results. Profit is the ultimate goal in consumer marketing. In politics
however, electoral success is the major short term goal of the political party or candidate. The
successful operation of democracy may be a long term goal (Newman, 1999b).
2.7.1 Same Principles
According to Newman (1999b) the same principles in marketing apply in both the commercial
marketplace and the political marketplace; Successful companies have a market orientation and
are continually engaged in creating value for their customers through the anticipation of their
needs and the constant development of innovative products and services that keep them
satisfied. In a similar vein, politicians try to constantly create value for their voters by
improving quality of life and creating the most cost effective benefit (Newman, 1999b). In the
political marketplace, innovation is critical and no different from innovation in the commercial
marketplace. (Newman, 1999b).
2.7.2 The Selling of a Product
Major corporate entities have marketing departments including sales representatives,
marketing researchers, advertising specialists, direct marketing executives, etc. The job of these
marketing personnel is to develop marketing plans for existing products and brands, and also
to develop new products and brands and as well sell the company’s products. In much the same
way a politician also sells something that is ideas, himself or herself, as well as his or her vision
(Newman, 1999b). These ideas are transformed into programmes that are then marketed to the
voters. Marketing professionals are then employed by the political party to convince the voters
17
to vote for him or her and to buy into his or her vision for the country in question. The vote can
be said to be a “psychological purchase” (Butler and Collins, 1994). Newman (1999b) further
argues that, these days, in the same way as businesses operate it takes a good marketing
researcher, media strategist, and direct mail specialist, as well as stable consultants and a lot of
financial resources to win in politics.
2.7.3 The Voter as a Consumer
Most often the expectations of customers and voters are influenced by the gaps that exist
between their own perceptions and those of the service provider. It is however the task of
marketers to shape these expectations. (Newman, 1999b). In politics, these gaps might be
difficult to measure because candidates shape their perceptions of the electorate after
researchers have told them what these expectations are. For instance, in presidential primaries,
policies and promises are often changed in order to suit each area’s or state’s electorate even if
the candidates’ records suggest something different.
There exists another gap between quality specifications and service delivery (Newman, 1999b).
Politicians are the most vulnerable to this gap than other service industries due to unexpected
situations in which they may have to respond, they might not be able to respond and deliver
even if they perceive what is important to the voters. A third gap exists between management
perceptions and service quality specifications (Newman, 1999b). Politicians do not always
have complete control over staffing; civil servants often in positions are not affected by changes
in elected officials.
Finally, a fourth gap exists between the service delivery and external communications when
promises made do not end in tangible results (Newman, 1999b). This is common in politics
18
since candidates most often on campaign platforms make promises that do not materialize into
policy when they get into office because of the bureaucracy in government or a flattering
commendation on the part of the candidate as a means of getting into office. (Newman, 1999b).
2.7.4 The Exchange Process
According to Newman (1999b) and Scammell (1999) marketing is often described as an
exchange process between a buyer and a seller, with the buyer exchanging money for the
seller’s product or service. In politics however, the exchange process involves a candidate
offering political leadership (through policies) and a vision in exchange for trust and support
in the form of votes.
2.7.5 Needs & Wants
According to Newman (1999b), just as a smart marketer makes sure that there is a need for his
or her product before the marketer distributes it around the country, so must a politician be sure
that voters are concerned with an issue before the politician decides to advocate it. Politicians
therefore need to adjust their message constantly depending on where they are since different
voters and different regions/states need and want different things. The political message also
needs to be adjusted depending on results in earlier primaries or polls.
2.7.6 Market Segmentation & Targeting
In a typical market, every customer cannot be equally satisfied. Market segmentation then, is a
process that identifies the typical customer or voter. Targeting is the selection of the segment(s)
that represents the greatest opportunity, that is, the target markets (Kotler and Keller, 2006;
Newman, 1999b). Marketing effort is then concentrated in these target markets, where the
message, product or person is most likely to be patronized. Newman (1999b) posits that, it is
19
possible to tailor messages to meet the needs of all constituents regardless of group
identification. Segmentation even becomes micro-segmentation when a very specific group of
people or city is targeted (Niffenegger, 1989). To maximize voter impact a specific strategy is
then developed for each target market or voter segment.
2.7.7 Positioning
According to Kotler and Keller (2006) Positioning is the act of designing a company’s offering
and image to occupy a distinctive place in the minds of the target market. The ultimate goal of
positioning is to locate the brand or product in the minds of consumers in a way that maximizes
the potential benefit to the company. Positioning is important to the success of any product,
changes and innovation must be incorporated regularly to keep the product flourishing in the
marketplace. Newman (1999b) argues that the same is true in politics, once the various voter
segments are identified the political candidate has to be positioned in the marketplace. He
further notes that in the process of positioning, both his own and his opponents’ strengths and
weaknesses must be assessed.
2.7.8 Ideology and Brand Identities
The reputation of a politician is perceived the same way as brand identities of product and
services (Newman, 1999b) According to Scammell (1999), reputation can be described as the
only thing of substance that can be promoted to buyers in advance of sale. The main difference
between reputation and brand identities is that a politician’s reputation is closely tied into his
ideology (Newman, 1999b). Newman (1999b) further argues that companies, political parties
and candidates make use of extensive advertising to label and define who the provider is and
to make distinctions from competition. Traditionally, the ideology as a way of labelling was
very common in politics and served as a connection between the politician, his or her party and
20
the citizenry. Ideology was based on basically different ideas of how to run a government.
Today, ideology is now driven by marketing and not by earlier party traditions (Newman,
1999b).
2.8 The Political Marketing Mix
Over the past years, much of media coverage of political activities in Ghana seems to focus
more on radio and TV ads or public appearance. However, political marketing employs much
more than just publicity and clever advertising skills. Niffenegger (1989) argues that political
marketing successfully integrates each of the 4Ps that is, product, price, place, and promotion
of the marketing mix, guided by marketing research with sophisticated segmentation and
simulation techniques. However, it is to be noted that some scholars have questioned the
complete fitness of the 4Ps in politics. Scammell (1999) argues that, the 4Ps need considerable
stretching to make complete sense in politics. Nevertheless, Lees-Marshment (2001b) admits
that the 4Ps have more utility for campaigns. A simplified model of these concepts can be seen
in Figure 1 below.
21
Figure 1: The political marketing process of the 4P’s (reproduced from Niffenegger,
1989).
Environment
Voter Segment
Marketing Programme
Product 1.Party platform Segment 1 Issues/Opportunity
1. Party platform Segment 1 Issues/Opportunity
Product 2.Past record

Segment 2 Issues/Opportunity
3.Personal
Characteristic
Promotion 1.paid Adds Segment 3 Issues/Opportunity
Candidate/Party 2. Publicity from staged
events, debates.
Segment 4 Issues/Opportunity
Price 1.Economic cost
2.Psychological cost
3.National Image effect
Place 1.Personal Appearance
2.Volunteer programme
Market Research
Sources: Niffenegger (1989)
2.8.1 Product
According to Niffenegger (1989), the product offered by political marketers is actually a
complex blend of many potential benefits that voters believe they shall enjoy if the candidate
is elected. He argues further by saying that the major benefits associated with a certain
candidate are spelled out in the candidate’s party manifesto and transmitted to the voter through
media. Also, the candidate’s past record and personal characteristics, as well as the image of
the party are various dimensions of the product which as well influence voters’ potential benefit
expectations. Modifying the product to fit the intended market segments is fundamentally a
22
product management job which in political marketing is done by the political consultant
(Niffenegger, 1989). Butler and Collins (1994) argue that, the marketing traits of the political
product are considered in three parts: (1) person/party/ideology, (2) loyalty, and (3) mutability
(That is, the political product can be changed or transformed in the post-election setting). They
further note that when it comes to choosing the political product, competence, back-up
resources, past records, promises for the future, and degree of autonomy from the party line are
important considerations for voters.
2.8.2 Promotion
Niffenegger (1989) posits that, promotion is often considered to be the most important
marketing element for presidential candidates. For instance, huge amounts of money are being
spent on TV and radio ads by politicians, however, paid advertising is only a part of the
promotion mix. Publicity and free campaign coverage by the media constitutes a large part of
the political promotion.
2.8.3 Price
According to Niffenegger (1989), the price of a candidate can be thought of as the total number
of costs associated with the candidate’s election. Economic costs are a major voter concern,
these costs include possible tax or interest rates increases, cuts in government benefits, etc.
There is also a psychological costs, such as religion or ethnicity associated to each candidate
(Niffenegger, 1989). National image effects, such as reduced or increased national pride due
to the election of a particular candidate, is yet another possible cost (Niffenegger, 1989). A
common strategy often employed by political marketers is to try to minimize the candidate’s
own expected cost, while maximizing the perceived cost of the opponent(s) (Niffenegger,
1989).
23
2.8.4 Place
The place strategy according to Niffenegger (1989) is about the methods or channels used to
get a candidate across in a personal way to the voters .For political marketing or a politician to
be successful, the place strategy must include a personal appearance program as well as a
volunteer worker programme (Niffenegger, 1989). Personal appearance program details where
the candidate will reach out to the voters at rallies, club meetings, dinners, factory gates, etc.
Whereas volunteer programme is used to extend the candidate in a personal way into local
political markets through canvassing for votes by the volunteers, lawn signs, soliciting funds,
etc. (Niffenegger, 1989). Covering a whole nation could be very challenging, the internet and
for that matter social media offers another great opportunity to reach possible voters in no-
time.
2.9 Social Media
Social media is a phenomenon that has changed the way individuals interact and communicate
all over the world in recent times. As advanced by Edosomwan et al. (2011) the seemingly new
phenomenon is not a new concept and for that matter has been evolving from the inception of
human interactions. There seems to be numerous ideologies about the beginning of social
media. Craton (2009) posits that, “Throughout much of human history, we have developed
technologies that make it easier for us to communicate with each other”. Technology is
inherently time-bound and thus the pen at a point in history could be considered advanced form
of technology likewise the main-frame computer (Bryer & Zavatarro, 2011). Bruns (2008) and
Guy (2012) note that internet-based technology that promote the effectiveness of human
interactions keep evolving. The World Wide Web has been tremendously changed, shifting
from an information repository platform to one that allows both active and passive users to
create and share content. The web 2.0 technologies such as social media are the modern
24
channels through which people can now achieve their communication and social ends (Bryer
& Zavatarro, 2011).
Kaplan and Haenlein (2010) define social media as a collection of internet based applications
that extend the fundamentals of web 2.0 in terms of ideology and technology, and thus permit
the creation and exchange of user-generated content. Social media has therefore become the
interface between the internet and users and for many the internet and social media sites are
identical (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010). As stated earlier, it is interesting to note that one of the
attributes of social media as represented by the term user-generated content denotes different
kinds of media content created by end users and are publicly accessible. (Kaplan & Haenlein,
2010). For this reason, users of social media are not just consumers of online information but
also producers of same (Gil de Zuniga et al, 2014).
Facebook and Twitter are noted to be the two most popular social media platforms according
to Pew Research Center. (www.pewinternet.org). Founded in 2004 by March Zuckerberg with
the sole aim of being used by Harvard University students, Facebook has speedily attained
worldwide acceptance and thus represented the most popular social media site with over one
billion users across the world (Kaplan & Heinlein, 2010). Twitter on the other hand uses the
microblogging technology that enables users to read and send concise text messages within a
limit of 140 characters, messages on Twitter are mostly unrestricted and searchable as
compared to Facebook. (Kaplan & Heinlein, 2010). Internet based technologies in recent times
encapsulate features that allow for socialization in virtual spaces and thus have emerged as
platforms for information sharing, collaborations as well as community formation and
extension (Suter, Alexander, & Kaplan, 2005). Derived from the social software movement
(Junco, Heiberger, & Loken, 2011) social media are World Wide Web sites and services as
25
well as practices that are provisioned for collaboration, community building, participation and
dissemination of information.
Social media thus have become an essential part of communal discourse and communication
in the modern world. The rapid growth of social media has caused tremendous variations
relating to the discovery of groups of persons with comparable interests, the type of
information, the available news sources, or the possibility to require and share ideas (Stieglitz,
Dang-Xuan, 2012). Social media have had great effects on arenas such as advertising, public
relations, communications, and political communication (Hussain & Vatrapu, 2014).
2.9.1 Social Media and Marketing
Social media marketing utilizes various social media platforms to perform marketing
communication and comprises activities such as sharing of content, for instance, text, videos
and images for marketing purposes (Okan et al 2014). According to Okan (2014) if social media
strategies are implemented correctly, marketing with social media can bring significant success
to a business or an organization. Facebook now has over 1.3 billion users (Statisticbrain.com)
worldwide. Twitter has over 241 million monthly active users (Twitter.com, retrieved May,
2016) and Instagram over 200 million monthly actives (Instagram.com, retrieved May, 2016).
According to Okan et al (2014), businesses and for that matter political parties in Ghana seems
to have embraced the ideal and are therefore leveraging on social media as one of the most
effective instruments for marketing communication activities, giving them the opportunity to
reach target audiences across multiple platforms and allowing them to engage these target
audiences in a manner that promotes two-way communication. Okan et al (2014) further posit
that the social media marketing also has the advantage of snowballing traffic to an
organization’s website through the sharing of links on social media web sites.
26
2.9.2 Social Media and Political Communications
According to Pennington et al. (2015), the worldwide use of social media for political activities
in recent times has considerably increased, especially among young adults. Of importance for
this specific age group is the opportunity social media use afford them for political information,
creating user-generated content and expressing their political opinions. To find answers to the
growing political use of social media by users and politicians alike, scholars continue to
investigate the effects of social media on political behaviours such as political efficacy,
political knowledge and political participation.
Lately, the importance of social media has been predominantly emphasized in politics, due to
the fact that the use of social networking sites (Facebook) and microblogging services (Twitter)
are thought to have the propensity of positively inducing political participation (Stieglitz,
Dang-Xuan, 2012). For example, the 2008 United States presidential elections stayed in history
for the unparalleled use of social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube
(Freelon & Karpf, 2015). The use of social media within the presidential campaign of the
United States in 2008 was also sustained and even improved in the 2012 presidential campaign.
Barack Obama and Romney spent a substantial amount of money on social media in particular
Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Pinterest with the sole aim of reaching the young generation.
Prospective voters comprehensively involved themselves in these social media platforms by
posting, commenting, video-sharing and even the conventional media covered the social media
battle between the two campaigns (Freelon & Karpf, 2015).
Moreover, social media have been utilized as tools to marshal individuals to protest all over
the world. For instance, the London youth demonstrations of 2011, the 2009 Iranian protests
against the re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (Carlisle and Patton, 2013), and the Egyptian
27
social movements supported by the use of Twitter and Facebook, which made president
Mubarak shut down the internet for five days (Lim ,2012; Eltantawy et al,2011). According to
www.newsghana.com.gh social media especially Facebook and Twitter played an important
role in the 2012 presidential elections of Ghana with supporters of the two leading political
parties, The New Patriotic Party (NPP) and The National Democratic Congress (NDC),
continually engaging in political campaign on social media even when official campaign
activities had ended.
The question which then arises is that does the use of social media by political actors necessary
have impact on political efficacy, political knowledge and ultimately political participation of
users in general? Scholars with interest in political marketing and electoral campaigns who
studied the effect of social media use on political participation found that social media and for
that matter the internet is likely to promote political participation ((Bucy & Gregson, 2001;
Corrado, 1996; Johnson & Kaye, 2003; Shah et al., 2005; Whillock, 1997).
Further, some findings have shown that the use of social media to be precise, amplified
traditional offline engagement, such as voting (Bakker and de Vreese, 2011), donations and
fundraising (Vitak et al, 2011). Conversely, other scholars have found that the use of social
media is not at all linked to higher levels of political participation (Baumgartner & Morris,
2010; Davis & Owen, 1998; Margolis & Resnick, 2000).
Studies propose that, by traditional measures, young generations are less involved in politics
in terms of voting, contributing money, volunteering time, or showing up to a protest meeting
than older citizens (Bauerlein, 2008; Mindich, 2005). Notwithstanding the fast development of
the internet, not enough attention has been paid to how young adults engage in politics as a
28
result of their usage of social media (Baumgartner & Morris, 2010). Does the use of social
media platforms bombard them with political materials which eventually help them to gain
political efficacy and knowledge and actually participate in politics consciously or
unconsciously? The question raised becomes important because young people who are
generally believed not to be involved in politics now have the opportunity to be exposed to and
to engage in politically-related matters on social media in their comfort zones. (Baumgartner
& Morris, 2010). This study is therefore to examine the extent of the possible relationship and
impact of political communication on the Ghanaian young voters’ political efficacy, political
knowledge and political participation.
2.9.3 Social Media and the Internet
The internet has become an important means of communication for the past two decades. Even
though the internet was initially meant to interconnect public research laboratories, it has been
extended to serve many users who employ it for several purposes around the world since 1994
(Abhilash, 2014). Few years ago, in Ghana it was not uncommon to see people queuing at an
internet café just to send or receive a mail. In 2015, it was estimated that 3,366,261,156 people
make use of the internet globally, with a penetration rate of 46.4% (Internet World statistics,
2015). This increase indicates a growth rate of 832.5% since the year 2000. The number of
internet users is largest in Asia, where 1,622,084,293 representing 48.20% of internet users in
the world.
29
Figure 2: Internet Users by Region
Internet Users in the World by Regions

November, 2015
3.70% 0.80%
9.30% Asia
Europe
9.80% Latin America and Carribean
48.20%
Africa
10.20%
North America
Middle East
18% Oceania/Australia
Source: Internet World Statistics (2015)
In Africa, it is estimated that 330,965,359 people use the internet as of November, 2015, with
a penetration rate (that is, internet users expressed as a percentage of the total population of the
region) of 28.6%. This represents 9.8% of internet users in the world. The growth rate of
internet users over a decade and a half ago is estimated at 7,231.3% (Internet World Statistics,
2015). In Ghana, it is estimated that 5,171,993 people use the internet as of 2015, representing
19.6% of the population and 1.6% of internet users in Africa (Internet World Statistics, 2015).
In recent times, increased use of the internet has made the social media an important means of
communication for politicians through which they run their campaigns during elections.
According to Abhilash (2014), the rapid evolution and pattern of internet usage is as a result of
the social media and mobile technology. Social media has changed the mode of communication
among people. Similarly, mobile technology has also increased the number of people who have
30
access to the internet as mobile networks provide internet services to their customers (Ibid,
2014)
2.9.4 Social Media Statistics and Usage Pattern
The popular social media across the world include Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Myspace,
WhatsApp, etc. Even though the number of people who use the social media has increased over
the years, there is no accurate statistics of the exact number of users. (Internet World Statistics,
2015). Since its inception in 2004, Facebook has grown into a worldwide network of
1,515,204,150 subscribers globally as of the year 2015. In Africa, the number of Facebook
subscribers is estimated at 124,568,500 in 2015 with a 10.8% penetration rate (Internet World
Statistics, 2015). In Ghana, there are about 2,900,000 Facebook subscribers as of 2015, which
make up 11.0% penetration rate (Internet World Statistics, 2015).
2.9.5 Social Media and Political Engagement
Social media has now become a more popular means of communication than the traditional
print and electronic media in recent times (pew research centre, 2012). The spate of users of
social media could partly be attributed to the ease and convenience in using them. With the
increase in education, social media is becoming a tool for political and civic engagement, about
60% of adults use either Facebook or Twitter (pew research centre, 2012). In a survey
conducted by pew research centre (2012) it was found that 66% of social media users had
engaged in some form of civic or political activities with social media. The survey which
involved 2,253.00 respondents ages 18 and above found that;
1. 38% of social media users use the platform to ‘like’ or endorse materials related to
politics or social matters.
2. 35% of social media users use the tool to encourage people to vote in a certain direction
31
3. 34% of social media users use the tools to post their own opinions or comments on
political and social matters.
4. 33% of people who use social media used the tools to repost content related to political
or social issues that initially was posted by another user or users.
5. 31% of users of social media use the platform to encourage other users to take action
on a political or social matters which is of importance to them.
6. 28% of users of social media use the means to post links to political stories or articles
for others to read.
7. 21% of social media users are part of a group on social media that is involved in politics
or social issues.
8. Finally, 20% of users use the tools to follow elected officials or candidates for office.
2.9.6 Social Media, Young Voters and Politics
According to Stranberg (2013), the use of social media especially Facebook and Twitter
generate an excessive effect to involve in political activities. Users who ordinarily would not
be so much involved in politics are more likely to consciously access political content through
social media. Vitak et al. (2011) posit that there is a positive correlation between the usages of
Facebook for political purposes among college students, they further note that the use of
Facebook encourages the gathering of political knowledge and as well improve political
efficacy of college students. This claim by Vitak et al. (2011) is alluded by the Pew research
center, according to Pew research center, younger social media users are likely to use the
platform for civic and political activities than their older counterparts.
They further note that, younger users of social media are most likely to express themselves
about political issues on the social media platforms, post links to materials of political nature,
32
encourage others to take political actions, belong to a group involved in politics on social
media, follow or is a friend to an elected official on social media, and promote or ‘like’
materials of political content that have been posted by other social media users.
2.10 Diffusion of Innovation Theory
Diffusion of innovation theory as asserted by Rogers (2003) provides a frame work mostly
used by researchers in the area of technology. The theory holds that the adoption of any
innovation is dependent on certain factors such as relative advantage, compatibility and
complexity. However, other demographic factors as age, sex, educational and social
background also play a role in the adoption of an innovation. Rogers (2003) further argues that
people in any cultural or social context differently react to and adopt innovation at differing
levels as a result they choose to adopt technology at various stages. According to Moseley
(2004) the theory of diffusion of innovation by Rogers (2003) has been widely applied across
disciplines to help researchers understand the theoretical underpinnings through which new
ideas and technologies are transformed into wide spread practices.
The diffusion of innovation framework overtime has been tremendously transformed and made
flexible theoretically now encompassing more interactive forms of communication where
participants are able to create and share information to mutually understand and agree on issues.
More importantly, the diffusion of innovation framework has proven to be substantially flexible
to the conceptualization of numerous and different kinds of social change and processes such
as civic participation, public and political dialogue, politics and media effect. (Moseley, 2004;
Valente, 1996)
33
2.11 Mediamorphosis Theory
Fiddler (1997) posits that Mediamorphosis refers to the transformation of the media which
happens as a result of the interplay of perceived needs by citizens, competitive and political
pressures, and social and technological innovations. To him, the social media grow out of the
metamorphosis of the traditional media. This development is as a result of the inadequacies
and denials of opportunities perceived by the citizenry and the persistent need of their
participation in democracy. Thus the social media become a consolation for them to fulfill their
information and communication desires.
2.12 Democratic Participant Media Theory
The democratic participant theory by McQuail (1987) is of the tenet that individual citizens
and minority groups should have right of access and right to communicate through the media
of their choice according to their determination of need. And that media organization and
content should not be subjected to centralized state or political bureaucratic control particularly
in democracy where popular participation is crucial for good governance.
These two theories are deemed relevant to this study because the perceived needs of people
seem not to be well satisfied by the traditional media in Ghana hence the widespread acceptance
of social media in sourcing and disseminating information which is believed to be an important
facilitator to democratic participation.
2.13 Conceptual Framework
According to Brown (1977) theory and research can be related to a transaction whereby theory
determines the data set to be collected and the research outcomes supporting or challenging the
theory. The conceptual framework depicts a representation of the study by emphasizing on
34
patterns of elements and their interrelation with key concepts of the research (Fisher et al.,
2010). The essence of this therefore is to help present the ideas in a more concise form through
diagrams for easy comprehension.
In view of the findings in extant literature reviewed above, the study shall adapt the conceptual
framework below to examine the role of social media in political marketing in the Ghanaian
context and the relationship thereof between political knowledge, political efficacy, and
political participation. The framework seeks to explore the effectiveness of political marketing
communication activities, that is, the political messages disseminated by the two leading
political parties in Ghana (NPP & NDC) on social media such as Facebook and Twitter in
influencing the political knowledge, political efficacy, and political participation of young
voters.
Political
Efficacy
H4
H3
Political
Message H1 Political
Dissemination
Participation
on Social
Media
H5
H2
Political
Knowledge
Figure 3: The conceptual framework
(adapted from Kenski & Stroud, 2006; Kushin & Yamamoto, 2010; Vitak et al, 2011 Gil de
Zuniga et al, 2012; Strandberg, 2013)
35
2.13.1 Political Communication on Social Media and the Young Voter
According to Hargittai and Hinnant (2008) the youth are the ‘‘most plugged in’’ age group
because they use the internet and social media for various reasons including political
information seeking. By going on social media, young people share political messages which
have been disseminated on social media or even sometimes are able to create their own political
messages (Bachmann et al., 2010). It has been suggested that having a preference for digital
media as opposed to print predicts online political participation for young people as a result of
the possible effect of the online content (Bachmann et al., 2010).
2.13.2 Political Participation and Political Communication on Social Media
Nie (1987) refers to political participation as behaviours that could affect government actions
either directly by influencing the public policies that are implemented or indirectly by
influencing the elections of political actors creating those policies. In a similar vein, Kenski
and Stroud (2006) define political participation as a person’s involvement in politically-related
activities in the form of donations to a political campaign or political party or influencing others
to vote in a certain direction. Monchtar (2014) as well argues that political participation is an
activity by a group of people or an individual actively participating in political life by choosing
the president and directly or indirectly influencing public policy.
There are several dimensions to political participation such as working on a political campaign,
seeking party funding, being part of political campaign team, being a member of political party,
a volunteer of a political party, seeking support for a candidate by trying to persuade others,
contacting politicians, donating money, joining political discussions, signing a petition,
attending a political rally and casting a vote at election (Kenski & Stroud, 2006; Vitak et al,
2011; Tang & Lee, 2013; Yamamoto et al 2013).
36
In a study conducted by Strandberg (2013) it was found that social media usage was one of the
major contributors to political participation. In his study of social media usage, Facebook, and
Twitter were found to have greater effect on political participation than other traditional
platforms. Polat (2005) has argued that the internet affords users the opportunity to engage in
politics and thus political participation may increase by doing so.
H1: There would be a positive and significant relationship between political message
dissemination on social media and political participation of young voters.
2.13.3 Political Knowledge and Political Communication on Social Media
The use of the internet for political communication has grown swiftly overtime. Since 1992
politicians have explored and utilized the internet as a mass communication tool to reach the
electorate (Bimber & Davis, 2003). According to Foot and Schneider (2006) by the year 2000
the internet had become a common campaign tool, by 2008, social media sites had gained
acceptance and were effectively utilized as a communication tool to mobilize and organize
party supporters. The encyclopedia of political communication identifies online tools such as
social media and blogging as important tools in the political communication process (Kaid &
Hiltz-Bacha, 2007).
As a communication tool, there are various effects on the citizenry that one might expect
through the use of social media within the political communication context (Bimber & Davis,
2003). According to Dimitrova et al. (2011) political communication through social media is a
critical part of the overall political communication process from the democratic participation
point of view. One of the basic functions of social media in a democratic society is to
disseminate information to the citizenry. This function becomes even more important during
37
electioneering campaigns when politicians need to let voters know about the important political
issues.
Several studies have generally shown a positive impact of the use of the traditional media as a
communication tool on political knowledge (Chaffee & Frank, 1996; Chaffee, Zahao &
Leshner, 1994; Drew & Weaver, 1998; Wei & Lo, 2008). However, there is still comparatively
little known about the cognitive impact of social media. Kenski and Stroud (2006) argue that
access to the internet and exposure to online political information are significant predictors of
political knowledge. Bimber and Davis (2003) also found in their study that voters who had
online political information by visiting web sites or pages of political candidates were more
knowledgeable about political issues than those who did not. Xenos (2007) also found a
positive effect of the internet on learning. The study therefore hypothesized that;
dissemination on social media and political knowledge of young voters.
2.13.4 Political Efficacy and Political Communication on Social Media
According to Hayes (2000), social media as a communication tool is used by nearly all major
political candidates. The interest in sourcing for political information on social media has been
very significant particularly among young adults (Smith & Rainie, 2008), for instance,
according to Weeks et al (2013) a significant proportion of 27% of adults younger than 30 years
reported obtaining political information from social media as compared to 4% of adults
between the ages of 30 to 39 years and 1% of adults older than 40. Getting access to political
information on social media enables voters to voice and exchange their opinions (Morris,
1999). From this point of view, Delli-Carpini (2000) argues that, the internet brings more of
the citizenry especially young adults into the political process and may therefore be effective
38
at engaging young people. Scholars such as McChesney (2015) and Sunstein (2001) are
however optimistic about such potential and so caution against the so-called democratization
myth. Current empirical evidence suggest that the use of the internet and for that matter social
media has a positive relationship with political efficacy (Austin et al., 2008; Gil de Zuniga et
al., 2009; Hardy& Scheufele, 2005; Johnson & Kaye,2003; Kaye & Johnson,2002; Nisbet &
Scheufele,2004; Tedesco, 2007; Xenos & Moy, 2007)
Previous studies (Gil de Zuniga et al., 2009; Kim & Geidner, 2008; Kushin & Yamamoto,
2010) have reported that the use of social media for political communication is positively
related to the political efficacy of end users of such information. Catt (2005) defines political
efficacy as a person’s self-belief in their own ability to understand politics, be heard, and make
a difference politically. According to Kushin and Yamamoto (2010) social media application
for the dissemination of political information such as microblog updates and the streaming of
live videos of campaign events gives users the perception of increased engagement with their
preferred candidates or political parties.
Wells and Dudash (2007) buttress this claim by arguing that, young adults (voters) rely mostly
on friends and the internet for political information rather than sourcing for political
information from the traditional media. He further argues that, users are able to have the
experience of politics on a more familiar and personal level through the use social media. And
thus such experience makes politics accessible and inculcating it into the daily lives of young
adults thereby impacting on their political efficacy. Following previous studies, the
dissemination of political messages via social media is therefore expected to be positively
related to political efficacy of end users.
39
dissemination on social media and political efficacy of young voters.
2.13.5 Political efficacy and Political Participation
According to Tan (1981; as cited by Kushin and Yamamoto, 2010) political efficacy refers to
an individual voter’s belief that his or her actions can impact on the political processes. Political
efficacy can be classified into two different dimensions (Kenski & Stroud, 2006; Lee, 2006;
Tedesco, 2007) that is; internal political efficacy and external political efficacy. Internal
political efficacy refers to an individual’s belief about their competence to understand and to
participate actively in politics whereas external political efficacy fundamentally refers to an
individual’s belief about the responsiveness of government authorities and institutions to
citizen’s request.
According to Abramson and Aldrich (1982) citizens have a responsibility to first believe in
themselves that they are capable of affecting the change they need before they are able to realize
or experience the value of actively engaging in political change. They further note that without
a feeling of competence and belief that their actions are necessary they have little motivation
to participate in politics. This assertion is alluded by Levy (2013) who claims that a person or
voter is more likely to vote if his or her political efficacy level is high and he or she is also
more likely to contact public official about public issues, involve himself or herself in political
activism, use informational new media and become psychologically involved in politics in
general.
H4: There would be a positive and significant relationship between political efficacy and
40
2.13.6 Political knowledge and Political Participation
Political knowledge as defined by Delli-Carpini and Keeter (2005) is the series of actual
political information that are saved in a person’s long term memory. They argue that the more
knowledgeable a voter is the more likely is he or her to be interested in politics, committed to
various forms of participation attached to democratic principles , opinionated, and efficacious.
They further argue that democratic principles are best adhered to when the citizenry are
politically knowledgeable and thus political knowledge can be attained through formal
education, news media discussions or exposure to political information on social media.
The internet, including social media is believed to give users unlimited access to information,
it as well serves as a medium through which information can be rapidly and cheaply diffused
in to the system. Social media users can easily therefore exchange information with the other
users of social media. As noted by Polat (2005) every information consumer on social media
becomes information producer on social media thereby facilitating the spread of information
on the platform. However, Noveck (2000) states that for an information to be useful and
meaningful they must be contextualized and screened to be knowledge.
According to Jung et al (2011) political knowledge and political participation are positively
related. As asserted by Kiad et al (2007) young voters often attributed their lack of political
knowledge to their lack of political participation. However, a study (Jung et al, 2011)
investigating the effect of political knowledge on political participation showed that political
knowledge substantially influenced political participation. Voters who are well informed and
are therefore more knowledgeable politically are more likely to participate in politics (Polat,
2005). It is also argued that, more politically knowledgeable voters are also likely to be
disappointed in politics which may lead to lack of participation, this possibility however lacks
41
empirical evidence. Many scholars (Jung et al, 2011; Gil de Zuniga et al 2012; Yamamoto et
al 2013) continue to argue that political knowledge could increase political participation.
H5: There would be a positive and significant relationship between political knowledge and
2.13.7 Demographic Variables, Social Media and Political Participation
One of the most essential findings in literature about the role of social media is that social
media in itself cannot guarantee success, it is considered as an enhancing platform. Social
media could play a significant role as a communication tool in politics, however, the
application of the marketing concept of strategic fit and alignment could determine success or
failure in the use of social media in politics or any other business endeavour (Harfoush, 2009).
Politicians must most importantly align the use of social media to the overall objective of the
organization and also take into consideration the prevailing socio-demographic factors within
which the party operates (Harfoush, 2009).
According to Philips, Reynolds and Reynolds (2010) the social connectivity and interpersonal
characteristics of the social media makes it important to understand the target market,
especially in political communication. They further posit that, social media can be traced with
demographic characteristics. This relates to the fact that issues faced by people and reasons for
political participation can also be traced to demographic factors. It is therefore important that
those demographic variables such as age, gender etc. be as well considered in the use of social
media for political communication.
42
43
CHAPTER THREE
THE CONTEXT OF THE STUDY
3.0 Introduction
This chapter discusses the context of the study. It highlights the political and media landscape
of Ghana, social media in Ghana and political mobilization in Ghana. The chapter seeks to
contextualize political marketing in Ghana and the role played by social media.
3.1 Ghana
Ghana is a West African country located along the Gulf of Guinea on about 23.9 million
hectares of land. Ghana shares borders with Burkina Faso to the north, Côte d’voire to the west,
Togo to the east, and the Atlantic Ocean to the south. The country has ten regions and ten
administrative regional capitals (Accra, Kumasi, Koforidua, Cape Coast, Takoradi, Ho,
Sunyani, Tamale, Bolgatanga, and Wa) with Accra as the national capital. The population of
Ghana is estimated to be 26.3 million with Ashanti and Greater Accra regions as the most
populated regions with 19.4 percent and 16.3 percent of the population, and a population
growth rate of 3.4 percent and 4.4 percent respectively (Ghana Statistical Service, 2014).
3.2 Political and Media Background of Ghana
Ghana is considered as an epitome of procedural democracy in Africa by the international
community. Ghana’s respectable record since 1992 is assessed from conducting successive
general elections which have brought into power four different governments (Kalyango & Adu-
Kumi, 2013). The West African nation in 1966 was set on a patchy road of sequential coup
d’états after the overthrow of the first president Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. This was followed by
economic decline, under development, and poverty (Commander, 2007).
44
Ghana returned to multi-party democracy in 1992 after the longest serving head of state
President Jerry John Rawlings liberalized the media industry facilitating its growth across the
length and breadth of the country (Fair, 2008). Nevertheless, the proliferation of media houses
as a result of this liberation did not tally with the expected quality (Fair, 2008). Fair (2008)
sees the election of the current NDC government into office in 2008 as having a lot of
significance for the young and emerging democracy of Ghana. According to Gyimah-Boadi
(2009) it was significant for the reason that it was the second time in the history of Ghana that
political state power was successfully been transferred from an incumbent to an opposition
party. Bonnah-Koomson (1995) gives reasons for the success of Ghana’s emerging young
democracy arguing that, this was also attributed to the media as key contributors to the civic
education of the country and thus Ghana’s media’s keen watchdog role and mass mobilization
are believed to have contributed to some extent fair, transparent, and competitive elections and
the subsequent interchanging of power between the two leading political parties NPP and NDC.
Fair et al (2009) note that, in the year 2008, over 104 radio and television stations were
authorized by the National Communications Authority (NCA) of Ghana to start operating with
five of them being free-to-air independent commercial TV stations. They also noted that, the
Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) was also at the time been considered for
transformation into a public service broadcaster. Notwithstanding these tremendous
developments, lack of infrastructural investment in the “new” media technology in the early
2000s continued to be a challenge (Fair et al, 2009).
Other challenges such as the lack of legal powers by institutions like the National
Communication Authority (NCA), the National Media Commissions set up to regulate the
media sector in Ghana were as well identified. For instance, The National Media Commissions
45
(NMC) lacked the legal powers to perform their statutory obligations to prevent state and
external infringement on the autonomy of the news media (Gyimah-Boadi, 2009). Several
media associations in Ghana such as the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), the Institute of
Public Relations Ghana (IPR), Private Newspaper Publishers Association of Ghana
(PRINPAG) collectively ensured that professionalism was promoted. Nonetheless, there were
still many more challenges in terms of content and the manner in which several radio stations,
and newspapers continued to operate and broadcast news content with political inclinations
(Fair, 2008). According to the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD) notwithstanding the
relative freedom the media enjoy in Ghana, there are occurrences of threats and attacks on
journalists and other media personnel when some persons perceive some news reports to be
undesirable and dishonorably exposing bad governance (CDD, 2009).
3.3 Political Marketing in Ghana
The political market of Ghana in theory can be thought to be the total number of registered
voters against the total numbers of registered political parties contesting an election in Ghana
(Lott & Reed, 1989). Nevertheless, essentially the political market in Ghana is believed to be
dominated by twenty percent (20%) of the total voters which constitute the floating voters most
of whom can be found pre-dominantly in comparatively mixed communities and urban areas
mostly in the ‘swing regions’. The Pareto 80/20 rule can possibly be applied here, this is true
for the reason that 80% of the Ghanaian electorate seems to be loyal to either of the two major
political parties as discovered by a cursory examination of election results in the Fourth
Republic.
Available data further reveals that apart from the 1992 and 1996 elections, where the difference
in the total number of votes between the two leading and perceived ethnic centered parties was
46
more than 20% or just about 20%, the differences in all the other three presidential election
results in Ghana are less than 10%. For instance, The NDC won the 2008 presidential election
with a margin of just about 40,000.00 votes. The difference however has been attributed to the
Rawlings personality factor which is believed to be still relevant in Ghanaian democratic
politics. Nearly 80% of the Ghanaian body of voters in the fourth republic can thus be labeled
as party loyalist or party faithful which may be as a result of the political product
characteristics, the political product benefits or the political marketing support services and as
well certain variables like ethnicity, personality, past performance, party identity or image, and
campaign among others (Fair, 2008; Gyimah-Boadi, 2008).
According to Hayes & McAllister (1996) floating voters can basically be considered as
“individuals with no brand loyalty” which presumes that it would be comparatively more
difficult to win such votes. It is believed to be fundamentally difficult to win a floating voter
than to maintain a party faithful and this makes tailoring the political message through the right
channel to the right segment of voters more important. This is why effectively disseminating
the political massages is also so important. The expectations of floating voters are to be
predetermined in order to satisfy them. The ability to maintain “party loyalists” and further
accumulate a little above ten percent of floating voters in an election can turn around the
fortunes of a political party positively in Ghana. As argued by Smith & Saunders (1990) in
the IMC age, the prospect of political marketing is to further ascertain the target market’s wants
and needs and the necessary policy or message to satisfy these wants more effectively.
In view of this, combining the political marketing variables such as the political product
attributes, political product benefits and the political marketing support services become
important. Politician has the responsibility of modifying their political messages through the
47
appropriate medium in order to win votes of the segment of voters concerned. In this regard,
using the normative theory of segmentation, which consists of several logically sequenced
steps: market segmentation, targeting, and marketing mix development (Cook and Walters,
1991; Dibb and Simkin, 1994; Rudelius et al., 1987; Wind, 1978). Segmentation as a marketing
tool thus involves dividing the market into homogeneous groups (segmentation), selecting one
or more segments (targeting), and tailoring a marketing programme to the target group
(marketing mix development).
The politician must recognize that the voter and the political product characteristics should
determine the political marketing strategy and message to adopt. In political marketing, the
customer or voter characteristic may refer to the variables that can be used to understand the
particular market segment and these include the geographic and geo-demographic
considerations, as well as demographic, behavioural and psychotropic considerations (Cook
and Walters, 1991; Dibb and Simkin, 1994; Rudelius et al., 1987; Wind, 1978). However
demographic considerations shall be the focus of this thesis.
3.4 Political Mobilization and Participation in Ghana
According to Cox et al. (1998) mobilization refers to the process by which an inactive
collection of individuals in a society is converted into an active group in the pursuit of common
goals or pressured into political participation by an authoritarian government. In terms of
economics, the concept of mobilization is used to define the process of using creative efforts
that promote the use of local assets to gain support for an organization, to create circulation,
and to gather more assets or capital (World Bank, 2007; Walgrave & Verhulst, 2009).
48
Goldstein and Ridout (2002) argue that there are three main factors of mobilization which
affects voter turnout among the citizens. These factors are aggregate rate of mobilization,
effective mobilization contact, and change in targeting of mobilization. They further argued
that mobilization comes with it the power to promote individual participation and the more
penetrating it is the more effective and convincing it is, and the more it gets citizens or voters
to participate in a process or vote. Kernell and Jacobson (2000) had earlier posited that the
major reasons for the decline in voter participation were as a result of the failure of institutions
such as the political parties, labor unions, state institutions mandated to mobilize the citizenry
as well as the political candidates. One more essential distinction that Goldstein & Ridout
(2002) made in terms of how mobilization operates in developed nations like the United States
is that, it had become more complex, as voter contact processes were often procured off-the-
shelf from consultants and phone banks that focused in identifying and contacting voters for
candidates and parties. The argument for this occurrence, according to Putnam (2000), is a
change from the use of social capital that is grassroots citizen network to financial capital where
money becomes the driving force behind mass marketing of candidates and political parties.
Currently in Ghana, the massive procurement of social media tools and the formation of new
media technologies have set the stage for self-mobilization towards other equally networking
groups for political as well as social mobilization (Fair et al, 2009). For instance, in Ghana, the
Committee for Joint Action (CJA) was able to mobilize thousands of supporters to organize a
demonstration to press home for the reduction of fuel prices in 2008, besides this several other
similar mobilizations have taken place since 2009. According to Berman (1997) and King et
al (1998) political participation by the citizenry in government decision-making processes
helps improve government performance, decision legitimacy, citizen responsiveness, and trust
in direct democracy. Also, with effective mass mobilization, citizens get the opportunity to
49
become contributors to governance and shareholders in government as a result of their
participation in the decision making processes of the state (Roberts, 2004).
There are four types of citizen participation according to Langton (1978) and these are citizen
action such as lobbying and protest, citizen involvement such as public hearings and citizen
surveys, electoral participation such as voting and campaigning for political candidates, and
obligatory participation such as paying taxes and performing jury duty. Langton (1978) argued
that citizen involvement through mass mobilization is defined as one introduced and organized
by government to advance and or to gain support for decisions, programs, or services.
According to him, citizen participation activities are concerned with techniques or mechanisms
such as public hearings, citizen advisory councils, citizen panels, neighborhood meetings, and
citizen surveys. Some of the major organizers and mass mobilizers of people for political
participation since the 1960s included churches, artists, universities and other tertiary
institutions, professionals and other advocacy groups. During those ground-breaking days,
some of the mobilization strategies included reinforcement and recruitment of foot soldiers to
knock on doors and to dispense informational materials (Martz & Baloyra, 1976). There are
particular instances where political mobilizers utilized strategies of inducement with material
elements and also promised recruiters and citizens to participate in a process. However,
according to Martz and Baloyra (1976), these material inducements failed in some cases. Mass
mobilizers in some cases utilized maximum effort in mobilizing political party or group
sympathizers without essentially inducing them with material elements.
In recollection of how people were mobilized in the 1960s, 80s, and mid-1990s,currently, the
globalized world of online media discussion groups, virtual social media platforms and other
virtual participatory electronic devices like cell phones have become the new tools for mass
50
mobilization. The days when mass mobilization for political participation were through
political party structures and the traditional civil society community organizations seems to be
a thing of the past. Social media have revolutionized the way the masses are mobilized for
3.5 Social Media in Ghana
Not too long ago, West Africa’s largest Internet café Busy Internet, located in the heart of
Accra attracted Ghanaian internet users from all walks of life because of their speedy internet
connections. Today, the growth of mobile and broadband internet has given many Ghanaians
access to internet connections in the comfort of their homes and offices without having to visit
the internet café to surf the internet (BiztechAfrica.com). In Ghana, it is estimated that
5,171,993 people use the internet as of 2015, representing 19.6% of the population and 1.6%
of internet users in Africa (Internet World Statistics, 2015). The statistics of the number of
internet users in Ghana and the penetration rate from 2000 to 2015 is presented in Table 3.1
below.
Table 3.1: Number of Internet Users and Penetration rate in Ghana

Penetration Rate (% of
Year Number of Internet Users the Population)
2000 30,000 0.2
2006 401,300 1.8
2008 880,000 3.8
2009 997,000 4.2
2015 5,171,993 19.6%
Source: Internet World Statistics, (2015)
51
In recent times, increased use of the internet has made the social media an important means
through which political parties run their campaigns during elections. According to Abhilash
(2014), the rapid evolution and pattern of internet usage is as a result of the social media and
mobile technology. Social media has changed the mode of communication among people.
Similarly, mobile technology has also increased the number of people who have access to the
internet as mobile networks provide internet services to their customers (Ibid, 2014). As earlier
stated, Ghana has over 5 million Internet users today, representing 19.6 percent of the
population (Internetworldstats.com). Mobile technology is pushing the frontiers and allowing
access to the web than ever before. It is connecting more and more people by reaching areas
that were previously disconnected.
3.6 Information and Communication Technology Penetration in Ghana
Information and communication technology (ICT) is defined by Bartlett (2002) as the systems
for producing, storing, sending and retrieving digital files. According to him, these files may
contain text, sounds and images, both still and motion. Information and communication
technology (ICT) is fast transforming human engagements all over the world (Alemna & Sam,
2006). According Alemna and Sam (2006) in reaction to international policy changes in the
ICT industry, Ghana become one of the first African countries to reform its ICT sector. In view
of this, the necessary legal and regulatory frameworks to support the growth of the sector were
put in place.
The sector since 1990 has enjoyed major liberalization from successive governments
(Frempong & Atubra, 2001). The Ghana government based on a 5 year accelerated
development programme introduced in 1994 liberalized the ICT sector to enable the private
sector to participate in the expansion of the ICT in Ghana (Frempong & Atubra, 2001). This
52
expansion of the telecommunication sector was to be achieved through the increase in tele
density from 0.31 percent to about 2.5 percent and this was to be done through provision of
public and private payphones; improvement in public access in rural and urban areas;
expansion of coverage of mobile services; promoting Ghanaian ownership of
telecommunications companies; and retaining the overall public regulatory control of the sector
through the creation of a single agency (Frempong & Atubra, 2001).
According to Alemna and Sam (2006) the accelerated development programme by 2003 had
achieved an increase in tele density from 0.34 lines to 1.16 lines per 1,000 residents.
Telecommunication Company like Westel was licensed to operate at the time alongside the
state owned Ghana Telecom. In the year 2003 the Ghana Government introduced the ICT4AD
policy, the policy was to accelerate the development of Ghana through the deployment and
exploitation of ICT within the economy (Ibid). Alemna and Sam (2006) argue that, access to
telephone communication services improved significantly in the early stages of the
liberalization leading to the growth of mobile communication services in Ghana. Frempong
(2005) posit that, in spite of the success of mobile telephony in Ghana, the demand for landlines
was still high at the time.
3.7 Policy Environment
Frempong and Atubra (2001) explain that the conscious effort to liberalize the
telecommunication sector makes Ghana one of the countries in Africa to have removed the
monopoly of the telecommunication, the aim was to increase access to ICT through
competition. The National Communication Authority (NCA) was established by the NCA Act,
1996, Act 524 which was later replaced by the National Communications Authority Act of
2008, Act 769.
53
The establishment of the NCA was to regulate communication in Ghana. Ghana Telecom
during the period was acting as player and a referee, hence the need for an independent
regulatory body (National Communication Authority, 2006). The National Communication
Authority is mandated to;
 Promote competition among persons engaged in the provision of communication
services
 Protect operators and consumers from unfair conduct of other operators and to ensure
quality of communication services and payment of the right tariffs in respect of the
services.
The National Communication Authority (NCA) as a regulatory body also has the authority to;
 Grant licenses for the operation of communication system in Ghana,
 Assign and regulate the use of frequencies in Ghana and,
 Advice government on policies and development of strategies for the communication
sector.
3.8 Mobile Telephony in Ghana
According to Frempong and Atubra (2001), access to general telephone services in Ghana
improved substantially in the early stages of the liberalization of the Ghanaian
telecommunication sector. By 2008, telephone penetration rate stood at 52.4% with 99%
mobile and 1% fixed lines, the penetration rate of mobile telephony at the end of 2011 was
75% comparable to seventeen million (17,000,000) access lines (Frempong, 2005).
54
Ghana has one of the most competitive (Frempong, 2005) telecom markets in the African sub-
region, the country was among the first to privatize its telecommunication sector and also
among the pioneers in developing mobile telephony and data services and to connect to the
internet in Africa (Alemna and Sam, 2006). There has been conscious efforts by the Ghana
government in recent years to develop computer literacy and to extend internet availability via
a network of public access venues. Today, international connectivity has increased
significantly, the cost of bandwidth has dramatically reduced as a result of a fifth submarine
cable which came on stream in 2013. This has reduced substantially the cost of bandwidth in
Ghana. Consumers now enjoy comparatively lower prices with Ghana Telecom/Vodafone
Ghana being one of the many operators which have invested in national networks to extend
internet broadband deeper into areas which previously were not connected (National
Communication Authority, 2013).
55
CHAPTER FOUR
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
4.0 Introduction
As defined by Remenyi and Williams (1998), research methodology is the procedural
framework within which the study is conducted. It comprises the theoretical and ideological
basics as well as the fundamental principles that guide a researcher in the selection of a
particular research method over the other.
This chapter provides a description of the research methodology employed in this study and
discusses how the study would be conducted in order to achieve the objectives of the study.
The chapter discusses the research paradigm, the research design and as well provides
justification for the choice of the survey research strategy. It also describes the sample and
population considered as well as the sampling procedures employed in the study. The sources
of data, the data collection procedures and the type of research instrument used are also
discussed. Furthermore, a description of the method of data analysis adopted for the study is
provided. This chapter ends with a discussion on ethical considerations relating to interview
and how these are dealt with in the context of political marketing.
4.1 Research Paradigm
A research paradigm is defined as a set of philosophical assumptions, concepts or beliefs used
as a thinking framework underlying the manner in which a research is designed and conducted
(Krauss, 2005; Wahyuni, 2012; Creswell, 2013). The assumptions or concepts about
knowledge are used as a guide to researchers as to what and how they study about the reality
in their research (Creswell, 2013). Positivism, post-positivism or critical realism, interpretivism
or constructivism and pragmatism according to Krauss (2005) are the main types of research
56
paradigms. Krauss (2005) further notes that questioning the correlation between the knower
and what is to be known, that is , how do we know what we know as well as what knowledge
is made of helps the understanding of the philosophical assumptions underpinning the different
paradigms.
Scientific approaches are used by both positivism and post- positivism paradigms to advance
numeric measures which help to generate knowledge (Wahyuni, 2013). The formulation of
hypotheses based on theory are associated with the positivism and post-positivism paradigms
and these hypotheses are statistically tested using statistical tools (Wahyuni, 2013). On the
other hand, the qualitative methodology is however rooted in the philosophical underpinnings
of the interpretive paradigm. The interpretive paradigm is of the view that there are many truths
and multiple realities, therefore, subjective meanings about a phenomena or an object being
studied can be established by providing the participants with the chance to express their
opinions (Wahyuni, 2012; Creswell, 2013). According to Creswell (2013) questions asked in
qualitative research methods are usually broad and open-ended in order to solicit respondents’
own meaning of the situation which may be through discussions or interactions with other
participants. In Mixed Research method, according to Creswell (2013) pragmatism is the
philosophical assumption that underpins it. In the pragmatism paradigm, knowledge is believed
to originate from actions, situations and consequences rather than antecedent conditions. The
focus of a study that adopts pragmatism paradigm is mainly on the research problem than the
method, both quantitative and qualitative research methods are simultaneously employed under
this method (Wahyuni, 2012).
This study employed a quantitative research approach and for that matter was based on either
positivism or post-positivism paradigms. Positivism holds that there is only one truth which
57
cannot be influenced by peoples’ perception, thus, the truth is an objective reality that exist
(Creswell, 2013; Krauss, 2005). Deductive reasoning is used as the bases to postulate theories
which are further tested to synchronize result of the research and facts available. Theory is
revised to better reflect reality if the result does not match the facts (Krauss, 2005). According
to the post-positivist, there exist a possibility of an objective reality, however, researchers
cannot entirely distant themselves from the reality (Creswell, 2013). Post-positivism holds a
deterministic epistemology which suggest that outcomes or effects have underlying causes and
that the causes that influence outcomes must be first investigated (Creswell, 2013).
Post-positivism further holds that the goal of a research is to achieve common goal among
researchers about a perceived nature of reality (Schutt, 2011). Thus facts are believed to be
unbiased observations and for that matter if there are disagreements over facts it should be
attributed to incorrect use of measurement instrument or inadequate observation rather than the
existence of possible different interpretations (Schutt, 2011). The establishment of accurate
measure of observations are of great importance to post- positivists.
In conclusion, the post-positivist is of the belief that knowledge of a reality is governed by
theories and thus these theories need to be tested, verified, and refined (Creswell, 2013).
According to Coll and Chapman (2000) the choice of a particular methodology should be
centered on the purpose or the objective of the study rather than commitment to a particular
paradigm. This study therefore adopted the post-positivist worldview or paradigm.
4.2 Research Design
A research design is a plan of the study that specifies its objectives, the sources from which the
researcher intends to collect data. It considers the constraints such as access to data, time,
location and money that would be inevitably encountered as well as ethical issues relating to
58
the research (Saunders et al., 2007; Lewis & Thornhill, 2007). Research design consists of
research strategies, research choices and time horizons of the research. It gives the strategy of
enquiry which moves from the underlying philosophical assumption to the research design and
data collection (Saunders et al., 2007; Lewis & Thornhill, 2007). This research is a conclusive
study of political marketing in Ghana; the role of social media. The study seeks to establish the
relationship between political message dissemination on social media and political knowledge,
efficacy, and participation among young voters, assessing this phenomenon in relation to
political marketing in Ghana.
4.3 Research Approach
This study employed the quantitative research method. According to Hopkins (2008)
quantitative research method primarily deals with quantifying relationships that exist between
the various factors or variables under study through the use of statistical measures such as
correlation coefficient, mean difference, or relative frequency. In quantitative research studies,
according to Lindell and Whitney (2001) two key typologies of research design are employed,
cross- sectional and longitudinal (experimental). A cross-sectional, descriptive and
correlational design was utilized as the framework for examining the relationship that exist
between political message dissemination on social media and the achievement of political
efficacy, political knowledge and political participation among young voters in this study.
This also formed the basis for hypothesis and theory formulation around the subject matter.
According to Lindell and Whitney (2001) the most often utilized descriptive design in most
business researches is the cross-sectional study. The cross sectional study is known to be
effective in determining prevalence rate, identifying association between variables and also
inferring causation (Lindell & Whitney, 2001; Mann, 2003). The relevance of a cross sectional
59
study in most cases is to explain the correlation between variables or describe a phenomena
(Saunders, Lewis, & Thornhill, 2011). In this instance political message dissemination on
social media and its effects on young voters’ political efficacy, political knowledge and
political participation. Though a cross-sectional, descriptive, and correlational design is
suitable for this study with regard to its objective and the methodological framework, this is
not without limitation as this type of design is incapable of determining causal relationships.
With this limitation notwithstanding, the cross-sectional descriptive correlation was deemed
the most suitable for this research.
The research strategy employed for this study was the survey method. Conducting surveys
allow the collection of a large amount of data from a sizeable population in a highly economical
way (Saunders et al., 2007). The survey method is used to collect data from a sample of
individuals systematically and also provide important information for all kinds of research
including preferences, and behaviours; depending on its purpose and source (Malhotra, 2008).
It is also economical as compared to complete enumeration of the entire population (Saunders
et al., 2007). This study therefore employed the survey method.
4.4 Target Population
Population refers to a group of individuals or items that share one or more characteristics from
which data is being collected and analyzed. Since the focus of this study is to examine the role
of social media in political marketing among young voters who according to Pennington et al.
(2015) ranges from the age of 18 to 29 years, all young voters who have attained the ages of
18 to 29 on the university of Ghana campuses constituted the target population for this study.
As the focus of this study is on the impact of political message dissemination on social media
on young voters’ political efficacy, political knowledge and political participation, college
60
students are considered an appropriate population. According to Jones (2002), university
students are noted to be among the most internet-connected subgroups of the population and
regular users of the internet and for that matter social media.
The University of Ghana presently has a population of about twenty nine thousand, seven
hundred and fifty four (29,754) students at various levels with male to female ratio of
2:1(www.ug.edu.gh/about/enrolment-and-graduation statistics, retrieved, May 2016). The
University of Ghana is a good representation of the overall voter-population of Ghana since it
has people from all geographical regions across Ghana on campus. It also has a good number
of people within the age limit of 18 and 29 which falls within the scope of this study
(Pennington et al., 2015). Strandberg (2013) in a similar study used college students as his
population. However, since this population is very large, making a census or a complete
enumeration of all the values in the population is impractical or impossible because of time,
ease of data collection and financial constraints. Hence a sample, which is considered a cross-
section of the population was used (Yin, 2003; Saunders et al, 2007)
4.5 Sample and Sampling Technique
One of the most important aspects of a research is the data collection since it essentially
contributes to the overall understanding of the theoretical framework (Tongco, 2007). It is
however essential that the method used in obtaining the data and the selection process of
respondents be executed with sound judgment (Tongco, 2007). Practically, it is impossible for
a study like this to cover the entire population, for this reason, choosing a representative sample
becomes a crucial task (Malhotra, 2008). A quantitative research aims at getting a sample which
is representative enough of the target population so as to be able to generalize the results
(Marshall, 1996; Bartlett, Kotrlk, & Higgins, 2001; Malhotra, 2008). As noted by Marshall
61
(1996) a larger sample size is more likely to minimize sampling errors and thus the accuracy
and the quality of a quantitative research is largely dependent on the suitability of the chosen
sample size. This study employed a sample size of 320 with a margin of error and a confidence
interval of 5 percent and 95 percent respectively. This according to Burns and Bush (2010) is
suitable for social sciences studies and for that matter this study.
In most survey studies probability sampling technique is appropriate, however, non-probability
sampling methods such as incidental, quota, convenience and purposive may be desirable
depending on the nature and aim of the research in question (Malhotra, 2008). For this study,
due to the absence of a sampling frame of social media users within the population, a non-
probability purposive sampling technique was employed in the selection of the respondents
(Tongco, 2007; Opoku & Akorli, 2009; Strandberg, 2013). According to Babbie (2015),
purposive sampling is a nonprobability sampling method in which the researcher uses his
judgment in the selection of participants. In their study on how social media active journalist
used the platform, Appelberg (2012) employed purposive sampling to select respondents and
administer questionnaire. They further noted that this ensured that the selected respondents
were relevant to the study. A total of 350 respondents willingly participated in the study
representing 91.43 percent responds rate. Respondents were drawn from various levels across
departments on the university of Ghana campuses which included diploma, undergraduate and
graduate students.
Lastly, the results of a survey are mostly authentic and credible because the survey was based
on representative samples of a population and thus the results of the research are representative
of the entire population concerned (Saunders et al., 2007). The cost of conducting a survey
research is often lower because data is collected using a sample rather than the entire
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population. However, the limitation of the survey method is that data collected by the survey
strategy is unlikely to be as wide-ranging as those collected by other research strategies, as
there is a limit to the number of questions that any questionnaire can contain if the goodwill of
the respondent is doubtful (Saunders et al., 2007).
4.6 Eligibility Criteria
The selection of participants for the study was based on a definite criteria; to be eligible, the
respondent must be a young adult aged between 18 and 29 years, a Ghanaian, and must be a
social media user. This is to ensure that only qualified Ghanaian voters and users of social
media who are believed to be the main target of political message dissemination on social
media by Ghanaian politicians and are therefore better informed participated. Non-Ghanaian
nationals (students) were not included because they are not permitted per the laws of Ghana to
participate in Ghanaian politics. Questionnaires answered by non-social media users as well as
non-Ghanaians were eliminated before the final analysis.
4.7 Questionnaire Development
Research techniques are the step-by-step procedures in the collection and analysis of data
(Saunders et al, 2007). The procedure employed in this study was to solicit data through the
use of structured questionnaires. The questionnaire was structured based on the research
objectives. The first section of the questionnaire solicited the biographic data of the respondents
such as age, level of education and other socio-economic characteristics. The second and third
sections dealt with issues relating to the various research objectives.
The adoption of mostly close-ended questions made it easy for responses to be coded and
analyzed. Also, it made it easy for the researcher to collect a large number of data within a
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short period of time. The respondents were basically ticking the appropriate answers after
reading the questions and with the response choices given; there was no need to further explain
questions to the respondents. However, questionnaires can be limiting by suggesting ideas to
the respondents to which he or she will not otherwise have thought about. Again, respondents
can answer questions any how or even misinterpret some questions. All in all, comparing both
the merits and the demerits of using questionnaires, the merits far outweighed the demerits in
a study like this and thus it was expected that the use of questionnaires will have a good impact
on the study.
All the items intended to measure the variables were adapted from previously validated
instruments (Kushin & Stroud, 2006; Vitak et al, 2011; Strandberg, 2013). They were modified
such that the focus was on the Ghanaian context. The model was rated on a five- point Likert-
scale ranging from 1 which indicates strongly disagree to 5 indicating strongly agree. Each
scale was scored by aggregating the total scores for each question on a given measure and
reporting the total score as the composite score for the measure. To check for internal
consistency and reliability of the measures, Cronbach’s alpha values for the various constructs
were calculated (Nunnally & Bernstein, 1994). According to Nunnally and Bernstein (1994),
an alpha value of 0.6 or more for an instrument is sufficient for social science research. The
Cronbach’s alpha value calculated for political message dissemination was 0.708; political
knowledge was 0.830; political efficacy was 0.717; and political participation scale was 0.804.
All the Cronbach’s alpha values in this study were all considerably higher than 0.6. The
constructs were therefore considered to have sufficient consistency and reliability. To answer
the research questions, relationships were tested through structural equation modeling.
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4.8 Data Collection
According to Tweneboah-Koduah and Owusu-Frempong (2013) there are essentially two kinds
of data collection methods: primary data collection and secondary data collection. Hox and
Boeije (2005) posit that, primary data are data gathered purposely for a particular research
problem or study through the use of procedures that well fit the research problem. They further
noted that, each time primary data are collected fresh data set are subsequently added to the
already existing store of social knowledge about the phenomenon under study. This store of
knowledge generated by other researchers is made available and may be utilized by other
researchers or the general research community which then becomes secondary data.
This study basically relied on primary data. Primary data were collected through structured
questionnaires which were administered using both face-to-face and self-administration.
Questionnaires were distributed to young voters who are between the ages of 18 and 29 years
and collected that same day. This included those who have voted in the previous elections
(Savvy voters) and those who are yet to vote for the first time (First-Time voters). The
questionnaires were administered between April and May, 2016. The task of designing a
questionnaire involves the development of wording that is precise, concise and unambiguous
which for that matter allows respondents to successfully answer the questions that it sought to
ask (Drennan, 2003; Dillman, 2000).
In view of this Saunders (2007) suggest that questionnaires for a study should be pre-tested for
the purposes of re-wording, deleting and or adding new items should it be necessary for better
comprehension of the questionnaire by respondents. For these reasons, questionnaires for this
study were pre-tested at the Balme library of the University of Ghana. The researcher
65
personally distributed the questionnaire to a total of 30 respondents who participated in the pre-
test. The feedback was analyzed and the necessary changes were subsequently effected.
4.9 Ethical Consideration
Ethical considerations are important aspect of a research which must not be disregarded, the
consent, confidentiality and consequences for the participants should be of great concern to a
researcher (Malhotra & Birks, 2007). In view of this, respondents were assured of the
confidentiality of both general and personal information that the research sought to solicit from
them. Permission and approval were sought from participants involved. Respondents were
assured that the study was solely for academic purposes and that the outcome of the study
would be exclusively based on the analysis of data collected from participants. It is worthy to
note that, all participants voluntarily agreed to participate in this study.
4.10 Data Analysis
This section discusses the descriptive and inferential statistical methods that were used to
analyze the data gathered for the study. Previous studies about young voters and political
efficacy, knowledge and participation mainly used correlation and regression (Stranberg,
2013). For this study, the survey data collected were analyzed using the structural equation
modeling to equally examine the extent of relationship between the various constructs. The
collected data were analyzed using statistical software of Microsoft IBM SPSS version 22.0
for windows and Amos 18. The demographic characteristics of the respondents were examined
using descriptive statistics such as frequency, percentage, mean and standard deviation.
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4.11 Conclusion
This chapter discussed the methodology used in this research. The study adopted the survey
research method, and also used the administration of questionnaires as the method of data
collection. The data collected in this survey was analyzed quantitatively.
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CHAPTER FIVE
DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION OF RESULTS
5.0 Introduction
This chapter presents the results of the study and are organized into two major parts. The first
part presents the descriptive analysis of the demographic variables of respondents used in the
study, while the second part looks at the analysis and discussions of the research findings in
relation to the research hypotheses set in chapter two of this study.
5.1 Demographic Profile of Respondents
This section takes a look at the biographic data of the respondents that participated in the
research. The study profiled the respondents according to their age, gender, levels of education,
type of social media, as well as frequency of social media usage. Results from the demographic
data of the sampled respondents revealed that there were 74.1% males and 25.9% females who
took part in the study with majority of them within the age bracket of 18-21 years
(approximately 71.9%). There were also 28.1% within the ages of 22-29 years. Regarding
educational level of the respondents as of the time of the study, the bulk of them were at the
Bachelor’s degree level (82.2%) with 8.1% and 9.7% at the diploma and master’s degree and
above levels respectively. This signifies their ability to comprehend and provide accurate
responses to questions. Regarding the type of social media platform being used, more than a
half of the respondents (56.6%) use Facebook only, while 1.6% use Twitter only. However,
41.9% indicated the usage of both Facebook and Twitter. Concerning how frequently the social
media platforms are used, 84.7% use these platforms every day, 3.1%, 2.8% and 9.4% utilize
these platforms twice a week, once a week and once in a while respectively. These descriptions
have been illustrated in Table 5.1.
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Table 5.1: Profile of Respondents

Sample Composition
Profile Measurements Frequency Percent
Gender Male 237 74.1
Female 83 25.9
Age group 18-21 years 230 71.9
22-29 years 90 28.1
Educational level Diploma 26 8.1
Bachelor’s degree 263 82.2
Master’s degree and above 31 9.7
Type of Social media Facebook only 181 56.6
Twitter only 5 1.6
Facebook & Twitter 134 41.9
Frequency of Use Everyday 271 84.7
Twice a week 10 3.1
Once a week 9 2.8
Once in a while 30 9.4
N = 320
Source: Field work (2016)
5.2 Descriptive Statistics
As indicated in the previous chapter, the various questions were scaled from 1 indicating
strongly disagree to 5 indicating strongly agree. According Pallant (2013) descriptive statistics
is an initial analysis undertaken to inspect the data and examine the nature of the various
69
variables before any data validation and analysis is further undertaken. It uses measures of
central tendency such as mean, median, and mode and normality, and measures of variability
such as deviations and variance to summarize data (Pallant, 2013).
Table 5.2 displays the means and standard deviations of the various variables used. The results
indicate moderate to high mean values. The highest means were 4.07 (Political parties in Ghana
(NPP and NDC) have official pages for their presidential candidates on social media) whilst
the lowest was 1.96 (I have joined or left a political group for NPP or NDC on social media.)
and 1.58 (I have participated in a political demonstration organized by NPP or NDC through
social media). Hence, it is evident from Table 5.2 that the two major political parties (NPP and
NDC) have official pages for their presidential candidates on social media.
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Table 5.2: Descriptive Statistics

Details Code Mean s.d
I see political messages of political parties in Ghana on my time line on social

PMD1 3.52 1.226
media
I follow/subscribe to political party message/ information on a social media
PMD2 2.37 1.381
account
I have received political messages of political parties in Ghana from political
PMD3 3.35 1.408
accounts or friends on social media
I share political messages to friends or followers on my time line on social
PMD4 2.06 1.306
media
Political parties in Ghana (NPP and NDC) have official pages for their
PK1 4.07 1.076
presidential candidates on social media
“Arise for change” is the theme for the NPP for the 2016 general elections
PK2 3.65 1.061
and this message is trending on social media.
Changing lives, transforming Ghana is the theme for the NDC in the 2016
PK3 3.87 1.070
general elections, this message is trending on social media.
I consider myself well- qualified to join any of the political parties
PE1 3.07 1.389
(NPP&NDC) in Ghana having had knowledge about them via social media.
I feel that I have a say over who becomes the president of Ghana via political
PE2 3.30 1.307
messages I read on social media.
I think that I am better informed about NPP or NDC than most people do
PE3 2.92 1.186
via social media
I feel that I have a pretty good understanding of the important political issues
PE4 3.15 1.173
facing Ghana via the political messages I read on social media.
I have participated in a political demonstration organized by NPP or NDC
PP1 1.58 1.053
through social media
I have posted or shared a photo/video/link about NPP or NDC on social
PP2 2.06 1.397
media at least once
I have contributed to a political discussion about NPP & NDC on social
PP3 2.36 1.504
media at least once
I have replied a tweet or a post about NPP or NDC on social media at least
PP4 2.30 1.460
once
I have joined or left a political group for NPP or NDC on social media. PP5 1.96 1.320
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5.3 Exploratory Factor Analysis
Table 5.3 presents the results of exploratory factor analysis. The four political dissemination
items, seven political knowledge and efficacy items, and five political efficacy items were
analysed via component factor analysis using Varimax rotation and the principal component
extraction method. Only factors whose eigenvalues were equal or greater than 1 were selected
(Malhotra & Birks, 2006). In addition, only factor loadings with a minimum threshold of 0.5
(Hair et al., 1998). Based on eigenvalues greater than 1, four political dissemination factors
were found to capture 52.54 percent of the total variance. The Kaiser Meyer Olkin (KMO)
index was 0.65, and Bartlett’s test of Sphericity (chi-square) gave a value of 256.19 (degrees
of freedom (df) 36), significant at p = 0:00. Political knowledge factors accounted for 33.850
percent of the total variance and political efficacy 28.96 percent of the total variance adding up
to form cumulative variance of 63.81 percent: the KMO index was 0.83, and the chi-square
was 764.67 (df = 21), significant at p = 0:00. Finally, one political participation factor captured
64.95 percent of the total variance: the KMO index was 0.81 and the chi-square was 823.72 (df
= 10), significant at p = 0:00. All variables met the requirement for exploration and were thus
carried on for further analysis in a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA).
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Table 5.3: Exploratory Factor Analysis

Details Factor Loading Eigenvalue % of Variance
Political Dissemination
PMD1 .668 2.101 52.536
PMD2 .841
PMD3 .639
PMD4 .735
KMO = .652, Bartlett's Test of Sphericity = 256.191, df = 6, p= 0.00
Political Knowledge
PK1 .804 3.410 33.850
PK2 .846
PK3 .846
Political Efficacy
PE1 .708 1.057 28.955
PE2 .767
PE3 .707
PE4 .596
Political Participation
PP1 .698 3.248 64.954
PP2 .855
PP3 .896
PP4 .808
PP5 .758
5.4 Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA)
Since the survey scale measures were adopted from literature, a confirmatory factor analysis
(CFA) was conducted on the variables. The variables were checked for their loadings and
reliabilities. The reliability and validity of the measures represent the constructs being
evaluated and assess the psychometric properties of scaled measures (Fornell and Larcker,
1981). On the basis of this, one of the variables (PMD3) was dropped during the CFA because
73
its loading was less than the threshold value of 0.5. The composite reliabilities of the remaining
variables gave an indication of the internal consistency, which means that the measures
consistently represent the same latent construct. The composite construct reliability of each
construct ranged from 0.714 (Political Efficacy) to 0.860 (Political Participation), which meets
the acceptable criteria (Fornell and Larcker, 1981; Hair et al., 2006). Table 5.4 presents the
standardized loadings and the t-value of each variable indicator. All indicators had significant
standardized loadings of ρ ≤ 0.001, and t-values of the individual indicators ranged from 7.775
to 16.695 (Gerbing and Anderson, 1988). All nine constructs were tested for their goodness of
fit and validation of scales of the measurement of the constructs by the CFA. The model fit
indices in the measurement model exhibited good fit on the data (Χ2 = 195.708, df = 81, GFI =
.928, CFI = .948, NFI = .916, TLI = .933, RMSEA = .067). These indices meet the acceptable
criteria for the overall model fit of the sample group suggested by Kline (2005).
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Table 5.4: Confirmatory Factor Analysis Results

Constructs (Cronbach’s Standardized Composite
Items t-value P
Alphas) Loading reliability
Political Message Dissemination PMD4 .756 Fixed .732
(α = 0.708) PMD2 .775 12.668 ***
PMD1 .528 7.775 ***
Political Knowledge (α = 0.830) PK3 .884 Fixed .839
PK2 .850 16.695 ***
PK1 .642 12.183 ***
Political Efficacy (α = 0.717) PE4 .675 Fixed .714
PE3 .570 8.360 ***
PE2 .563 8.280 ***
PE1 .668 9.477 ***
Political Participation PP5 .606 Fixed .860
(α = 0.864) PP4 .798 11.204 ***
PP3 .914 12.111 ***
PP2 .833 11.519 ***
PP1 .525 10.403 ***
Χ2 = 195.708, df = 81, GFI = .928, CFI = .948, NFI = .916, TLI = .933, RMSEA = .067
5.5 Discriminant Validity
Discriminant validity compares the variance-extracted estimates of the measurements with the
square of the parameter estimate between the measurements. Table 5.5 shows the means,
standard deviations, and correlation values among the seven constructs. The means ranged
from 2.053 (Political Participation) to 3.860 (Political Knowledge), and the standard deviations
from 0.923 to 1.091. The correlations among the constructs ranged from 0.369 to 0.686. The
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lowest correlation was that between Political Participation and Political Knowledge (r = 0.369),
and the highest was that between value for Political Participation and Political Message
Dissemination (r = 0.686). The results demonstrated the strength and direction of relationships
among the factors. This was carried out to cater for multicollinearity and to confirm that the
factors are distinct from each other and not measuring the same attributes. The average
variance-extracted (diagonals) estimates measure the amount of variance captured by a
construct in relation to the variance due to random measurement error. The variance extracted
scores of the constructs ranged from 0.503 (Political Efficacy) to 0.639 (Political Knowledge),
which suggests adequate convergent validity (Bagozzi and Yi, 1988; Fornell and Larcker,
1981).
Table 5. 5: Descriptive, Correlations and AVEs

Constructs Mean s.d 1 2 3 4
Political Message Dissemination 2.651 1.021 (.511)
Political Knowledge 3.860 0.923 .499** (.639)
Political Efficacy 3.111 0.931 .518** .5536** (.503)
Political Participation 2.053 1.091 .686** .369** .448** (.562)
5.6 Hypotheses Testing Using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM)
To help understand and evaluate the various hypotheses made earlier in this study, the study
employed a structural equation modeling (SEM) approach. SEM is essentially considered a
preferred modeling method (Bagozzi and Yi, 2012) because researchers can use it to control
for measurement error, provide information on the degree of fit of the tested model, and test
multiple relationships (Byrne, 2013). The structural paths were estimated to test the hypotheses
between the constructs. The AMOS output provided some measures which allow assessment
76
of the absolute and incremental fit of the proposed model. In the study model results, a chi-
square of 25.769 (df = 12, p < .01) indicating a normed chi-square fit value of 2.15. The root-
mean-square-error of approximation (RMSEA) value is 0.056; goodness-of-fit index (GFI) is
0.975. Regarding the incremental fit measures, the comparative fit index (CFI) value was
0.959. These results from the structural model assessment statistics above reveal that the model
appears to have established an acceptable fit and thus accomplished a satisfactory level of
homological validity.
Table 5.6: Fit Indices of Model

Fit index Recommended value Structural Model
Chi-square/df ≤3 (25.769/12) = 2.15
GFI ≥ 0.90 .975
AGFI ≥ 0.80 .912
CFI ≥ 0.90 .959
RMSEA ≤ 0.08 .056
From the structural results, it was found that the effect of Political Message Dissemination on
Political Efficacy (β = 0.518, t-value = 10.817, p < .001), Political Knowledge (β = 0.499, t-
value = 10.281, p < .001), and on Political Participation (β = 0.625, t-value = 11.908, p < .001)
were all positive and statistically significant. The association between Political Efficacy and
Political Participation was also positive and statistically significant (β = 0.106, t-value = 2.252,
p < .05). It was however found that the relationship between Political Knowledge and Political
Participation was inversely related and statistically not significant (β = -0.018, t-value = -.378,
p > .05). From the individual path relationships, a unit increase in Political Message
Dissemination suggestively results in approximately 51.8% increase in Political Efficacy,
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49.9% increase in Political Knowledge as well as approximately 62.5% increase in Political
Participation among young voters. Thus hypotheses one, two, three, and four were supported
while hypothesis five was not supported in the current study. In all these tests, the effect of age
and gender were controlled for and it was found that gender had a significant relationship with
Political Participation. This suggests possible variations in Political Participation among the
sampled respondents. Table 5.7 displays the results of the hypotheses tests using structural
equation modelling.
Table 5.7: Structural Model Assessment Results

Controls β Estimate t-value Sig.
Political Participation <--- Gender -.144 -3.563 ***
Political Participation <--- Age .036 .889 .374
Hypothesized Paths
Political Efficacy <--- Political Message Dissemination .518 10.817 ***
Political Knowledge <--- Political Message Dissemination .499 10.281 ***
Political Participation <--- Political Message Dissemination .625 11.908 ***
Political Participation <--- Political Efficacy .106 2.252 .024
Political Participation <--- Political Knowledge -.018 -.378 .705
In examining the variations in the model among the gender groups, a sub-group analysis was
conducted. The responses used for the general model were split based on the two gender groups
(males and females). In all, there were 237 males and 83 females in the sub-groupings. The
sub-group analysis indicated differences in the model based on gender. From the results, only
the association between Political Knowledge and Political Participation was not statistically
significant among males. In the case of females there were two path relationships which were
78
not significant; the association between Political Knowledge and Political Participation as well
as the association between Political Efficacy and Political Participation. Table 5.8 displays the
structural test of variations among males and females.
Table 5.8: Test of Variations among Males and Females

Structural paths Males Females
Β t-value β t-value
Political Efficacy <--- Political Message Dissemination .466 8.079*** .609 6.972***
Political Knowledge <--- Political Message Dissemination .560 10.372*** .314 2.999**
Political Participation <--- Political Message Dissemination .647 11.469*** .546 4.828***
Political Participation <--- Political Efficacy .118 2.071** .103 .873
Political Participation <--- Political Knowledge .005 .079 -.119 -1.212
*** p<0.01, ** p<0.05, * p<0.1
Furthermore, in examining the variations in the model among the age groups, another sub-
group analysis was conducted based on the two age groups (first-time voters and savvy voters).
In all, there were 230 first-time voters and 90 savvy voters in the sub-groupings. The sub-group
analysis indicated differences in the model based on age. From the results, only the association
between Political Knowledge and Political Participation was not statistically significant among
first-time voters. In the case of savvy voters there were two path relationships which were not
significant; the association between Political Knowledge and Political Participation as well as
the association between Political Efficacy and Political Participation. Table 5.9 displays the
structural test of variations among first-time voters and savvy voters. The ongoing results
present some interesting findings for discussions in the next section of the chapter.
79
Table 5.9: Test of Variations among First-time Voters and Savvy- Voters
Structural paths First-time voters Savvy voters
β t-value β t-value
Political Efficacy <--- Political Message Dissemination .495 8.615*** .544 6.143***
Political Knowledge <--- Political Message Dissemination .466 7.973*** .548 6.200***
Political Participation <--- Political Message Dissemination .677 12.155*** .517 5.120***
Political Participation <--- Political Efficacy .117 2.114** .127 1.103
Political Participation <--- Political Knowledge -.052 -.946 .068 .589
*** p<0.01, ** p<0.05, * p<0.1
5.7 Discussion of Findings
The primary objective of this study was to examine the extent to which political message
dissemination on social media influences young voters’ (18-29 yrs) political knowledge,
political efficacy and political participation. The findings of the study show that all the
constructs of the model are statistically significant except the construct of political knowledge
which has a non-significant relationship with political participation. These findings are
consistent with previous studies that have looked at the relationship between the use of social
media and political knowledge, political efficacy and political participation (Kenski and
Stroud, 2006).
Hypothesis one states that political message dissemination on social media has a positive and
significant relationship with political participation of young voters. The results of the analysis
shows that there is a significant and a positive relationship between the use of social media for
political communication and young voter participation. Consequently, Hypothesis one was
supported. This result is consistent with similar study by Vitak et al (2011) who also found that
political activities on Facebook was highly related to political participation. Zhang et al (2013)
80
also found in his study that the use of Facebook and Twitter had a positive and significant effect
on online and offline political participation. This therefore means that effective political
message dissemination via social media could yield desired results of political participation
especially among young voters.
The second hypothesis which stated that, there is a positive and significant relationship between
political message dissemination on social media and political knowledge was as well
supported. Nevertheless, the findings of this study is partially consistent with a previous study
by Dimitrova et al. (2011) who’s findings suggested that there is a significant and positive
relationship between online news and political knowledge than information on social media.
According to Dimitrova et al. (2011) political knowledge is rather greatly influenced by
political interest, foreknowledge as well as regular attention to political information on
traditional mass media. However, the outcome of this current study suggests that there is a
significant and positive effect of political messages disseminated on social media on political
knowledge of young voters.
The third hypothesis states that there is a positive and significant relationship between political
message dissemination on social media and political efficacy of young voters. The findings of
the current study reveals that there is a positive and significant relationship between political
communication via social media and political efficacy of young voters. Young voters are able
to get the feeling that they can also impact on the political processes of the country as a result
of the constant and series of political information they gather via Facebook and Twitter. This
however was partially consistent with a study by Kushin and Yamamoto (2010) which found
that though significant, the impact of social media on young adults’ political efficacy was little.
The timing of the previous study by Kushin and Yamamoto (2010) could account for the partial
81
consistency as their study was conducted in 2008 when the use of social media for political
activities was not as popular as today. To buttress the point, they (Kushin and Yamamoto,
2010) argued that as at the time, people were more used to finding political information via
online news portals than on social media. Today, the number of social media users especially
Facebook and Twitter have considerably increased and voters have embraced social media as
equally an alternative source of news and political information.
Hypothesis four states that there is a positive and significant relationship between political
efficacy and political participation. The result of the current study supported this Hypothesis.
There is a positive and significant relationship between political efficacy of young voters and
their participation in politics. However, this is in contrast with the findings of Kenski and
Stroud (2006) and Levy (2013) who’s findings did not establish a relationship between political
efficacy and political participation.
The fifth hypothesis states that, there is a positive and significant relationship between political
knowledge and political participation. Studies by Kenski and Stroud (2006) and Jang et al.
(2011) found that political knowledge was an essential predictor of political participation,
contrary to the expectation of this study. The current study finds no significant relationship
between political knowledge of the participants and their interest to be involved in politically-
related activities. Therefore, on the basis of the result, Hypothesis five was rejected. It could
however be argued that, young voters in Ghana though have sufficient knowledge of the online
political activities of political parties (NPP, NDC), they were not motivated enough to
participate in politics just on the basis of their knowledge of the political parties. As argued by
Polat (2005) motivation plays a role in political participation and for that matter political
82
knowledge without motivation is unlikely to translate into participation. Future research could
look into the role of motivation in political participation.
With regard to how demographic variables of the respondents (age and gender) influence their
political participation the results show that age did not have a positive and significant
relationship with political participation, that is in relation to the two age groups (18-22 and 23-
29) who were classified as first-time voters and savvy voters respectively.
In the case of gender, the result show that with regard to male and female subgroups, the
association between political knowledge and political participation was not statistically
significant. Political knowledge of both gender subgroups did not necessary translate into
political participation. This result however is in contrast with earlier study by Kenski and
Stroud (2006) who found political knowledge as an essential predictor of political participation.
In the case of females the association between political efficacy and political participation was
also found not to be statistically significant this result nevertheless is consistent with that of
Kenski and Stroud (2006) and Levy (2013) who also did not find political efficacy to be
positively and significantly related to political participation. The above results might be
explained by the assertion of Lee (2011) and Simone (2013) who posit that young voters are
politically apathetic and so therefore even when they have the feeling that their attempts can
translate into political change, they are still less involved in politically related activities.
83
CHAPTER SIX
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
6.0 Introduction
The previous chapter presented the analysis of data, results and discussions of the findings.
Chapter six presents a summary of the major findings, conclusions and recommendations based
on the findings of this current study. Also, the chapter focuses on implications and direction
for future research and limitations of the research.
6.1 Summary
In this study, the extent to which political messages disseminated on social media by Ghanaian
politicians influence their target audience in terms of political efficacy, political knowledge,
and political participation was examined.
In all 320 respondents participated in the study. A structural equation modeling using SPSS
and Amos versions 22 and 18 respectively were employed to test the various hypotheses that
were set in chapter one of this study. This study revealed that political messages diffused on
social media had a positive and significant impact on young voters’ political efficacy, political
knowledge, and political participation. The study further revealed a positive and significant
association between political efficacy and political participation. However, it was also revealed
that the association between political knowledge of young voters and their participation in
politics was inversely related.
Again, the study revealed a negative and a non-significant relationship between political
knowledge and political participation as well as political efficacy and political participation
among female participants. Political efficacy and political knowledge among female
84
participants did not necessary translate into political participation. On the other hand, there was
a positive and a significant relationship between political efficacy and political participation
among their male counterparts. This suggests that, the feeling that one can affect the political
process among male participants is an important predictor of their involvement in politically-
related activities. Interestingly knowledge in politics did not really matter when it comes to
male participants’ involvement in politically-related activities.
6.2 Conclusions
This study sought to examine the extent to which political messages diffused on social media
by Ghanaian politicians influence young voters’ political efficacy, political knowledge and
political participation, and also the relationship between efficacy, knowledge, demographic
parameters (age and gender) and participation. It was revealed that the use of social media as a
communication tool by Ghanaian politicians is really making a positive and significant impact
on their target audience;
Firstly, with reference to the first objective, it was revealed that political messages disseminated
on social media by Ghanaian politicians impacted positively and significantly on voters’
participation. There was a statistically positive and significant association between social
media messages and the involvement of politically related activities by young voters.
Secondly, in line with the second objective, it was found out that, the dissemination of political
messages on social media positively and significantly influenced voters knowledge about
politics in Ghana, However, the study further revealed that the knowledge acquired did not
necessarily translate into participation.
Thirdly, based on the third objective, the current study revealed a statistically positive and
significant relationship between political message dissemination on social media and political
85
efficacy. It was found that political messages diffused on social media positively influenced
voters believe that they can affect the political process of the country. Again, this further
translated into participation especially among male participants, efficacy among female
participants on the other hand did not necessarily translate into participation.
Lastly, with regard to the fourth objective, the study also revealed a statistically positive and
significant relationship between gender and political participation. Male participants were
found to be more involved in politically related activities than their female counterparts. Age,
as the study revealed did not have a statistically significant relationship with participation. The
study further revealed that political knowledge was not necessarily a predictor of political
participation among male participants but efficacy was found to be an important predictor of
political participation among male participants. On the other hand, the study also revealed an
inverse relationship between political efficacy, knowledge and participation among female
participants, suggesting that political knowledge and efficacy among female participants did
not necessarily lead to political participation.
6.3 Recommendations
First, the findings of this study reveals that political participation can be achieved through the
use of social media. Therefore, to increase political participation among the youth, political
parties/stakeholders should utilize social media to disseminate information targeted at
influencing participation.
Secondly, social media is a reality and a fact of life and has proven to be equally important
communication tool. Politicians/stakeholders in Ghana should therefore leverage well on it to
educate and inform the electorate about the important political issues in Ghana.
86
Thirdly, politicians should leverage on social media to bridge the perceived communication
gap between them and their constituents in order to increase their political efficacy by
encouraging two-way communication on social media platforms.
To conclude, there should be well planned, organized and segmented programme on social
media by politicians for greater impact.
6.4 Implications of the Study
This current study has several important implications for political marketers and politicians in
Ghana. The findings of this current study indicate that the use of social media as a
communication tool by Ghanaian politicians could impact positively on users’ political
efficacy, political knowledge and political participation. Based on this findings, the perceived
communication gap between politicians in Ghana and the electorate could be bridged if
politicians in Ghana are able to leverage well on the social media as an important
communication tool that allows two way communication. That is, disseminating the messages
to the targeted electorate and getting feedback from the electorate. Also, communication cost
can be reduced if politicians and political marketers are able to leverage well on social media
as equally effective and efficient alternative medium for the dissemination of their messages.
6.5 Limitations of the Study and Direction for Future Research
Like most research, this current study also has limitations, there are therefore a number of
notable limitations that must be taken into consideration when the result of this study is been
interpreted.
First, the study employed a purposive sampling technique which is a non-probability sampling
technique with the tendency of producing a sample bias. Also all participants in this study were
87
students of the University of Ghana who were on the university campus as at the time the study
was conducted.
Secondly, this study did not distinguish between the two dimensions of political participation
(Online and Offline participation) questions were asked to cover both dimensions. Online and
Offline political participation considered separately may produce a different outcome.
Similarly the study did not differentiate between internal political efficacy and external
political efficacy in view of this, future research could look at the various dimensions as stated
above separately.
Thirdly, other socio-demographic factors such as income, religion, Frequency of social media
use and so on could as well impact on users’ political efficacy, political knowledge, and
political participation. Future study may have to take into considerations these factors as
mentioned above.
Furthermore, the study focused on young voters (18-29 yrs.). Future studies may consider
expanding the age bracket and possibly including stakeholders such as the political parties or
the political candidates.
88
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APPENDIX: QUESTIONNAIRE
UNIVERSITY OF GHANA BUSINESS SCHOOL

DEPARTMENT OF MARKETING & ENTREPRENEURSHIP
MASTER OF PHILOSOPHY IN MARKETING
QUESTIONNAIRE
The researcher is an MPhil Marketing student of the University of Ghana Business School.
This survey seeks to elicit response on the topic ‘Political Marketing in Ghana; the role of
Social Media’ Information provided for the purposes of this research will be treated
confidentially and used for academic purposes only .Please take a few minutes to fill out this
questionnaire by ticking (√) where appropriate. Thank you.
PART ONE
SECTION A: Background / Demographic data of respondents
1. What is your gender?
(a.) Male
(b) Female
2. How old are you?
(a) 18-22
(b) 23-29
3. What is your highest level of education?

(a) Diploma
(b) Bachelor’s Degree
(c) Master’s Degree and above
4. What is your nationality?

(a) Ghanaian
(b) Non Ghanaian
5. Are you a registered voter?
(a) Yes
111
(b) No
SECTION B: Opening Questions/Knowledge of social media and political marketing
6 Are you on Social Media?
(a) Yes
(b) No
7. Which social media network(s) do you use? (Select all that apply)
(a) Facebook
(b) Twitter
(c) Facebook and Twitter
8. How often do you visit your social media site(s)?
(a) Everyday
(b) Twice a week
(c) Once a week
(d) Once in a while
9. On the average, how much time do you spend on Social Media whenever you visit your site?
(a) < 30 minutes
(b) 31 minutes –1 hour
(c) 1 –2 hours
(d) > 4 hours
112
PART TWO
This section of the questionnaire seeks your candid opinions on how political message
dissemination on social media influence your political knowledge, political efficacy and
political participation. This section is divided into four sections. Please choose the appropriate
box [√] from the options provided.
ANSWER KEY: SD = Strongly Disagree D = Disagree N= Neutral A = Agree SA =

Strongly Agree
No POLITICAL MESSAGE DISSEMINATION SD D N A SA

1 I see political messages of political parties in Ghana on my time line on
social media
2 I follow/subscribe to political party message/ information on a social
media account
3 I have received political messages of political parties in Ghana from
political accounts OR friends on social media
4 I share political messages to friends or followers on my time line on
social media
POLITICAL KNOWLEDGE
5 Political parties in Ghana (NPP and NDC) have official pages for their
presidential candidates on social media
6 “Arise for change” is the theme for the NPP for the 2016 general
elections, and this message is trending on social media.
7 Changing lives, transforming Ghana is the theme for the NDC in the
2016 general elections, this message is trending on social media.
POLITICAL EFFICACY
8 I consider myself well- qualified to join any of the political parties

(NPP&NDC) in Ghana having had knowledge about them via social
media.
9 I feel that I have a say over who becomes the president of Ghana via
political messages I read on social media.
10 I think that I am better informed about NPP or NDC than most people
do via social media
11 I feel that I have a pretty good understanding of the important political
issues facing Ghana via the political messages I read on social media.
POLITICAL PARTICIPATION
13 I have participated in a political demonstration organized by NPP or

NDC through social media
14 I have posted or shared a photo/video/link about NPP or NDC on social
media at least once
15 I have contributed to a political discussion about NPP & NDC on social
113
media at least once

16 I have replied a tweet or a post about NPP or NDC on social media at
least once
17 I have joined or left a political group for NPP or NDC on social media.
God Bless You
114

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POLITICAL MARKETING IN GHANA: THE ROLE OF SOCIAL

JUSTICE BOATENG DANKWAH

THIS THESIS IS SUBMITTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF GHANA,

LEGON IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR

THE AWARD OF MPHIL MARKETING DEGREE.

work have been duly acknowledged.

I bear sole responsibility for any shortcomings.

JUSTICE BOATENG DANKWAH DATE

the University of Ghana.

DR. ADELAIDE KASTNER DATE

DR KOBBY MENSAH DATE

2.7.8 Ideology and Brand Identities .............................................................................................. 20

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY .................................................................................................................. 56

Table 5.1: Profile of Respondents ............................................................................................ 69

Table 5.2: Descriptive Statistics .............................................................................................. 71

Table 5.3: Exploratory Factor Analysis ................................................................................... 73

Table 5.4: Confirmatory Factor Analysis Results.................................................................... 75

Table 5. 5: Descriptive, Correlations and AVEs...................................................................... 76

Table 5.6: Fit Indices of Model................................................................................................ 77

Table 5.7: Structural Model Assessment Results ................................................................... 78

Table 5.8: Test of Variations among Males and Females ........................................................ 79

Figure 2: Internet Users by Region .......................................................................................... 30

Figure 3: The conceptual framework ....................................................................................... 35

CDD Center for Democratic Development

GJA Ghana Journalist Association

ICT Information and Communication Technology

IMC Integrated Marketing Communication

IPR Institute for Public Relation

NCA National Communication Authority

NDC National Democratic Congress

NMC National Media Commission

NPP New Patriotic Party

PRINPAG Private News Paper Publishers Association of Ghana

SPSS Statistical Package for Social Science

1.1 Background of the Study

sphere seems to be a relatively new phenomenon (Henneberg 2004). According to Scammell

According to www.newsghana.com.gh (2016) social media played an important role in the

well as political information source. (2016, April 5) Retrieved from http://www.

participation, inclusion and expression (Essoungou, 2010). A study investigating the

political message dissemination on social media.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

shape voter preferences (Benyi, 2013).

technological trends and implement an integrated marketing communication practices towards

political participation of young voters in Ghana.

participation among young voters.

1.3 Research Objectives

young voters’ political participation.

young voters’ political knowledge and subsequently participation.

young voters’ political efficacy and subsequently participation.

1.4 Research Questions

The research seeks to find answers to the following research questions.

political knowledge and subsequently participation?

political efficacy and subsequently participation?

1.5 Significance of the Study

contribute to the scarce literature on political marketing in Ghana.

1.6 Chapter Disposition

study and finally the chapter disposition.

of Ghana as country is presented, political marking in Ghana, political mobilization as well as

internet usage and penetration in Ghana are discussed.

study of political marketing in Ghana; the role of social media.

to create exchanges that satisfy individual and organizational objectives”.

The American Marketing Association (AMA) in 2004 defined marketing as “Marketing is an