Scott Simpson is one of the latest National MPs to join twitter. Having only been tweeting since Dec 19, Scott has built a following of 284 already. Which in just over 1 month is a reasonable following for a backbench MP from a semi rural electorate.
Scott is a prime example of the personality style of using Twitter. He uses twitter as a way to project his personality to a wider audience. This compares with other MPs, who I will blog about later, who use twitter as a way to push out a controlled image or press releases. This personality style holds the advantage of allowing people to get to know a bit about MPs who they may not otherwise get to know. Even if they have never met them personally, it is possible to tell those who are being truly representative of themselves, and those who are trying to present a controlled image.
Scott has also started to use his twitter account to retweet a few tweets from local organisations in his electorate. MPs have the potential to be key influencers on social media. They can use this influence on social media not only to gain exposure for themselves, but also for organisations within their electorate, be that a geographic one, such as Scotts, or a more wide spread but social electorate.
As Scott’s number of followers grows, I suspect he will come into his own on Twitter. I look forward to following his progress on twitter.
Nice post, Matt. The key point here is that when people see Scott on Twitter, they get Scott in Scott’s own style. His interaction with local constituents and businesses on Twitter is no doubt part of the reason why he’s racked up that many followers in such a short space of time. It’s also a smart play in a somewhat rural, community-oriented electorate such as Coromandel. A sterile, overly uniformed account sticks out like a sore thumb in the political world. Keep up the great work.
It sure does stick out! But at the same time, Scott is happy and able to interact with people from Wellington and Auckland. Which is a good strength to have.