In-Depth Notes on Visual Self-Presentation Strategies of Political Candidates

Overview of Visual Self-Presentation Strategies

  • Study by Dennis Steffan investigates the visual self-presentation of political candidates on social media platforms across seven Western democracies: Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Norway, UK, and USA.

  • Utilizes Grabe and Bucy’s visual framing approach, conducting a quantitative content analysis of 2,272 visual social media posts.

  • Key findings include the preference for the ideal candidate frame over the populist campaigner frame, differences in visual framing across countries, and Instagram being the preferred platform for visual self-presentation.

Importance of Visuals in Political Campaigns

  • Visuals are crucial in politics, influencing voters’ perceptions and decisions.

  • Researchers note that voters rely on visual cues like attractiveness to evaluate candidates.

  • Candidates strategically use visuals to create positive portrayals to mobilize support.

  • Social media provides a platform for direct communication with voters, bypassing traditional media filters.

Research Gaps Identified

  • Many prior studies focused on textual analysis rather than visuals, particularly in the context of a single country, often the United States.

  • The lack of cross-national studies limits understanding of how different nations’ political and media systems affect candidates’ visual presentation.

Methodology

  • Participants: 14 political candidates across seven countries.

  • Data Collection: Posts were gathered from official Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter profiles during the last four weeks of each campaign.

  • Analysis Tools: Grabe and Bucy’s coding schema identifies three visual frames:

    • Ideal Candidate Frame (statesmanship & compassion)

    • Populist Campaigner Frame (mass appeal & ordinariness)

    • Sure Loser Frame (not utilized due to negative implications).

  • Data Analysis: Utilized ANOVA to analyze differences in frames across countries and social media platforms.

Visual Frames Identified

  1. Ideal Candidate Frame

    • Statesmanship Dimension: Power, authority, control.

    • Compassion Dimension: Depictions of warmth, alongside family-oriented visuals.

  2. Populist Campaigner Frame

    • Mass Appeal Dimension: Connection with celebrities, large audience engagement.

    • Ordinariness Dimension: Depicting candidates in casual settings, relatable attire.

Results

  • Candidates predominantly used the ideal candidate frame over the populist frame.

  • Germany and the USA exhibited the highest uses of the ideal candidate frame; populist framing was notably more common among candidates in Canada, Germany, and the UK.

  • Instagram proved the most effective platform for ideal candidate presentations, while Facebook and Twitter were utilized differently by candidates.

Comparative Findings by Country

  • USA: Trump framed himself more often as ideal than Clinton, often using patriotic imagery.

  • Germany: Schulz leaned towards ideal candidate traits while Merkel presented stronger statesmanship.

  • Canada: Harper displayed more ideal attributes than Trudeau, who focused on populism.

  • UK: Corbyn emphasized ordinary traits more than May, despite both perceiving similar ideal candidate frames.

  • France: Macron focused on compassion more than Le Pen, who leaned into statesmanship for a nationalistic representation.

Implications

  • The findings indicate strategic visual framing is vital for political candidates and shows variations depending on national contexts and social media platforms.

  • Emphasizes the need for further research into how visual aspects influence voter perceptions and electoral behavior.

Limitations and Future Research Directions

  • Study limited to visuals and did not analyze structural features (e.g., angles, color) which may impact framing.

  • Future research can explore real-time data collection during elections and the role of videos and social media stories in candidate presentations.

  • Further investigation into visual self-presentation in non-Western contexts could yield additional insights.

Dennis Steffan's study explores the visual self-presentation of political candidates on social media in seven Western democracies: Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Norway, the UK, and the USA. It employs Grabe and Bucy’s visual framing approach, analyzing 2,272 posts to identify that candidates favored the ideal candidate frame over the populist frame, with varying preferences across nations and Instagram being the dominant platform.

Visuals significantly impact voter perception and decisions, as candidates leverage visual cues for favorable portrayals to garner support. However, most previous research focused on textual analysis or single country contexts, resulting in a need for cross-national studies to deepen understanding of visual presentation in different political and media systems.

The study involved 14 candidates, collecting data from Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter during the final four weeks of their campaigns, and applied ANOVA for analysis. Three visual frames were identified: Ideal Candidate Frame (emphasizing statesmanship and compassion), Populist Campaigner Frame (focusing on mass appeal and ordinariness).

Results show predominant use of the ideal candidate frame; Germany and the USA exhibited this the most, while Canada, Germany, and the UK leaned more towards populist framing. Country-specific findings indicate varied presentations based on candidates' strategies, reflecting their visual messaging effectiveness. These insights underscore the importance of strategic visual framing in political campaigns and suggest the need for future research on visual influence in non-Western contexts and during elections.