ABSTRACT
The empirical research related to German election campaigns on social media can be classified into two main fields: usage studies, and campaign features. Electoral systems may have an effect on campaign behaviour. In mixed-member systems, F. Plasser and G. Plasser expect mainly party-driven campaigns. Parties alone organise the nomination of candidates for public office in Germany. Two empirical case studies to further examine the role of social media in the 2013 campaign. The first study analyses different social media and examines how they mirror election content. A second case study explores how politicians used Twitter in their individual campaigns and to what extent they interacted with citizens. Both case studies have shown that especially smaller parties take the opportunity to engage in social media and thus gained visibility on Twitter. However, smaller as well as larger parties do not engage broadly in dialogue with citizens.
