After years of campaigning, debates, and attack ads, the United States will finally choose a new leader tomorrow. Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton continues to lead in the polls, but Republican Donald Trump has closed the gap in recent weeks.
No matter who emerges victorious on Tuesday, the real winner could be Twitter Inc. (NASDAQ:TWTR).
Twitter has never been more important to the political process than it is today. And it’s likely to become even more important during the next election cycle.
The ability to communicate directly to fans through social media is incredibly important. Traditional methods like television spots, attack ads, and in-person rallies will always be a key part of any election, but a well-prepared Twitter team can really get a candidate’s message out there for a relatively small amount of money.
Donald Trump leveraged Twitter particularly well this election. Trump was able to use his massive reach on social media to get his message out cheaply and effectively. According to figures put together by The Washington Post, Clinton has raised $1.3 billion, while Trump has only managed to attract $795 million. Trump’s tweets made headlines dozens of times. Clinton’s didn’t.
Many investors have given up on Twitter, thinking it’ll never get close to the level of Facebook or other important social networks. But this election has shown us Twitter is still important, and should remain so for years to come. There’s value in that, even if the current management team is having problems unlocking it.
