Presidential candidates have resorted to finding new forms of communication, in order to get more votes and have more interesting ways of presenting their proposals or simply convincing the electorate. Social networks became the big platform, where they can make themselves known in a more massive way.
For example, Facebook has about 32 million users in the country, while Instagram has 12 million; these figures have attracted the attention of campaigns, which have spent large sums of money on advertising for the current elections.
According to META, the company that owns Facebook and Instagram, as of March 13, four of the candidates; Gustavo Petro, Federico “Fico” Gutiérrez, Sergio Fajardo and Rodolfo Hernández; had invested about 810 million pesos in ads and publications. To date, it has been the strongest investment they have made, which coincides with the day of election of coalition consultations, in addition to the Senate and House of Representatives lists.
The figures are very high if you take into account the scope and low cost of the pattern on networks, even the broadcast of a video can cost about 500 thousand pesos and can reach more than 40 thousand people. In contrast, a billboard, in a strategic location in Bogotá, exceeds 50 million pesos.
The picture has changed since in the last 15 days Federico Gutiérrez is the candidate who has invested the most, with 164 million pesos, followed by Gustavo Petro with 151 million and then Sergio Fajardo, with 47 million pesos.
According to RCN Radio, large investments made in traditional media such as: billboards, banners, flyers, activities at public events and different advertising elements have been relegated, as campaigns consider it more relevant to use social networks.
According to the figures, the former mayor of Medellín, “Fico” Guitiérrez, has spent an average of 11,500,000 pesos a day on networks such as Instagram and Facebook. March 6 and 12 were the days where he spent the most money, the figures exceeded 15 million. Every month, it is estimated that the campaign invests 164 million pesos, being one of the candidates who contribute the most in this concept.
The Historical Pact and Gustavo Petro invested approximately 13 and a half million a day, approximately, on social networks of the company META alone, the day that invested the most was on Thursday, March 10, according to El Colombiano, that day they spent 137 million pesos, the highest figure of all candidates in one day.
Sergio Fajardo has mostly concentrated his efforts on replicating the pattern in Antioquia, March 6 was the day he invested the most, about 6 million pesos; in recent weeks he has spent almost 100 million pesos. This translates into 240 advertising pieces on social networks.
Parties such as the Democratic Center, for example, have invested nearly 90 million pesos before 13 March. There were a total of 590 publications, which reached between 175 and 200 thousand people. Together with the Historical Pact, they are among the parties that have invested the most in these media.
Law 1475 of 2011 states that politicians have up to two months after each election to report to the National Electoral Council, CNE, the expenses and revenues of their campaigns, among which the provisions of propaganda will be reflected. This means that the absolute figures on their total finances reported in the campaigns, the presidential consultations and the Senate and House lists, are not yet definitive.
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