Do online sites really help support a candidate and is it an effective strategy?

According to Richard Davis in his book Campaigning Online: The Internet in US Elections, political website users are a demographic of people who are composed of well-informed, politically interested citizens, whom most (but not all) have quite clear preferences among candidates (125). Hence, we should expect the effects on the Internet audiences are likely subtle. However, the role of the Internet is by no means subtle because “the goal of candidates’ use of web sites is to strengthen the commitment of voters in some way (125). One aspect is enticing the voter to return to a particular website, and although seemingly insignificant, allows the candidate to influence the voter in some other way (125-126). This allows the candidate to educate the voter in his or her fashion, thus changing the personal appeal of the candidate. Another characteristic of the Internet to persuade voters to rely on the Internet is its richness in content. “Web sites offer a vastly greater volume of political information than is contained in television ads or print advertising” (126). Keeping this fact in mind, it would take many different print or television sources to achieve the same objective. This is also why the Internet is a much less costly medium of connecting with voters. The most important purpose of Internet is ultimately to influence political behavior, ultimately the way voters cast their ballots. Political web sites attempt to encourage voters to act on their preferences in favor of the particular candidate (126).

Source:
Davis, Richard, and Bruce Bimber. Campaigning Online: the Internet in U. S. Elections. New York: Oxford UP, USA, 2003. 125-142.