‘Who is rooting for Obama’

New York: As Barack Obama and Mitt Romney gear up for the all-important last stretch of the presidential election and go all out to try to sway the still undecided voters, Facebook is brewing up some interesting details of its own. The social networking behemoth’s “likes” and “follow” options have revealed the types of people the Democratic and Republican rivals have won over as supporters. Some findings are expected; others are eye-opening.

Social media platform Compass Labs used some of the data it employs to help marketers target ads to reveal some of the major differences between followers of Obama and those of Romney.

 

As of now, Obama has four times more Facebook followers than Romney’s: 28.5 million to just 6.6 million. However, Romney’s followers are five times more ‘engaged’ —which means, liking, commenting and sharing content as opposed to simply viewing it. The main reason for this may be because Obama has been in office and his followers are already aware of his views and stances. Romney, on the other hand, is the “new guy” giving people more new things to discuss. Nevertheless, Romney’s content on Facebook is more than just a regurgitation of points on his website.

Compass Labs has also collected date on the types of people each nominee has won over. As indicated onFacebook, Romney has attracted churchgoers, gun enthusiasts and active quilters. Obama, on the other hand, has won over meditators, video gamers and fans of jigsaw puzzles. Many fans of Romney also seem to like movies such as Atlas Shrugged and 17 Miracles, while Obama fans like The Blind Side and Fast and Furious. Romney fans also like Wal-Mart, McDonald’s, Starbucks and Fox News while Obama fans prefer Samsung Mobile, Visa, DoubleTree and Nature Made.

One similarity: supporters of both Obama and Romney like shopping at Target.

The age and gender of the fans are also indicated by Facebook users’ activity with regard to the presidential election. 53% of the 28.5 million Obama supporters are women while 53% of the 6.6 million Romney supporters are men. Of Obama likers: 20% are aged 18-25, 21% are aged 25-35, 18% are aged 35-45, 17% are aged 45-55 and 24% are aged 55 and over. Of Romney likers: 11% are aged 18-25, 12% are aged 25-35, 13% are aged 35-45, 21% are aged 45-55 and 43% are aged 55 and over.