USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA DURING THE 2017 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IN KYRGYZ REPUBLIC: AN EXAMPLE OF THE FACEBOOK

Abstract

Social media is being used as an effective tool of political marketing since 2008 in western countries. In this regard, published papers are seem to concentrate on the western countries. The use of social media in political campaigns is a new trend in Kyrgyzstan, so there is a limited number of studies in this area. The main purpose of this research is to assess the use of the Facebook by candidates during 2017 presidential election in their pre-election campaigns. Primary data was obtained using content analysis of the candidates' posts on their Facebook pages. According to the results of the study, it can be said that the Facebook in political marketing began to be used at the same level with traditional tools, not as an alternative or additional tool

Keywords

• political communication, social media, facebook, election – 2017