Europees Parlement lanceert campagne op online sociale media zoals Facebook en Myspace (en)

Ahead of the 4-7 June European elections, the European Parliament has created profiles on online social media (Facebook, MySpace and Flickr). Those profiles are aimed principally at younger voters with suitable contents and features. The core message remains the date of the elections and the impact of European Parliament decisions on the daily lives of Europeans.

In addition to its special European election website, launched last January, the European Parliament has now opened a profile on the Facebook online community (which has more than 175 million users), and another on the MySpace platform (more than 250 million users). A Flickr photo stream is also available with a daily updated selection of photos of the 3D installations and of the “Choice Boxes” (a facility from which people can send their own video messages to MEPs) located in all EU countries.

Online social media are influential media

This move onto online social media, where Internet users spend more and more of their time and which have become extremely influential over the past few years, will allow young and first time voters to engage with European issues and help sustain their interest about what the Parliament does, how MEPs work and what the election means for them. The profiles will also serve as gateways to the different online resources and editorial products available on the main website.

A sub-channel will also open soon under the “EU Tube” banner on the video sharing platform YouTube, to publish video material relating to the election campaign.

Coming in May: online banner campaign and "EU Time Machine"

In addition, a promotional campaign, with electronic banners using the colours and imagery of the communication campaign, alongside ad-words in search engines, will run in May 2009 on websites and networks across Europe. A campaign will also be conducted within the MySpace network to link to the EP's MySpace profile.

In the coming weeks, new interactive features will be offered on the 2009 Elections website. To mark thirty years of direct elections to the European Parliament, an "EU Time Machine", allowing website visitors to travel virtually between two typical homes, one in 1979 and one in 2009, will be published. By clicking on different items in the rooms, users will see how EU law has affected real life in a range of key areas.

When the elections arrive, from 4 to 7 June, they will be fully covered on the European Parliament website, with a special "Election night" section that will open at 1800 on Sunday, 7 June, displaying in real time all results received from the different Member States.

Since the special Elections webpages went online, Parliament's website has seen sharply increasing traffic, indicating a strong and growing interest for the European elections. From January to April 2009, 74% of the visits on the Elections 2009's website were first-time visits.