And on television, politicians have offered more variations to their message, and used fewer show-biz stars in their ads.

“Social media have grown in importance compared to the 2010 [campaign], but the influence of social media is not yet on the same level as well-made television ads,” campaign strategist Yoly Villanueva-Ong, a former advertising executive, told the Inquirer.

Ong said studies and surveys had shown that television was still the most powerful medium, followed by radio.

But because of the high cost of television advertising, many politicians have turned to social media, which are free and widely used by younger voters, who make up the majority of the country’s population.

Ong said, however, that despite the wide reach, social media could not be relied on as the sole venue for a political campaign.

According to Ong, the credibility of social media has yet to be set because people tend to be wary of the parties behind the political content there.

“Social media by the very name is social in nature, and when there are political movements in that medium, you tend to think there is an army of paid trolls or paid hacks or event bots,” she said.

“So that’s the reason why the credibility of the medium still has to be established, I guess, in elections to come,” she added.

Read more: http://technology.inquirer.net/47831/social-media-play-bigger-role-but-tv-ads-still-king