More people engaging with Labour on Facebook than any other party, online donor numbers rise and volunteers are boosted

Party’s ground campaign off to a flying start with two million conversations already this year       

The total online views of Labour’s innovative election broadcast, screened last night, reached 1,152,000 today.

The film, featuring actor Martin Freeman explaining why he is choosing Labour, is now thought to be the most-seen party political broadcast ever online.

It comfortably beat the Tories PEB this week, which today had been viewed 91,000 times.

The news comes as Labour’s drive to use social media to promote its message is shown to be paying dividends.

In the last week, 475,925 people have ‘engaged’ with our Facebook page, more than any other British political  party.
 
This is despite the Tories having spent hundreds of thousands of pounds on Facebook advertising. 

The Conservatives spent more than £100,000 on Facebook advertising in one month alone - November 2014 - and are thought to have spent more than £1million in the last year.

Meanwhile Labour uses its grassroots activists and creatives to greater effect online and on the ground, giving a strong momentum to the party’s campaign in its first week.

More than 19,000 people have given Labour money online in the last month, including 10,680 new donors. ​Since the party’s campaign launch last Friday there have been 6,197 online donors, 3,225 of them new.

The Party’s enthusiastic and well-organised network of local supporters is at the heart of its push to reach four million ordinary voters this year by polling day. Thanks to them, Labour is well on course to beat that target. They have already had two million face to face doorstep conversations since January, including 150,000 conversations in a single weekend in March.

Labour is also reaching out online to boost its army of volunteers. Around 200 new people have signed up to volunteer every day this week.

Douglas Alexander, Labour’s Chair of General Election Strategy said: 

“While the Tories are spending hundreds of thousands of pounds buying Facebook 'likes’, we are seeing more people engage with more creative content and a vision that people respond to.

“Our use of digital and social media is helping us reach new audiences. Meanwhile, our broadcast featuring Martin Freeman is a record breaker.”