How Many Social-Media Accounts Does It Take to Run for President?

Websites are so early 2000s. These days, if you want to broadcast a campaign message, Instagram is the way to go.

Engaging voters on social media has become a no-brainer for presidential campaigns. In 2008, the Obama campaign used it with an intensity unseen in politics before, employing 15 different social networks to reach 5 million supporters. In 2012, the president's reelection campaign posted nearly four times more content than Mitt Romney's campaign did across various platforms, including Facebook and Twitter, according to a Pew Research study. On average, Obama's campaign would post 29 tweets per day to Romney's one tweet.

Digital strategy doesn't end on the campaign trail anymore, either: The White House is active on the standard suite of social networks, plus newer ones—such as the video-sharing service Vine. And last month, the office of the president got its first official Twitter account: @POTUS.

Judging by the scope of their digital presence, the people vying to be the next @POTUS recognize social media's importance and utility in reaching voters, especially young people. In January, Rand Paul gave an interview to CNN over Snapchat. Last month, Martin O'Malleyannounced the time and place of his presidential announcement on the disappearing-photo app. And this week, Hillary Clinton joined Instagram and posted a photo of her iconic pant suits. Every candidate has a Facebook page, a Twitter handle, a YouTube channel. Some are even on Google+!

Social media can also provide a FOMO-style measure of voter support. Within 24 hours of announcing her candidacy, Clinton's Facebook activity—posts, comments, likes, and shares—jumped from 270,000 per day to 10.1 million. Ted Cruz received 5.5. million Facebook interactions within 24 hours of his announcement—nearly three times more than Paul did.

When it comes to party lines, more Democrats use Instagram than Republicans, who are more likely to use Facebook, according to a recent survey by Harvard University's Institute of Politics.

For candidates on both sides, however, it's taking more than two, three, or even four social networks to publicize their campaigns and compete in the race for online attention. Here's a look at the services each campaign uses, and how many people—and potential voters—are tracking them, at press time.

Democrats

Hillary Clinton: 883,292 Facebook likes, 3.6 million Twitter followers, 119,000 Instagram followers, and 25,273 YouTube subscribers

Bernie Sanders: 545,897 Facebook likes, 60,700 Twitter followers, 9,634 Instagram followers, and 1,669 YouTube subscribers

Martin O'Malley: 70,822 Facebook likes, 74,500 Twitter followers, 1,517 Instagram followers, 539 Youtube subscribers, and Snapchat

Lincoln Chafee: 7,216 Facebook likes, 16,600 Twitter followers, 93 Instagram followers, and 63 YouTube subscribers

Republicans

Rand Paul: 2 million Facebook likes, 628,000 Twitter followers, 27,200 Instagram followers, 6,352 YouTube subscribers, 1,664 Vine followers, 133,559 Google+ views (account does not give followers), and Snapchat

Ted Cruz: 1.2 million Facebook likes, 415,000 Twitter followers, 7,133 Instagram followers, 5,364 Vine followers, and 22,489 YouTube subscribers

Marco Rubio: 877,283 Facebook likes, 745,000 Twitter followers, 13,000 Instagram followers, 3,726 YouTube subscribers, 212 Pinterest followers, Snapchat, and a Tumblr.

Ben Carson: 1.5 million Facebook likes, 354,703 Twitter followers, 15,700 Instagram followers, 1,371 Vine followers, and 10,693 YouTube subscribers

Carly Fiorina: 3,946 Facebook likes, 670 Twitter followers on her campaign account and 370,000 followers on her personal account, 176 Instagram followers, and 319 YouTube subscribers

Mike Huckabee: 1.7 million Facebook likes, 369,000 Twitter followers, 4,106 Instagram followers, 298 YouTube subscribers, and 76 Google+ followers

Rick Santorum: 261,297 Facebook likes, 232,000 Twitter followers, 2,217 Instagram followers, and 2,992 YouTube subscribers

Lindsey Graham: 113,826 Facebook likes, 18,200 Twitter followers, 638 Instagram followers, 84 Google+ followers

Rick Perry: 1.1 million Facebook likes, 292,000 Twitter followers, 2,458 Instagram followers, 1,029 YouTube subscribers, and Snapchat

George Pataki: 15,585 Facebook likes, 41,900 Twitter followers, 44 Instagram followers, and 103 YouTube subscribers

(Image via Quka / Shutterstock.com )