The fate of the White House will be decided one week from today. With so much at stake for both Gov. Mitt Romney’s and President Barack Obama’s campaigns, candidates are in overdrive to get their messages out to as many Americans as possible. Social media has become the most convenient way for them to reach masses of voters at once.

The Pew Internet and American Life Project reported that the 2008 election was the first time that “more than half the voting-age population used the internet to connect to the political process during an election cycle.” Four years later, social media campaigning has become the heart of Romney and Obama’s strategy to win the election because more people are actively using these social media sites.

During the October presidential debates, social media became a real-time discussion tool for viewers to share their opinions and discuss hot topics before spin rooms made their claims on the debates to influence voters. Social media can also be used as a tool for analyzing the direct effect that campaigning has on undecided voters by looking at the increased number of likes on Facebook for one candidate over another.

 Both presidential campaigns are avidly using social media sites to inform Americans about the messages and plans that they have for the United States. They each use Twitter and Facebook to spread the word in their campaigns and gain and retain support. Additionally, both Romney and Obama have expanded their social media strategy to include a mobile phone app to attract and interact with Americans in an entirely new and innovative way than campaigns have in the past.

This final week leading up to the election is the most crucial. And it is certain that Romney and Obama will continue to use social media sites as a part of their last chance to get their messages out and motivate supporters to vote.