FIANNA FÁIL IS looking to hire a dedicated social media officer in the run up the next general election highlighting the growing importance of online communication platforms.

The party is looking for someone to fill a new position who has the “skills and experience to help the party build its presence and campaigning activity online”.

“The successful candidate will have experience in designing campaigns through social media networks, will have a strong interest in politics and will be a team player,” the ad in today’s Irish Times says.

The position is a first for the party which is already extremely active on Twitter and Facebook as well as maintaining a YouTube account where it posts TDs’ and Senators’ speeches and videos about transparency at Irish Water.

A spokesperson said while social media has been the responsibility of all press officers up until now, Fianna Fáil is now “investing in a larger team with the general election coming up”.

Of the other parties’ social media presence, Fine Gael regularly produces high-quality campaign and candidate videos. It employs a dedicated social media manager at its headquarters in Dublin.

Labour, which was the first Irish political party on Twitter, employs a head of online who handles the party’s social media presence but it also adopts an “all encompassing” approach to social media, a spokesperson said.

“All of the parliamentary assistants for TDs and senators would also be helping with their respective TD or Senator’s social media presence,” they added.

Sinn Féin has two people who handle social media – one at its head office and one in Leinster House – but all press officers are expected to have a proficiency in social media, a spokesperson said.

Read: Taoiseach’s ‘day in the life’ video part of government’s growing social media presence

Read: Government departments urged to use social media and communicate online