This thesis views the utilization of social media as a marketing tool in political campaigning while investigating Finland’s parliamentary election in 2015. Social media is not only used as a communication tool in private life but also increasingly as an effective tool in business to improve profitability. Social media is a cost-efficient marketing tool and it has attracted much attention especially in the last two presidential elections in the United States as well as in 2012 presidential elections in Finland.

The theoretical part of this thesis consists of a brief introduction of social media and the behavior conducted in this digital environment. The information was gathered from literature, different researches, Internet and by sending out surveys to candidates and voters in South Karelia.

The results of the study reveal how much resources candidates used on their social media presence, how they implemented marketing in social media and which was considered to be the most effective social media approach. This thesis includes conclusions of the profitability of social marketing methods used in political campaigns.