Social Network-Based Political Marketing Management Strategy in Electoral Competition: A Case Study of the 2024 Regional Representative Council Election in Yogyakarta

Ristan Alfino (Universitas Muhammadiyah Jakarta)
Endang Sulastri (Universitas Muhammadiyah Jakarta)

BASKARA: Journal of Business and Entrepreneurship
Vol. 9 No. 1 (2026): BASKARA: Journal of Business and Entrepreneurship

This study examines how a faith-based civil society organization manages social networks and organizational resources as a political marketing strategy in a non-partisan electoral contest, focusing on the 2024 DPD RI election in the Special Region of Yogyakarta (DIY). The study employed a qualitative descriptive-analytical approach. Data were obtained through purposive interviews with Muhammadiyah leaders, officials of the Institute for Wisdom and Public Policy (LHKP), leaders of Muhammadiyah autonomous organizations, academics, and the elected DPD RI member, complemented by Muhammadiyah organizational documents, electoral records, media reports, and relevant scholarly literature. Data were analyzed using the interactive model of Miles, Huberman, and Saldaña through data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing. Source and methodological triangulation were employed to strengthen the credibility of the findings. The findings indicate that electoral support was mobilized through a multilevel organizational process involving institutional consolidation, cadre networks, autonomous organizations, social networks, and organizational legitimacy. Muhammadiyah's organizational resources functioned as mobilizing structures that facilitated the dissemination of political information and consolidation of support. At the same time, the electoral strategy combined internal mobilization of the Muhammadiyah constituency with broader outreach to non-Muhammadiyah voters through inclusive political communication. The study demonstrates that faith-based civil society organizations can function as significant mobilizing actors in non-partisan elections by transforming organizational networks, social capital, human resources, and institutional legitimacy into electoral support. The findings contribute to the literature on political marketing, resource mobilization, and civil society participation by demonstrating how organizational resources can partially perform functions commonly associated with political party machinery in candidate-centered electoral competition.