The major parties are using Facebook, Twitter and YouTube but have failed to harness the full potential of social media during the election campaign, RMIT University social media researcher Tim Butcher says.
The power of social media stems from the streams of conversations flowing on from one point that can evolve into one-to-one debates and form closer bonds and associations, Dr Butcher said on Monday.
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"The politicians understand social media but aren't necessarily going that extra mile," Dr Butcher told AAP.
"Possibly because of the risks associated with it, which was evident last night online with a Family First senate candidate in Queensland."
Wendy Francis copped a torrent of abuse overnight after someone at her Family First office used Twitter to say "children in homosexual relationships are subject to emotional abuse".
That message was deleted.
Sydney-based digital agency Amnesia Razorfish, that has been closely following the election via social media, says by 5pm Sunday, 770 tweets mentioning Ms Francis' comments were sent out on Twitter. That's a reach of about 224,000 people worldwide.
Despite the risks of a backlash, social media is an important tool politicians could use to extend their reach and widen debate, Dr Butcher says.
"They are all doing a pretty good job they just have not gone that extra mile yet, that's my view."
He gave Labor a thumbs up for its "more personal" imagery on YouTube and Facebook pages, and for Ms Gillard's YouTube postings.
"She gets in the car after an engagement and talks to the camera for thirty seconds, she smiles, she seems very human."
Unlike the others, the prime minister's twitter account has been verified, so people can tell the messages are not coming from a bogus account.
He said the Greens were doing a great job with a stream of twitter and facebook comments embedded in their homepage.
Social media is probably bigger than most realised in Australia, with statistics showing people were embracing it more than in many other nations, he said.
