Politicians have been eager to hop on the social media train in the past year or so, with Youtube campaign videos cropping up alongside personal tweets and Facebook fan pages. But, as is often the case with any media, it can be difficult to decipher the relevant information from the noise. Here’s a list of four things that every voter should know about how elected officials are using social media so they can keep up-to-date without being led astray by self-promotion or excessive punditry.

Twitter: One-way Broadcasts or Real Conversations?

Politicians are met with the same criticism that businesses and celebrities face on Twitter: if it’s not authentic, it’s not worth following. Elected officials who write their own tweets and send them from their own phones on the campaign trail are given much more Twitter respect than those who delegate.

We, the voters, can tell when a tweet is sent out by an aide: it usually links to a newspaper clipping or a positive piece of press about the politician, and it doesn’t say much about who the politician is. Twitter is a valuable tool, and if it’s used to give a little insight into the personality and daily life of a politician without succumbing to mundane “I’m sitting in a coffee shop drinking a $5 latte” posts, it will be well-received by the public.

Likewise, voters should be aware that politicians like to puff themselves up on Twitter by only presenting the good news and positive press. If the politician in question is really interested in using Twitter to connect to voters, you should look for a two-way conversation happening on the network, with responses to tweets engaging followers and a real interest in creating a dialog about the issues – even if the politician has to risk looking “bad” for in a tweet or two.

Youtube: Cheesy Campaign Videos or Interactive Q&As?

It’s debatable how effective campaign videos are, but posting them on Youtube is not really any different than broadcasting them on TV – other than the fact that it’s much cheaper for the politician to create a Youtube channel. While combining a Youtube channel with other social media might be part of a good social media strategy, the best way politicians have been using Youtube in recent months is by interacting with and responding to voters.

The 2010 UK elections featured a digital debate on Youtube, the first of its kind. Each contender prepared a dozen or so short answers to commonly asked questions, and the questions with the most votes were answered directly on Youtube. This shows a concerted effort between competing politicians to experiment with Youtube in order to reach younger and more “connected” voters, and is a shining example for politicians today.

Facebook: Fan Page Monitored by Aides or the Politician?

Inauthentic Facebook fan pages are the scourge of the political social media game. They are usually filled with repeat wall postings pointing to recent positive press coverage and the politicians’ upcoming schedule – if you’re lucky. These pages tend to be updated in a flurry when they’re created, and peter out as the fans fail to materialize.

However, the other side of the coin is much brighter: fan pages that are managed by the politician him- or herself feature engaging content, relevant updates, and often see the politician replying directly to fans in the comments. This is social media at its best. Check out Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan‘s Facebook page for an example of an effective and engaging fan page.

Other Social Networks: For Show or For Reaching Out?

While Facebook, Twitter and Youtube are the most prominent choices for politicians when it comes to social media, there are some who are moving beyond the basics and experimenting with networks like LinkedIn, Flickr and even Foursquare. Voters should pay attention to these attempts: they could either be the result of an overzealous PR team trying to show that their politician is media-savvy, or genuine interest on the part of the politician in using new avenues to reach voters.

The Government and Social Media Wiki has several great charts covering who’s using what, organized by House, Senate, Governors, House Committees, State Agencies and Officials, and Federal Agencies. You can browse the lists to see that Eric Cantor uses Digg, LinkedIn and Vimeo, in addition to the social media Big Three, and the Defense Department has a Google profile as well as a Ustream channel.