Facebook (NASDAQ:FB), Pandora (NYSE:P), Twitter Make Election 2012 Pitch

One of the more intriguing contests of the campaign may center on record election year ad spending on social networks like Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) , Pandora (NYSE:P), and Twitter. It's the first election season during which social media giants are making their pitch for a bigger share of the political dollars that typically go to established Web players like Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Yahoo (NASDAQ:YHOO), as well as broadcast giants like Time Warner (NYSE:TWX), CBS (NYSE:CBS), and Disney (NYSE:DIS).

2012 has been dubbed the social media election, but amid a cacophony of TV ads hitting swing state airwaves in the final 40-plus days of the presidential election, analysts and investors have yet to outline how a surge of campaign ad spending will impact the business models and quarterly earnings of social networks like Facebook, Pandora, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

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Some analysts expect ad spending this election cycle to add meaningful third and fourth quarter revenue for Facebook and Pandora. Arguably even more important than a one-time earnings boost will be the social media giants proving their respective business models work in generating ad dollars as investors demand a clearer picture on platform monetization.

A back of the envelope calculation by Michael Pachter, a managing director of research with Wedbush Securities, signals that social networks may see an election cycle revenue boost of over $100 million in the second half of 2012. [He sees up to $5 billion in overall presidential and congressional ad spending this election season with roughly 10% allocated to the Web.]