Party conventions court social media influencers to reach younger voters
Lance Bass of the pop band 'N Sync is one of the celebrity supporters Vice President Kamala Harris has appeared with on TikTok and Instagram. Credit: GC Images/NDZ/Star Max
WASHINGTON — The campaign for the White House is becoming a race to leverage new social media platforms to engage voters, as the campaigns of Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump turn to social media influencers to court support.
Democratic National Convention organizers have credentialed 200 digital influencers to cover this week’s events in Chicago, and the Republican National Convention featured 70 influencers last month in Milwaukee — all part of an effort by both parties to reach a larger audience beyond conventional TV coverage.
As both campaigns look to reach younger Gen Z and millennial voters where they hang out most — on social media — Trump and Harris are ramping up their online appearances across several platforms.
Trump, whose 2016 campaign was largely defined by his stream of controversial Twitter posts, held an online appearance last week on the site now known as X, where he was interviewed by the site’s new owner and Trump supporter, Elon Musk. He also sat for a more than hourlong interview with 23-year-old influencer Adin Ross, a controversial internet personality who livestreamed their discussion on the platform Kick.
Harris, meanwhile, has used TikTok and Instagram to feature short clips with celebrity supporters, including rapper Megan Thee Stallion, actress America Ferrera and Lance Bass of the pop band 'N Sync.
"The reality is, the majority of Americans are not going to learn about the convention by watching the nightly news," said Jonathan Nagler, co-director of New York University’s Center for Social Media and Politics. "They're going to learn about it through some influencer that they pay attention to, who mentions it on whatever their favorite social platform is,”
The push to get influencers to cover the conventions and campaigns comes as studies show a growing number of Americans, particularly younger voters, are consuming their news from social media platforms.
Half of U.S. adults receive some level of news from social media, according to a Pew Research Center report released last November. The study found social media news consumption was higher among adults under the age of 30 — a voting age bloc that was critical to Biden’s 2020 victory.
Nearly a third of U.S. adults under the age of 30 said they get their news from TikTok, according to the Pew study. The survey found 32% of adults between the ages of 18 and 29 reported getting their news from TikTok, up from 9% in 2020.
Whether getting influencers to cover the presidential campaigns will translate to votes remains to be seen, said Wael Jabr, a professor of information systems at Penn State University who focuses on how social media shapes political discourse.
"Do we know that influencers do influence? Well, yes, we do," Jabr told Newsday. "They have proven their effectiveness in rather routine scenarios like adopting a new skin care routine, or sharing tips on a high protein diet. Voting and elections are a bit more convoluted.”
Jabr said the campaigns are likely seeking to work with influencers, realizing that appearing on their social media accounts will likely alter the algorithm social media platforms use to show users tailored content specific to their interests. Once social media users interact with the influencer’s post on a particular candidate, Jabr said, it’s likely that more content from the candidates will appear on the user’s social media feed.
"When influencers start talking politics, especially micro-influencers, into our feeds, all of a sudden the algorithm is adapting to our new consumption,” Jabr said. "That's how these algorithms are built."
The challenge for both campaigns is finding ways to communicate their agendas and policy proposals on platforms like TikTok and Instagram that are designed to host short videos and posts, Nagler said.
"The vast majority of content creators who have large followings are not going to be people who post detailed policy proposals,” Nagler said.
He noted that since Harris launched her campaign last month, supporters have generated a string of widely viewed — or viral — posts on TikTok. But he said her campaign needs to build upon that online enthusiasm in posts that allow voters to learn about Harris' record and platform.
"They've had all these nice memes going around ... and that's great for energizing the base," Nagler said. "But how do you turn that into people communicating on social media about, ‘Hey, we capped prescription drug prices.’ "
On Friday, the Democratic National Convention Committee announced the United Center would be fitted with a "first-ever Creator Platform” that will provide credentialed social media influencers with a designated space to conduct interviews and record speeches, similar to the space provided for television networks.
"As the media landscape continues evolving, we’re building a convention that meets Americans where they are by giving content creators a front-row seat to history,” Alex Hornbrook, the Democratic convention committee’s executive director, said in a statement.
Last month, the RNC provided a suite called the Creator Hub in the convention arena where influencers could work and interview politicians and big names in attendance.
The idea to invite influencers to the Republican convention started with a pitch from 18-year-old conservative activist Brilyn Hollyhand, who is co-chair of the GOP Youth Advisory Council.
"My peers who didn’t even know a convention was going on are seeing it firsthand, a front-row seat to democracy,” Hollyhand, of Alabama, told Nexstar TV in an interview last month.
Underscoring the growing impact of content creators in the political realm, The White House on Wednesday hosted more than 100 digital influencers from across the country to let them learn more about the Biden administration’s policy efforts.
Biden, speaking to a group that included makeup artists, fitness coaches and chefs, described them as "the future” of news.
"You’re the source of the news,” he told them. "You are the new possibilities. You are the new breakthrough in how we communicate.”
WASHINGTON — The campaign for the White House is becoming a race to leverage new social media platforms to engage voters, as the campaigns of Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump turn to social media influencers to court support.
Democratic National Convention organizers have credentialed 200 digital influencers to cover this week’s events in Chicago, and the Republican National Convention featured 70 influencers last month in Milwaukee — all part of an effort by both parties to reach a larger audience beyond conventional TV coverage.
As both campaigns look to reach younger Gen Z and millennial voters where they hang out most — on social media — Trump and Harris are ramping up their online appearances across several platforms.
Trump, whose 2016 campaign was largely defined by his stream of controversial Twitter posts, held an online appearance last week on the site now known as X, where he was interviewed by the site’s new owner and Trump supporter, Elon Musk. He also sat for a more than hourlong interview with 23-year-old influencer Adin Ross, a controversial internet personality who livestreamed their discussion on the platform Kick.
Harris, meanwhile, has used TikTok and Instagram to feature short clips with celebrity supporters, including rapper Megan Thee Stallion, actress America Ferrera and Lance Bass of the pop band 'N Sync.
"The reality is, the majority of Americans are not going to learn about the convention by watching the nightly news," said Jonathan Nagler, co-director of New York University’s Center for Social Media and Politics. "They're going to learn about it through some influencer that they pay attention to, who mentions it on whatever their favorite social platform is,”
The push to get influencers to cover the conventions and campaigns comes as studies show a growing number of Americans, particularly younger voters, are consuming their news from social media platforms.
Half of U.S. adults receive some level of news from social media, according to a Pew Research Center report released last November. The study found social media news consumption was higher among adults under the age of 30 — a voting age bloc that was critical to Biden’s 2020 victory.
Nearly a third of U.S. adults under the age of 30 said they get their news from TikTok, according to the Pew study. The survey found 32% of adults between the ages of 18 and 29 reported getting their news from TikTok, up from 9% in 2020.
Whether getting influencers to cover the presidential campaigns will translate to votes remains to be seen, said Wael Jabr, a professor of information systems at Penn State University who focuses on how social media shapes political discourse.
"Do we know that influencers do influence? Well, yes, we do," Jabr told Newsday. "They have proven their effectiveness in rather routine scenarios like adopting a new skin care routine, or sharing tips on a high protein diet. Voting and elections are a bit more convoluted.”
Jabr said the campaigns are likely seeking to work with influencers, realizing that appearing on their social media accounts will likely alter the algorithm social media platforms use to show users tailored content specific to their interests. Once social media users interact with the influencer’s post on a particular candidate, Jabr said, it’s likely that more content from the candidates will appear on the user’s social media feed.
"When influencers start talking politics, especially micro-influencers, into our feeds, all of a sudden the algorithm is adapting to our new consumption,” Jabr said. "That's how these algorithms are built."
The challenge for both campaigns is finding ways to communicate their agendas and policy proposals on platforms like TikTok and Instagram that are designed to host short videos and posts, Nagler said.
"The vast majority of content creators who have large followings are not going to be people who post detailed policy proposals,” Nagler said.
He noted that since Harris launched her campaign last month, supporters have generated a string of widely viewed — or viral — posts on TikTok. But he said her campaign needs to build upon that online enthusiasm in posts that allow voters to learn about Harris' record and platform.
"They've had all these nice memes going around ... and that's great for energizing the base," Nagler said. "But how do you turn that into people communicating on social media about, ‘Hey, we capped prescription drug prices.’ "
On Friday, the Democratic National Convention Committee announced the United Center would be fitted with a "first-ever Creator Platform” that will provide credentialed social media influencers with a designated space to conduct interviews and record speeches, similar to the space provided for television networks.
"As the media landscape continues evolving, we’re building a convention that meets Americans where they are by giving content creators a front-row seat to history,” Alex Hornbrook, the Democratic convention committee’s executive director, said in a statement.
Last month, the RNC provided a suite called the Creator Hub in the convention arena where influencers could work and interview politicians and big names in attendance.
The idea to invite influencers to the Republican convention started with a pitch from 18-year-old conservative activist Brilyn Hollyhand, who is co-chair of the GOP Youth Advisory Council.
"My peers who didn’t even know a convention was going on are seeing it firsthand, a front-row seat to democracy,” Hollyhand, of Alabama, told Nexstar TV in an interview last month.
Underscoring the growing impact of content creators in the political realm, The White House on Wednesday hosted more than 100 digital influencers from across the country to let them learn more about the Biden administration’s policy efforts.
Biden, speaking to a group that included makeup artists, fitness coaches and chefs, described them as "the future” of news.
"You’re the source of the news,” he told them. "You are the new possibilities. You are the new breakthrough in how we communicate.”
Laura Figueroa Hernandez is the White House correspondent and previously covered New York City politics and government. She joined Newsday in 2012 after covering state and local politics for The Miami Herald.
