Will This Be The First Influencer Election?

(MENAFN- PRovoke) Over the years, corporate communications have learned a number of lessons from their counterparts in the Political campaign arena. There's no doubt that the use of data and analytics-especially in targeting specific demographics and in real-time measurement-played a prominent role in the campaign world before it became widely accepted in corporate and public affairs. One could even make the case that the integration of earned, paid and experiential channels was common practice in Politics before it was de rigueur in the marketing realm.

But the 2024 presidential election is evidence that campaigns can learn from the corporate world too. Influencer marketing has grown in importance and in dollar terms in recent years-the market has tripled in size since the last presidential election-and this year it is taking on a commensurate role in the political arena, and particularly on the Democratic side.

NPR was one of several mainstream media outlets to note the role that influencers played at the Democratic National Convention in August, noting that it was the first time online influencers had secured speaking slots at the DNC and quoting the Democratic Party as saying it was "leveling the playing field" between content creators and traditional media.

The Washington Post, meanwhile, noted after the presidential debate on a team of content creators laboring in the Harris campaign's“war room” who were producing a six-second video mocking her opponent' performance.“Viewed more than 7 million times,” the Post reported ,“the video was produced by a small TikTok team-all 25 and under, some working their first job-given unfettered freedom to chase whatever they think will go viral....

Eight years ago, the Clinton campaign might have required a dozen or more staffers to sign off on a tweet; the Harris campaign has surrendered control of the message to individual creators and is responding in real time to campaign events.“Harris's social media team has helped supercharge her campaign, harnessing the rhythms and absurdities of internet culture to create one of the most inventive and irreverent get-out-the-vote strategies in modern politics,” says the Post.

Such coverage notwithstanding, not all corporate media outlets are happy about sharing space with influencers. NBC reported that“some content creators were seen clapping during speeches, which breaks the nonpartisan decorum of traditional journalism,” and noted complaints by journalists that the influx of influencers meant there weren't enough electrical outlets to go around.

Discussing the DNC's Creator Lounge, where 200 influencers were able to create election-related content, Politico wrote that“journalists and delegates, crowding the halls, have been peering through cracks in the curtain at what they imagine is a glamorous, exclusive space only available to people with a track record of going viral on social media.”

“We are concerned that the decision to reduce dedicated and accessible workspace by hundreds compared to prior conventions will hinder journalists' ability to cover the historic nature of this convention,” the Standing Committee of Correspondents, an organization that represents journalists covering the party conventions, told Wired .

An Evolution, Not a Revolution

“This is the first year that the party conventions have actually credentialed creators,” says Jim O'Leary, CEO of Weber Shandwick North America.

But this is not a sudden, out-of-the-blue development. Not only has influencer marketing become a major element in the marketing mix, it has been a growing part of political campaign strategy for at least the past two presidential elections, and in some ways for as long as social media have played a role in informing, misinforming, and forming public opinion.

“The role of digital influence and influencers has fascinated me ever since Joe Trippi put together the first meaningful use of digital comms in a presidential race for Howard Dean's 2004 run,” says Rob Davis, chief digital officer at MSL.“Had the 'Dean scream' not taken him out, I think we would have seen and even greater push towards influencers in Obama's 2008 run.”

Perhaps that experience made Democrats wary, because in the years since Republicans have developed a symbiotic relationship with right-wing influencers. Says Rodell Mollineau, partner at Washington, DC, public affairs firm Rokk Solutions:“I think Republicans have had a head start on the use of influencers in their politics. I think of people like Charlie Kirk and Ben Shapiro and Benny Johnson or even Milo Yiannopoulos. They've all come to fame during the Trump era, since 2016.”

As a result, says Davis,“MAGA influencers were dominant forces in 2016 and 2020.”

In 2020 the Center for Media Engagement began monitoring the role of influencers on US elections, finding a clear asymmetry between the parties, with Republicans using conservative“hype houses” on TikTok and the Turning Point influencer network as well as a host of influencers whose primary focus on the pandemic and the supposed dangers of Covid vaccines.

As for this year, the American presidential race is not the first major election to capture the world's attention, but it does seem to stand out for its use of influencers.

Charles Lewington, chairman of UK public affairs firm Hanover, says that“neither of the main political parties used influencers more than usual in the British general election in June. The two main parties had separate briefing programmes for 'thought leaders'-sympathetic columnists, partisan radio news presenters or party advocates with large social media followings. But this was not done as a device for circumventing detailed interviews on TV, radio or the major political editors.”

In India, meanwhile, the 2024 elections saw“a noticeable increase in the use of influencers across the political spectrum,” says Nitin Mantri, group CEO of Avian WE.“Recognising the power of social media to reach younger, tech-savvy voters, political parties worked with a variety of influencers, from those with large followings to local micro-influencers. YouTube, in particular, emerged as a battleground of competing ideologies.”

In the US, Republicans have continued to use the power of online influencers: almost 100 conservative influencers were invited to the Republican National Convention and it has become clear that they GOP's influencer efforts are both more centrally-controlled and more lucrative for those involved: earlier this month Semafor reporte on payments of $20,000 or more to right-wing influencers who spread sexual smears about Kamala Harris. And those payments pale compared to the million paid by an illegal Russian disinformation operation v to right-wing influencers like Tim Pool, Dave Rubin and Benny Johnson to whip up opposition to US support for Ukraine.

Says Davis,“the right has a cadre of influencers that are arguably more united on message than the left. The orchestration of right-wing media and creators' messaging erases any distinction between the two for the GOP. It's a brilliantly executed 360 strategy.”

All of which is“not to say that Democrats can't catch up or won't catch up.,” says Mollineau.
“On the Democratic side-I don't know if I would use the word unprecedented, because I want to give Biden his due-but I think over the last two months, there's been an explosion of influencers on the progressive side who have become a part of this election.

“For a good influence or campaign to take hold, I think there does need to be a modicum of excitement about what it is that you're promoting. And I think that there are things that Harris offered that, especially to younger influencers and younger audiences that Biden didn't. And so these influencers have become part not just of this election, but of this movement.”

In that way, what Harris is doing is different from what has gone before says Michael Kempner, chief executive of independent public relations firm Mike Worldwide.“While other campaigns used influencers as a side strategy,” he says,“the Harris campaign is the first to truly embrace them as a core element of their planning.

Traditional Media Can't Reach Non-Traditional Voters

In what is expected to be a nail-bitingly close election, both campaigns are seeking every possible advantage, and there is an increased focus on reaching demographics who are not always highly engaged in politics-and who are similarly indifferent to mainstream media.

“In a dead-heat race where most voters have made up their mind, there's no doubt both presidential campaigns are thinking creatively about new channels and messengers to reach the slice of voters who can tip the outcome of the election, but need extra convincing or motivation to vote,” says Zach Silber, senior advisor at public affairs firm Avoq.“For both campaigns, reaching young diverse voters is mission-critical and the reality is these audiences don't trust and don't frequently use traditional media.
So you've got to meet them where they are, which is their social feeds, podcasts, and YouTube channels.

“How often does a 20-something BIPOC voter in Pennsylvania or Georgia think about George Stephanopoulos?” Silber asks.“Compare that with the social media personality they follow, engage with, and share with their friends every single day.”

“Knowing that Gen Z consumes the vast majority of their news via social platforms, it is a smart move to ensure influencers and creators are being taken seriously in terms of the impact they can have on getting this age demographic to the polls,” says Laura Konopack, senior vice president, influence, at Ketchum

In other words, the embrace of influencers is about finding the right channel to reach individual voters who more traditional media might miss-and about motivating them to get involved.

“This approach is part of a tried-and-true tradition of campaigns engaging a variety of media to reach as many voters as possible,” says Ashley Etienne, a former White House communications director for Vice President Harris and now chief executive officer of Etienne & Saint and senior advisor to Weber Shandwick.“By necessity and because they move quickly by default, campaigns have often led the way on the most effective means of engagement in a shifting media landscape.”

“For young voters, TikTok is first among equals,” says O'Leary.“While it may be chiefly known for its scroll of memes and dances, TikTok is an increasingly influential hub for public discourse, where opinions, news and political narratives are shared and debated.
And the content has a longer shelf life then a cable news segment.”

Michael Kempner echoes the point, suggesting that the sheer numbers now make influencers and essential avenue for delivering campaign messages more broadly.“The mainstream media is growing less influential by the day. Harris' first interview on CNN had an audience of 6 million people. That pales in comparison to many social influencers and YouTube content. YouTube content often drives 10s of millions of views. That's more than Fox, CNN and MSNBC combined on most nights.”

But it's not just a numbers game.

“The most disruptive trend I'm seeing this cycle is the openness of media and messengers with small reach,” says Silber.“I'm seeing interest in 'micro-creators'- someone active on social who reaches less than 1,000 people-as much as 'influencers.' That might seem like a head-scratcher at first. But if you think about the number of persuadable voters under 29 years old in seven battleground states, that 1,000 voter audience becomes meaningful.”

As dramatic as this change is, most observers believe that-despite the obvious tensions at the DNC-corporate media and online influencers will learn to co-exist. And campaigns will still need both.

“I think mainstream media and influencers are reaching different audiences,” says Mollineau.“And they're not getting in each other's way. I know there was an article in Politico about influencers on the floor of the convention and taking up space and not knowing protocol. That's an annoyance. That's not a business disruption. The fact is that the influencer audiences are separate than mainstream media and I think neither has anything to fear from each other. If anything, corporate media need to find ways to bring influencers on to their, on to their team in order to expand their reach.”

Adds Silber:“Forward-thinking mainstream media are already looking for ways to harness their journalists as influencers and creators” He points out that relatively recently The Washington Post years ago was seen as innovative for having a TikTok account. Today it is hiring a head of talent relations to work with the Post's public-facing journalists and executives.

Allowing Authenticity

As is often the case, there's some tension between the desire of traditional campaign operatives to control the message and the value of allowing independent content creators to be their authentic selves-at least on the Democratic side.

(It is less of an issue on the Republican side, as demonstrated over the past week as the unfounded rumor alleging that Haitian immigrants in Ohio were eating pets found its way from the outer fringes of online white supremacy to the presidential debate stage and into mainstream Republican campaign messaging -despite the fact that the claims have no basis in reality. The embrace of both racist rhetoric and disinformation means that right-wing influencers operate under a completey different set of rules.)

So as Davis says,“the Democratic Party does not have the same unified media/influencer system as the GOP. This leaves room for more authentic influencer content that is less about being 'on message.'”

This trade-pff is something infkuencer marketers are familiar with, of course, and while we have seen som influencer campaigns implode quite dramatically, most have learned to manage the risk effectively.

“Influencers and content creators are obviously not journalists and do not have to uphold the same journalistic standards that reporters are expected to abide by, so there is some risk,” says Rob Bernstein, chief innovation officer at Ketchum.“Assuming that a vetting had taken place ahead of any formal invitations from any campaign, that risk should be slightly mitigated.”

To date, the independence of influencers and content creators has been more of an advantage than a risk.

“The Harris campaign is more of a movement than a traditional top-down campaign,” says Kempner.“Even before she held her first campaign event, Tik Tok and Instagram were being flooded with memes, videos and Kamala-loving content. Movements don't wait for permission, they happen organically.

“The beauty of content creators is that they are not controlled by the campaigns. They know what impacts their audiences and how to reach them with an authentic voice.”

That last point is critical.

“The relationship between a creator and their audience is built on authenticity and trust. Those are two very valuable attributes for any campaign and candidate quickly looking to earn votes,”” says Doug Thornell, chief executive officer of SKDK.“At a time when many place their trust in social media influencers, these creators can be very effective messengers in reaching people, particularly younger voters, who the campaign might not have any other way of communicating with.”

By identifying target audiences and diving into their specific interests, Thornell says, campaigns can work with the influencers who have the most impactful reach,“The most successful influencers are those whose voice is most trusted by their followers, so by harnessing the power of these influencers, campaigns can use their authentic, trusted voices to reach audiences who might otherwise be less impacted by traditional media.”

As a result, he says, empowering influencers pays off.“Campaigns are historically very risk-averse. But just like when you send volunteers out to knock on doors and make phone calls, campaigns should be willing to empower these creators to talk about the candidate's values and priorities in a way that makes sense for them and how they talk to their audience.”

Will It Make a Difference?

As in any political campaign, the impact of this strategy won't necessarily be clear until the votes are counted. But it is clear that the Harris campaign has a long-term strategy for the use of influencers-and that if the strategy delivers, it can have an impact not only on delivering messages but also on delivering votes.

“The online support that Vice President Harris is building will be leveraged in several ways,” says O'Leary.“It will be used to fact check the debate in real time, to counter mis- and disinformation, which is often perpetuated on social media, and to galvanize and mobilize voters.”

“I think the core strategy
is a two part strategy.” Says Mollineau.“One is to educate, inform, and create excitement among potential voters who are disengaged, disaffected, but that listen to and trust these influencers

“That's what you're seeing right now. And then I think as we get closer to the election, the second part of that strategy, as these influencers continue to engage, is to convince them to do more than just share memes and convince them to get their followers to the polls, to bring their friends, the community organizing aspect, using these influences in the same way you would use field organizers and activists on the ground.”

Thornell, meanwhile, sees a tremendous upside in the use of influencers. While campaigns will be mearuing reach and engagement and other typical social media metrics, the Harris campaign will also be using focus groups, online panels and more to optimize the best-performing content.

“Moving metrics like vote choice is historically very challenging,” he acknowledges.“But we've seen strong success from real people discussing why they are getting involved in a campaign.”

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