What Role Does Social Media Play in an Election? 

Photo via The Media Fair

***

Social Media has been a new campaign tool in the past ten years and has had major impacts on the elections during this time period. Social media was especially prominent in the 2024 election. There are many ways in which social media plays a major role in political campaigns and elections. Understanding how social media impacts elections is crucial for candidates to campaign effectively. 

How exactly does social media persuade voters? The House of Marketers states that the consumption of digital content creates a parasocial relationship between influencers and their followers in which viewers tend to hold on to every word creators say. Here it is emphasized that in order to have a strong impact on their viewers, online personalities must form an authentic connection with their audience. The article goes on to express the fact that influencers have the ability to create this sense of loyalty because they have formed a long lasting connection with their followers. This loyalty and connection is something that a traditional ad cannot achieve. Here, long form entertainment is proven to be a way to harbor the connection necessary to sway voters. Importantly, political candidates often represent more than a mere individual, but rather a set of beliefs. Therefore, political campaigns can be aimed at changing their voters’ ideology. The House of Marketers explains that the less scripted, more freeform style of influencer ads makes them more effective than a conventional ad. This is another way that social media ads are able to strengthen connections with their followers. Social media is an easy and effective way to appeal to the average Joe. Many politicians are unable to connect with the average American, and by providing a remedy to this problem, social media has been a very effective campaign tool.

Who is persuaded the most? In an article, Paul Katz states, “Younger, male, non-white, urban, independent, and less politically active individuals are way more inclined to value the opinion of an influencer endorsement.” The fact that independent voters are more easily persuaded by social media is very important for the candidates to understand because independents make a huge difference in elections. 

The main reason social media has been such a major part of recent elections is because it is where most people get their news. Pew Research states that about one in five Americans say they regularly get their news from news influencers on social media, and around two-thirds of these Americans say that information helps them better understand current events. These statistics underscore the scale of impact of social media on public opinion. In an article published on Sage Journals, Heike Klüver affirms the potential impact of influencers, stating that they “have the ability to reach millions… directly and effectively.” Writing for PSRA, Greg Beaubien writes that, “Significantly more people who follow news influencers say they mostly agree with their opinions (30%) than mostly disagree (2%).” The fact that people tend to agree with the influencers they patronize shows just how powerful online personalities have become in shaping the prevailing ideologies of modern society. 

The Federal Elections Commission (FEC) is racing to regulate this burgeoning campaign arena. A pair of researchers writing for the University of Texas at Austin’s Center for Media Engagement wrote that the Federal Elections Commission should look to change the legal requirements surrounding these kinds of political advertisements, but “finds itself without a quorum, leaving it powerless to act.” Without regulation, social media political campaigns have the capacity to cause harm. The FEC needs to get on top of it. The Associated Press also outlined their concerns, stating, “Both the Republican and Democratic parties invited scores of influencers to their respective national conventions this summer. But with little to no disclosure requirements about who is funding influencers’ work, the public is largely in the dark about who is powering the messaging online.”   

Now, let’s take a look at the tangible impact of influencers in specific elections. Paul M. Katz discusses the ‘Get Out the Vote’ campaign in the Georgia Senate runoff and how it led to a boom in Black faith-based voters, tipping the scale towards the democrats and allowing their candidate to eventually take the seat. But the power of influencers extends beyond domestic elections. In the same article, Paul M. Katz writes, “Picture this: teen sensation Olivia Rodrigo, known for her hit song ‘Driver’s License,’ meets with President Biden to advocate for teen COVID-19 vaccinations. In an instant, Ana, a teenager in Rio, Brazil, hears about it and suddenly feels more inclined to get vaccinated herself. The Influencer Effect is instantaneous and impactful.” In this case, the impact of social media showed itself to be so vast that it transcends politics and even borders. Furthermore, not only celebrities can impact elections. Smaller, locally-supported ‘micro-influencers’ can affect local elections in their communities. 

Now, let’s look at the impact social media had on the 2024 presidential elections. One statistic I found particularly interesting involved how the media spoke about the candidates. Pew research states, “Twice as many posts from news influencers about Harris were critical than were supportive (38% vs. 19%). In contrast, posts about Trump were more equally split (31% critical vs. 27% supportive).” The statistics suggest that news influencers were more critical of Harris than Trump. The amount of content that news outlets posted also varied across party lines. Pew research writes, “On average, right-leaning news influencers posted 183 times per week and mentioned Trump in 21 of those. Left-leaning news influencers posted 72 times per week on average and mentioned Harris in 12.” The candidates also had different approaches. During the 2024 election, Trump really leaned into the longer form content such as YouTube and podcasts while the Harris Campaign opted for shorter-form TikTok content. Trump may have gained an edge by emphasizing mediums that better showcase personability and relatability compared with the more surface-level style of TikTok content. 

The impact of social media is staggering and certainly had some impact on Trump’s win in the 2024 election. Running an effective social media campaign is essential to winning an election.

***

This article was edited by Chapin Fish