This year we have heard it all.
From the United Nations call to creatives to help spread information during the initial stages of the COVID pandemic, to the role of influencer marketing companies to drive the sustainability movement forward. 2020 was the year where the entire world recognized that social media, and more specifically the influencers that serve as leading voices on the platforms, play a huge role in every aspect of society.
The U.S. elections were not the exception. Social media is so impactful that even presidential candidates make it a priority in their marketing strategy. Back in March, Bloomberg kicked off the election season by launching a humorous influencer marketing campaign involving some of the most popular meme accounts on Instagram. And it got everybody talking!
When the coronavirus pandemic hit, traditional campaign marketing tactics like precinct walking were suddenly unsafe to do so. This pivoted political marketing teams into crafting compelling influencer strategies to reach their audiences right at home.
Democratic candidate Joe Biden engaged in influencer marketing across verticals, partnering with influencers that have a direct opinion on his major stances. More and more we see organizations across industries reaching out to influencers to leverage their voices to inspire action and drive change.
More Than A Vote: Using Influencer Marketing for Positive Change
We’ve witnessed many campaigns prove that social media platforms are powerful spaces for social good. When it comes to crucial social and political moments like the upcoming election, data reveals that social media users rely on social media to engage in conversation. Hootsuite reported 6.6 million total mentions of Trump and Biden directly after the first presidential debate, with Biden claiming 72% of those mentions.
During this election alone, 45% of Black Americans say that they’ve used social media to encourage others to take action on issues that are important to them in the past month. And this user-lead activism is proven to spark results: 29% of men ages 18 to 29 say their views on a political or social issue changed in the past year due to social media.
With these insights in mind, we recently partnered with More Than A Vote, an organization that educates and energizes potential Black voters across communities. In the weeks leading up to November 3rd, we had a clear goal in mind: to amplify their message by leveraging the power of Instagram influencers. Black creators could authentically encourage their community to register and ultimately vote in the upcoming election.
“MTAV was a meaningful activation because of the mission behind it. While we love our fun brand campaigns that promote products, it was really nice to get influencers to rally behind the need to combat systemic voter suppression and help educate their audience on the importance of voting. With a polarizing election at our doorstep, I am proud that Open Influence was able to be part of a large effort to make meaningful change.” – Maggie Reznikoff, Director of Account Management at this influencer agency in Los Angeles.
This influencer marketing campaign was enacted in three-phases, each aligned with key voting dates in selected target states covering up to 18 cities. Given that different states have different voting timelines, including local influencers and aligning their content to said timelines was crucial. A marriage between timing and targeting with local influencers was key to powerfully achieve our partner’s goal. All three phases strategically worked together to raise awareness of the More Than A Vote initiative.
“In a way, working with MTAV has been a cathartic experience in 2020. This year especially, we should all be doing our best to bring positivity and encouragement into focus for one another, and I’m proud to have been able to do that as a function of my job here at Open Influence. Coming to understand the organization’s mission and strategy, it felt like this was something we needed to be a part of and I’m so happy we were given the opportunity.” – Gabriela Leverette, Project Manager
The Game Plan: The Influencer Strategy to Incentivize Voters
PHASE 1: WHY VOTE!
To launch the campaign, influencers posted an in-feed carousel of photos depicting why they strongly feel that voting is especially important this year. In the caption, they shared a short personal anecdote or voting issue that is important to them and encourage their followers to do the same.
PHASE 2: REGISTER TO VOTE
Leading into state-specific registration deadlines, influencers posted a series of posts and stories with the purpose of providing their audience an easy path to register. This included information about state-specific voting deadlines, voting best practices, and day-of volunteer information.
PHASE 3: ARE YOU VOTING?
In this phase, our influencers shared their excitement over submitting their ballot and encouraged followers to spread the message.
“Overall, we saw higher engagement across the board because of the “philanthropic feel” of the activation. All we were asking people was to go out and vote, but more importantly to get off the sidelines and make an active difference in their community.” – Anthony Kodomichalos, Account Manager
Humans Love Stories: The Power of Influencers in the Election and Beyond
We can’t ignore the power of social media and influencers, as they are immersed in every aspect of our lives, including politics and social change.
2020 has reassured us that creators play a crucial role in society and they have both the opportunity and responsibility to drive attention to pressing matters. Creators will continue to use their platforms to speak out, our industry must serve as a strong force that empowers them to do so.
..
With the right influencer marketing strategy, organizations can advance their brand purpose. Want to learn more? Contact us.
