Are You Prepared to Get Out the Vote? Well Microinfluencers Are.
Let’s look at how microinfluencers can play a critical role in GOTV efforts online.
It’s midterm season: not nearly as glamorous or engaging as a presidential election, but critical in determining our ability to get stuff done in Congress. This is why it is crucial that we take advantage of all avenues to get out the vote, and who better to spread the word online than trusted microinfluencers?
We're talking about your friends, family, colleagues, etc. who you trust, are invested in, and follow on social media. It’s basically like traditional door-to-door canvassing, but you can reach hundreds or thousands of neighbors with a single post.
You might be asking, how does this work?
BIG TAKEAWAY: Microinfluencers are energized and ready to organize getting out the vote online, especially when it comes to promoting values they share with their followers.
Year after year, online users are less concerned about midterm elections compared to presidential elections.
Democrats online are not only starting their GOTV activations sooner than Republicans; they also drive higher engagement.
The more of an online presence a campaign has, the higher the engagement, and the more likely voters are to recall campaign messaging.
SLEEPER TAKEAWAY: Social media has created an environment where people are eager to demonstrate their values in a way that uniquely benefits Democrats get out the vote organizing.
The volume of mentions relating to “get out the vote” campaigns has decreased notably since the 2020 Presidential Election, signaling the lack of motivation everyday users have for getting out the vote during midterm elections.
Don’t be fooled; as we enter traditional October GOTV efforts, online posts mentioning voting are reaching nearly 500K. But as we can see from 2020, this number could be higher.
Despite this, we found that self-identified Democrats tend to start their GOTV activations sooner than their Republican counterparts during any given election cycle, and importantly, they receive more than 2x the engagement rate.
Democrats can, and should, continue to capitalize on the lack of preparedness from Republicans. We have found that by having trusted local messengers enter the conversation as early as possible, we can efficiently engage with thousands of voters.
We conducted a study with an external partner and learned how influential microinfluencers (1K to 50K followers) are in their communities. Their connection to their follower base allows them to achieve greater organic engagement, in turn leading to a higher recall of campaign messaging.
Here are a few responses to the GOTV campaigns we have run in the past:
In 2020, we were able to get ahead of the narrative online by inspiring 15,184 highly personal stories from microinfluencers across 11 different states.
These posts not only got in front of the messaging, but they also entered the discourse prior to messaging from Republicans that aided causes for organizations at the front lines of progressive change.
While eliciting powerful and essential messages for getting out the vote in their communities, microinfluencers played a critical role in the results of the 2020 election. The sheer volume of content coming from trusted sources delivered engagement well above the industry averages.
This year we are continuing our GOTV efforts in 14 states and are eager to support grassroots organizations to victory in this midterm cycle!
Bottom line: People want to have their voices heard. When grassroots microinfluencers are able to organize with campaigns, they feel heard and seen by the campaign, and it sends a message to their followers about the authenticity of the messaging. This is grassroots activism. This is getting out the vote from the voices that matter most to the audiences who trust them most.