Building a Campaign Strategy for TikTok
This platform could have your candidate dancing their way into elected office
Do you know which app has been the most downloaded in the world for three years in a row? Chances are, you guessed correctly – it’s TikTok, the video-centric platform produced by the Chinese company ByteDance. This viral platform may be well-known for its trend-setting dances, but it also offers a significant opportunity for political campaigns to engage with millions of voters.
TikTok led the world as 2021’s most downloaded app with over 656 million downloads, and it continues to hold that title in 2022. It is the 5th and only non-game, non-Facebook app to reach 3 billion downloads, and despite its debut in 2016, it was the 7th most downloaded app between 2010 to 2019. As of January 2022, the platform was the 6th most used app globally, with approximately 1 billion monthly users.
The platform is lucrative not only for the sheer size of its audience, but also for its primary user demographic: Gen Z (those born between 1997 and 2012). As of 2021, TikTok became the most popular platform among Gen Z users, beating out Instagram for the title. Approximately 40% of the platforms users are Gen Z, though a surprisingly high percentage of users (36%) are between ages 35-54. Women comprise a larger share of TikTok users than men, making up 57% of global users and 61% of U.S. users.
While the platform is usually left out of campaigns’ media strategies, some campaigns and candidates have taken a chance on the app. Among the most high-profile candidates to try their hand at the site is Sen. Ed Markey, the junior U.S. senator from Massachusetts. Markey’s campaign indicates that they want to meet young people where they are – social media platforms. It appears to be working. For instance, one of Markey’s 2020 videos, in which he sinks shot after shot on a basketball court while a voice-over discusses the Green New Deal, drew almost 20,000 likes and over 500 comments.
Other elected officials are also using the platform to gain traction among young people. For instance, former Minnesota State Senator Matt Little, a Democrat, has a prolific presence on TikTok, and he mixes policy, humor, and relevant trends and references into his videos. The videos are popular, with some receiving over a million views and tens of thousands of likes. They appear to pay off as well; in 2020, Little’s campaign received donations from approximately 700 people equaling around $3,500 after posting his Venmo handle on a TikTok. While Little lost his 2020 race, he is now running for another office in Minnesota as one of the most followed political figures in the country.
One official seeing success from her popular TikTok account is Kansas State Representative Christina Haswood. With the assistance of a high school student, Rep. Haswood used the platform to gain support for her 2020 campaign for the Kansas State House among young adults, gaining momentum with her policy-oriented videos. Today, she serves as one of three Native women in the Kansas State House, and a video of her swearing-in ceremony in which she is wearing a traditional Navajo dress went viral, gathering more than 1 million views.
Instrumental to the success of these figures on TikTok is the visible authenticity of their videos. Social media content has undergone a substantial shift in the last few years, with users seeking out more authentic, candid content instead highly-polished, professional videos or influencer photos. Likewise, users want to be entertained, and over half of the respondents to a 2022 survey indicate that they use TikTok to that end. The entertainment factor may be another reason some candidates and campaigns have succeeded in gaining large followings on the platform, as the use of dance trends, popular musical remixes, and a solid sense of humor make the content much more accessible to an audience looking for a laugh.
TikTok is still a new frontier for campaigns. Currently, Democratic candidates and elected officials are the primary political figures using the platform. Between the Republican Party’s focus on courting middle-aged and older voters and concerns with data mining by TikTok’s Chinese parent company, few Republicans have ventured into this digital space.
While a lucrative platform for campaigns, there are a few things that may give candidates pause on starting an account. For starters, political ads are banned on the platform. However, some campaigns and organizations got around this ban through a few loopholes, such as paying or encouraging an influencer to post campaign-related content. Another controversial aspect of the platform is its Chinese parent company, which some argue may be gathering data on elected officials and others with access to sensitive information. A significant portion of government employees and military staff are banned from using the app on work devices, and experts have warned that some users, especially government officials and personnel, are at risk of having their data mined by the Chinese government. Other officials and experts have pushed back on these accusations and concerns, indicating there is no more risk involved with TikTok than other social media apps.
The platform is still an emerging opportunity for campaigns, and many questions remain regarding its effectiveness and risks. However, it offers a unique opportunity to connect with a large swath of potential voters that few other spaces can effectively reach for campaigns that choose to engage with the platform. Candidates of all ages and from diverse backgrounds are finding engaged audiences on TikTok, and those demonstrating their authentic willingness to listen and interact with users may find many loyal supporters. For some candidates, especially those entering politics for the first time, they may be only one or two trending dance videos away from elected office.
Levi C. Bevis is a graduate student at the Boston University College of Communication. He has experience in government, policy, campaign, and communications industries. To hear more from The Campaigner, subscribe here today!