Influencers

#173: Micro-Influencer Marketing for Political Campaigns, with Ryan Davis

April 21, 2024 Digital Strategists

Ryan Davis, Co-Founder of People First, discusses how “micro-influencers” or “micro-creators” are being used in political campaigns. We discuss the benefits of using micro-influencers for engagement, as well as how they can be used to target specific blocks of voters. Ryan also shares how these creators can inform the political strategy of campaigns through panels and focus groups, and how the comments to creators’ content can reveal themes and sentiments important for the campaign. 

 

Here’s a list of resources on micro-influencers written by Ryan and People First: 

White paper on micro-influencers 

2024 election guide on micro-influencers

In-and-outs of influencer outreach

An overview of influencer trends

#172: Far Right Women Influencers on YouTube and Instagram, with Dr. Eviane Leidig

April 7, 2024 Civil Society

Dr. Eviane Leidig, Marie Curie postdoctoral fellow at Tilburg University, discusses her book “The Women of the Far Right: Social Media Influencers and Online Radicalization.” 

We break down the role of social media for the alt-right movement, and how platforms like Instagram and YouTube work to mainstream extremist views. These insights come from Dr. Leidigs research conducting digital ethnography on women influencers prominent on the American Right. 

#161: Connecting Social Media Influencers with Political Campaigns, with Zach Fang

June 18, 2023 Digital Strategists

Zach Fang, Head of Sales and Business Development at Vocal Media, shares how the start-up is building a database of social media influencers to connect with political campaigns and organizations. We discuss what makes TikTok influencers a different type of political advertising and how their costs stack up to traditional broadcast and social media. Zach also shares what’s happening with influencers on Twitch, Discord, and YouTube shorts, and how influencers may turn from awareness raising to organizing. 

 

Here’s a link to the study mentioned in the episode. 

#146: Social Media Influencers and Politics, Environmental Behavior, and Covid Misinformation, with Dr. Desirée Schmuck

June 19, 2022 Academics

Dr. Desirée Schmuck, Assistant Professor at the Department of Mass Communication at KU Leuven, shares her research on social media influencers and their effects on users’ political attitudes and behavior. We break down three of Dr. Schmuck’s studies. The first focuses on how exposure to political influencer content affects young social media users’ behavior, both in terms of formal electoral participation and environmental sustainability. The second examines how influencers might affect users’ perceived simplification of politics, and how that perception influences users’ political cynicism and interest. The third study is an experiment that seeks to understand how misinformation from lifestyle influencers could affect female social media users’ attitudes toward Covid and trust in public health information.


Here are links to the studies we discuss in the episode:


The Mobilizing Power of Influencers for Pro-Environmental Behavior Intentions and Political Participation (2022)

Politics–Simply Explained? How Influencers Affect Youth’s Perceived Simplification of Politics, Political Cynicism, and Political Interest (2022)

Responses to Social Media Influencers’ Misinformation about COVID-19: A Pre-Registered Multiple-Exposure Experiment (2022)

#123: Social Media Influencers and Political Campaigns, with Madeline V. Twomey

March 27, 2021 Digital Strategists

Madeline V. Twomey, President at Rufus and Mane, discusses how social media influencers can benefit political campaigns (and vice versa). Madeline forged digital influencer partnerships for Joe Biden’s presidential campaign and inauguration. She shares her experiences working with influencer programs and her thoughts on best practices moving forward.

 

We talk about the value that influencers can provide to campaigns, how that working relationship looks like in practice, and how storytelling can help non-political influencers break into political topics. 

 

Here’s Madeline’s Medium post discussing her 10 lessons from the Biden campaign.  

 

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