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:
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:
Juri Schnöller, Co-Founder and Managing Director at Cosmonauts & Kings, discusses the latest trends in German digital political communication. We chat about the role of digital political consultants in Germany, the important role of messenger apps like Signal and Telegram, and how social media influencers are impacting coronavirus communication. We also compare how features of the German electoral rules, political culture, and media system work to shape German digital campaigning.