For the presidential candidates who want to capture the youth vote, they’d better start tweeting.
Of all methods that could influence millennials to vote, social media will sway their opinion, according to a survey from Refuel Agency, a marketing firm focused on millennials.
Thirty-five percent of millennials chose social media for what “would influence you to vote” in 2016, followed by television (30 percent) and internet excluding social media (29 percent). Campaign representatives lagged at 22 percent, and even friend recommendations and college peers came up short at 17 percent and 16 percent, respectively.
That means that the Democrats have a strong advantage. Hillary Clinton has 5.3 million Twitter followers and another 2.4 million likes on Facebook. Bernie Sanders has 1.4 million Twitter followers and 2.6 million Facebook likes.
The only Republican candidate who can match that is Donald Trump, with 6 million Twitter followers and 5.6 million Facebook likes. Ted Cruz has a modest 787,000 Twitter followers and 1.8 million Facebook likes, and Marco Rubio has 1.1 million Twitter followers and 1.3 million Facebook likes.
That online reach can affect the outcome of an election. It lets the candidates control their narrative and speak directly to supporters, bypassing the media. It coordinates voters in important states and finds volunteers for the campaign. For the youth, it can motivate them to care about an election and vote for a candidate.
The 2016 election is the “social media election,” The Hill declared, and reflects “candidates meeting supporters where they have their conversations.” Politicians run to the front of a parade to look like they lead it, but the action already happened. Without good social media outreach, the candidates can’t keep up with voters.
It’s also crucial for political advertising. Millennials care about family and friend recommendations the most, but television ads, samples, social media ads, and direct mail round out the top five. Traditional advertising media such as newspapers, magazines, and radio aren’t grabbing millennials.
As the primary season gets rolling, a tweet or status update could make or break and election.
