Hillary Clinton has become a “savvy social media manipulator” in the rollout of her 2016 presidential campaign, according to an article recently published in The Wrap.
The article contrasts the 2008 technologically-challenged Hillary with her 2.0 self, who currently maintains accounts on Twitter, Snapchat, Spotify, Instagram, Periscope and Genius. I’m 23 and I’m not even on Periscope or Genius — Hillary must be a closet Millennial (or, better yet, a robot).
Indeed, the Democratic presidential candidate has spent more time gabbing on social media than she has to the press, a fact that curiously makes social media expert Chad Kawalec see Clinton as more of a “real person” despite the fact that she’s tweeting and instagramming and posting via the Internet and thus building her digital — not physical — persona (again, I say, robot).
“By going directly to voters via social media and sidestepping traditional media, she’s completely controlling the conversation, requiring traditional outlets to pick up verbatim quotes from her social media platforms,” explained Kawalec to The Wrap.
Well, of course Hillary is using social media to “sidestep” the press and “control” the conversation. How else would she avoid all the questions about her private email account?
Instead of addressing inquiries about her cleanly wiped server or the Clinton Foundation’s foreign contributions, Clinton has busied herself — or, her staff, rather — with posting her Spotify playlist, outfits or casual #TBTs — you know, the things Millennials really care about.
Step 1: Plug in headphones.
Step 2: Press play. http://t.co/dL7vGv4gGi pic.twitter.com/cRM22LIdAG
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) June 17, 2015
“One thing you’ll notice about her social media campaign is that it’s not all about her, it’s about the average American and their stories,” observed former Obama 2012 press secretary Ben LaBolt.
Right, because the average American has time to linger on his or her outfit choices of the day, which inevitably include several expensive pant and skirt suits.
To be fair, Clinton does include content that, quite literally, isn’t all about her. There are these:
The article in The Wrap also cites a study by Zignal Labs published in the Washington Post that claims Clinton “won” this past weekend on social media, as 59 percent of all posts about 2016 over the weekend were in some capacity about the Democratic presidential candidate.
Such a statistic is really not a surprise, considering Clinton relaunched her campaign on Saturday during a weekend that was largely devoid of any other big 2016 news. Surely, Donald Trump’s announcement on Tuesday hurt her social media standing.
And while the Clinton campaign may be expert at tending to her Twitter account, it might be wise for Hillary to put a bit more emphasis on her actual verbal response to the questions that plague her ahead of the 2016 primary.
Millennials might enjoy a good #TBT, but they’re really interested in an honest, reliable, transparent leader.
