Political campaigns tap into creator power for 2024 elections

The news: Social media creators are playing a growing role in political campaigning and strategy.

• 4 in 10 (39%) US creators have been approached to work on paid political content for an election or voter campaign, including 28% just this year, per June 2024 data from Billion Dollar Boy and Censuswide.
• Yesterday, the White House’s Office of Digital Strategy hosted its first-ever Creator Economy Conference, bringing together a select group of creators and industry professionals in Washington, DC. President Joe Biden made an appearance.

Why it matters: Traditional political marketing tactics are no longer enough. Political campaigns, like brands, have recognized the power of creators in delivering a message and getting consumers to take action.

Yes, but: While consumers now largely expect creators to speak out on social and political causes, many draw a line between paid and organic political content.

• 9 in 10 (87%) US social media users agree that creators should speak out on social issues that align with their values, per February 2024 data from Sprout Social.
• Just over half (52%) of US consumers welcome creators posting political content, per the Billion Dollar Boy/Censuswide survey. But that includes 21% who only welcome political content from creators if it is unpaid.

Between the lines: Many brands are skittish about partnering with creators who post about hot-button political issues or elections.

• Marketing agencies like Captiv8 have started offering AI-powered brand safety tools to marketers that help assess the likelihood that a creator will post about politics, as well as other potentially “unsafe” content.
• Brand deals are the No. 1 revenue stream for most creators. We expect sponsored content revenues to account for 59.4% of the $13.70 billion US creators will generate from social media this year.

Zoom out: Political creator partnerships are part of a larger effort by politicians to take social media seriously as they look to speak directly to voters, especially those who are harder to reach via traditional means.

• Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris’ campaign has embraced memes and viral videos, which have been remixed or reposted by creators, largely on TikTok. Those efforts have generated a wave of enthusiasm for her campaign, particularly among young voters.
• X owner Elon Musk hosted a conversation with Republican nominee Donald Trump on the platform’s live audio service Spaces on Monday night. The choice of platform and interviewer gave Trump a direct line to many voters who feel marginalized by mainstream media.

Our take: Avoiding politics on social media was already a near-impossible task for brands.

Social media literacy is now table stakes for politicians, and while creator partnerships aren’t a silver bullet, they are a critical component of speaking to users in their language—and getting them out to vote.