by By Alexis Stinnett
Social media has become a prevalent force in everyone’s lives. We spend countless hours scrolling our feeds, finding entertainment, news, and a variety of other things to fill our time. Social media in politics has become a major factor since the 2016 presidential election and the run-up to it. Social media and the presence a candidate has on these platforms is no longer just another aspect of their campaign; some may argue that it is now the most important part.
In this blog post, I will compare six posts from both Kamala Harris’s and Donald Trump’s Instagram accounts that were posted at various times on Saturday, October 26, 2024. By using these two accounts as examples, we can examine the different social media strategies employed by both campaigns.
First, when assessing Harris’s most recent six posts, a few things stand out. All but one of these posts are in reel format. This is a strategy that is becoming more popular on social media, as analytics have shown that Instagram reels receive more engagement. Additionally, Instagram reels typically reach a younger audience, such as Gen Z, which is a demographic the Harris campaigns has been steadily targeting. Another notable aspect is that three out of the six posts feature Harris speaking directly to an audience.
Whether this audience is at her recent rallies or her social media followers, she is engaging with a group of people. By highlighting her speaking on social media, her campaign is capitalizing on one of her identified strengths: her ability to speak eloquently in public settings. After Biden was criticized repeatedly for his public speaking skills and Trump faced criticism a lack of originality in his speeches, the Harris campaign aims to showcase this skill. By presenting her speaking in most of her posts, her PR and social team hope to help people identify her as the better candidate.
When assessing Trump’s most recent six posts, there is a stark difference. Three of the six posts are “flyers” for his rallies in various battleground states. They all use similar language and have a consistent design scheme. These posts do have a purpose, even if it seems counter intuitive to what we know about Instagram engagement. For Trump, his followers tend to be a part of an older age group than Harris’s audience.
As a result, the Trump campaign prioritizes posts that are traditional and straightforward, appealing more to his demographic. In addition to these stylistic differences, none of Trump’s posts feature him speaking. Instead, two of the three videos are cinematic and include clips of him from this and past campaigns, with narration. This approach appeals to his audience, as they have increasingly viewed him as a “hero” since his assassination attempt. These cinematic recaps play into this rhetoric, which is undoubtedly a strategy being used by his PR and social media team.
Overall, it is now the norm for social media to be a large part of political campaigns. By using a variety of different strategies, candidates can appeal to their strengths while maintaining a connection with their audience.
