The Importance of Video Streaming for Young Voters

Over the past several years, there has been a subtle shift in social media that young people have their nose buried in. In the beginning of the age of social media, Facebook dominated the culture of young people as they were the first generation to understand this technology and maximize its use. Now, as social media has made its way into everyone’s lives –including the oldest generation among us – young people have moved beyond Facebook to other social media platforms. Some of these include Instagram, Twitter and most importantly, YouTube and Tiktok. All these platforms have a unique twist to offer their users, and almost all young people have these social media platforms downloaded on their mobile devices. So how can campaigns use this to their advantage?  

Young voters have always been a key demographic for campaigns to try and reach out to. Often, they are the group that neglects voting the most, and who voting has the greatest effect on. Every vote is important in an election, and therefore an election can be turned around just based on the youngest voters. Campaigns typically, when looking at social media, focus on the main three or four platforms: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. But to truly grab the attention of people aged 18-29, it might be helpful to move beyond the "classic” social media platforms.  

What are some ways that video streaming can be used in campaigns? In these short, segmented videos, a candidate has the potential to get across their personality and start building a relationship with voters. Furthermore, a candidate is able to get some name recognition if a young person streaming can see the candidate multiple times. Each video can be about a different issue, so that young voters do not get bored seeing the same video many times over the course of weeks (like commercials). It would be helpful for a candidate to stay away from the trends of the moment; instead candidates should be unique and true to themselves and their message.  

The most important thing to focus on when using these platforms is to build a consistent audience. The people who are likely to gain anything from these streaming videos are the people who watch the candidate’s channel repeatedly. There is no need to try and make a video that will go viral, but rather make a video that will reach the target audience and entice them to keep watching. While many do not understand these platforms, candidates might see a significant difference in their audience if they start to post on these newer platforms. Just as the political field is a fast-moving environment, so is social media. In order to get elected to office, candidates should consider appealing to the youngest audience of voters as it might make all the difference in their campaign.  

Sources:  

Serin, Mindy. “Leveraging Youtube, Tiktok to Capture Young Voters.” Campaigns & Elections, 13 Sept. 2021, campaignsandelections.com/campaigntech/leveraging-youtube-tiktok-to-capture-young-voters/.  

Writers, Staff. “9 Reasons We Need Young Voters More than Ever.” TheBestColleges.org, 1 July 2019, www.thebestcolleges.org/9-reasons-we-need-young-voters-more-than-ever/.