Joe Biden’s TikTok strategy

Joe Biden is trying to attraction to Technology Z and Millennial voters by “adopting a extra aggressive message about his financial report” on social media platform TikTok in line with an professional in youth political engagement.

The president joined TikTok on February 11 with a video entitled “lol hey guys” and went on to reply a sequence of quick-fire questions in regards to the day’s upcoming Tremendous Bowl. Biden’s account, referred to as ‘Biden-Harris HQ,’ at present has simply over 205,000 followers on the platform.

Chatting with Newsweek DeNora Getachew, CEO of youth-focused activist hub DoSomething.org, stated that Biden is utilizing TikTok to achieve “a few of the first generations to have been virtually totally introduced up in an atmosphere dominated by smartphones, tablets and social media.”

She added: “It is much more vital to interact Gen Z and Millennials on TikTok as Pew not too long ago discovered that the share of U.S. adults who say they frequently get information from TikTok has greater than quadrupled, from 3 % in 2020 to 14 % in 2023.”

Nevertheless, in line with information supplied to Newsweek by Kyra, an organization that advises influencers on social media engagement, Biden’s TikTok progress has been pretty pedestrian in comparison with a few of the prime accounts on the platform.

Within the 11 days to February 23, Biden gained round 180,000 TikTok followers. Nevertheless, comparatively, in solely the seven days main as much as February 23, Reesa Teesa, a consumer documenting the breakup of her marriage, acquired 2.3 million followers. The identical interval additionally noticed Kanye West acquire 714,000 followers, whereas the account of Staff ECCO, which describes itself as a “nonprofit devoted to educating youngsters to care in regards to the ocean,” picked up 383,000 followers.

Why TikTok?

Based on Getachew, Biden is utilizing TikTok in a bid as a part of a bid to rebuild the coalition of voters that gave him victory over Donald Trump in November 2020, which included younger voters. Trump is the agency favourite to safe the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

She stated: “A Biden-Trump rematch seems imminent, and with the rising value of dwelling, reasonably priced well being care, and an uneasiness about whether or not President Joe Biden is listening to their considerations, in fact, Biden needs to appease the identical voting bloc that propelled him into the White Home in 2020.”

Getachew famous a TikTok pattern the place Technology Z customers publish about their financial anxieties and argued Biden becoming a member of the platform is an try to interact with these voters.

She defined: “An onslaught of clips have cropped up throughout TikTok by which members of Gen Z air their frustrations about financial uncertainty and the lack to afford on a regular basis prices. With inflation and recession fears, Biden is adopting a extra aggressive message about his financial report heading into the election.

“If the candidates wish to communicate to a few of the greatest points which can be prime of thoughts for younger voters this yr, together with financial uncertainty, they’d do properly to go on the report to showcase their achievements in these areas. That is precisely what Biden is doing.”

Biden’s want to interact with younger voters was underlined by a New York Instances/Siena Faculty ballot exhibiting practically 75 % of voters aged between 18 and 29 disapprove of his dealing with of the Israel-Hamas battle. This battle, sparked by a shock Hamas assault on Israel that killed round 1,200 individuals, has resulted in practically 30,000 Palestinian deaths in Gaza, in line with the territory’s well being ministry.

On Tuesday, Biden gained the Michigan Democratic major with 78.6 % of the vote, however 16.2 % marked their ballots as “uncommitted.” A marketing campaign made up predominantly of Muslim and youthful voters had been urging voters to do that in protest at Biden’s Gaza coverage.

How Ought to Biden Use TikTok?

Based on Getachew Biden ought to use TikTok to elucidate how he has addressed, or plans to handle, key points which “motivates” youthful voters to solid a poll. She listed these as “the financial system, together with scholar debt and school affordability, reproductive entry, reasonably priced well being care, together with psychological well being entry, addressing the local weather disaster, and ending gun violence.”

The youth engagement professional added: “What’s most vital is that Biden states the info and illustrates for younger individuals how his insurance policies have addressed the problems they wish to see taken care of. Particularly within the wake of a big improve in youth activism on social media.”

Newsweek has reached out to Joe Biden’s 2024 presidential marketing campaign for remark by electronic mail.