* “Trust your heart, because if we work together, we can make this country what we know it will and should be.” These are the words from Presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton after a recent rally at Wayne State University. She was speaking on behalf of her understanding that many millennials still remained tentative towards giving Hillary their full endorsement.
*(Let’s hope Clinton’s new social media campaign resonates more positively than the infamous ” 3 emojis or less” Tweet)*
Ramping up Political Activity:
Clinton’s political team recently launched a massive social media campaign to the tune of 30 million dollars, which will reach numerous pivotal social media platforms:
- Twitter, Pandora and Spotify: Digital advertisements
- POPSUGAR: Clinton will be sending out guest columns on site popular site designated for women ages 18-34.
- Facebook: A shrewd move by Clinton’s staff has created multiple “Facebook live streams.”
- The “Live” feature enables an interactional dialogue with young undecided voters, as opposed to transactional, prerecorded statements.
- A quick policy update: Hillary has become more vocal on issues regarding college debt, criminal justice and climate change. She also is holding Q and A’s in areas that are less formal and more likely to draw in young voters:
- Shoe stores, nail salons and barber shops
Clinton holds with millennials, but lower than in previous years:
Clinton wields a controlling lead among millennials, who are predominately left-leaning during this campaign season. A recent poll, Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, has Clinton establishing a 51-31 percent advantage, with 20 percent being undecided. While comforting, Clinton still does not seem to garner numbers as large as President Barack Obama, who held 55 and 56 percent controls during the 2008 and 2012 elections, respectively.
Final thoughts/conclusions:
While not always perfect, Clinton’s late push to enhance her social media and visible credibility among millennials seems to be spawning positive dividends. Donald Trump’s refusal to actively reach out to millennials could also lead to higher support for Clinton. Trump’s effect as a “polarizing” T.V. personality could be one reason for his lack of young over focus, for myriads of young people have watched/ are familiar with the show “The Apprentice.” Whatever the case may be, it is becoming more and more evident that Hillary, while begrudgingly, could be millennials primary choice.
Your phrasing “Donald Trump’s refusal to actively reach out to millennials” is strong but the more I thought about it, you’re absolutely right from where I sit. I have seen no blatant effort by Trump to get my vote. Maybe he knows it’s a lost cause since he is so radically differently aligned with most millennials on social issues. I wonder if he is going to do anything to try to get our vote over these next few weeks.
It was interesting to see Hillary’s social media campaign laid out- I found it very insightful. I am particularly interested to see how she handles the Facebook “live” feature. As your screenshot of her tweet shows, she can be kind of awkward on social media so I think the Facebook “live” idea will be more effective if her supporters are doing the talking- not her.
It’s no surprise to me that Obama had more support from millennials. He just seemed cooler. He came across as someone I would love to hang out with. Hillary doesn’t pass the “beer test” in the way that he did and I don’t think she can do much to change that. It’s just an inherent trait.
I think you did a great job showing the different avenues in which Clinton’s campaign is appealing to the millennial vote. I agree that she is making much more of an effort to win over young votes in this final stretch than she ever has, however, I still wonder how effective she is being. My main concern with Clinton is that she comes off as fake. A quality proven by both her email scandal and her lack of ability to genuinely relate to younger voters.
I also agree with you that millennials will find Clinton to be the preferable choice over Trump, because quite frankly, Trump represents close to every social value this generation is against. He also hasn’t done much at all to make us feel valued and worthy of his time.
I was unaware of her Facebook live streams until reading this, and I am so interested in checking that out. Despite her previous disingenuous attempts, I think this could be a great opportunity for her to come off as sincere.