As the 2024 election approaches, both the Trump and Harris campaigns have intensified their social media advertising, narrowly targeting their respective audiences. Social media has profoundly transformed election advertising in recent years by enabling campaigns to reach voters more directly and personally than ever before. One unique aspect of this election cycle is how prevalent TikTok advertising has been for both candidates. Both the Trump and Harris campaign teams have used TikTok as a vital tool in advertising and gathering support for their candidates. As each campaign makes its final impressions on voters, let’s reflect on the approaches they have taken throughout the course of this election cycle.
Former President Donald Trump and his team have actively utilized TikTok this year to engage with a younger audience of voters and broaden the reach of his campaign. He launched his personal TikTok account in June 2024, gaining over 12 million followers by October. His content strategy on TikTok includes sharing highlights from his campaign trail, policy discussion and live streaming events and rallies. This strategy encourages urgency to vote for young audiences, since they are the primary users of TikTok. Trump has aimed to partner with social media influencers, such as Logan and Jake Paul, for endorsement. This broadens his audience and appeals to a younger audience, a category of voters that has typically voted against Trump. He also has posted content showing his acts of patriotism to promote his campaign’s ‘America First’ ideals. Trump’s TikTok advertising has given him the opportunity to grow his support from current supporters and reach new audiences.
Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign has employed a more modernized approach to TikTok advertising. Following President Biden’s withdrawal from the election in late July, Vice President Harris’s campaign team immediately began producing content tailored to young audiences, specifically Gen Z. Harris took a unique approach by incorporating pop culture, such as the “brat” phenomenon, which refers to pop star Charli XCX, as a running theme for her social media. This strategy began after Charli XCX described Harris as embodying the “brat” identity, leading the “Kamala HQ” TikTok account to adopt it as a key element to improve engagement. Another example of her appeal to Gen Z was the adoption of Beyonce’s song “Freedom” as her campaign’s theme song. Harris’s TikTok strategy differs from Trump’s as she not only uses TikTok to reach Gen Z but actively appeals to them through trends and pop culture.
As Election Day nears, both the Trump and Harris campaigns continue to leverage the power of TikTok to reach and resonate with younger voters. Whether it is Trump’s rally highlights or Harris’s embrace of Gen Z cultural phenomena, both campaigns have demonstrated how essential social media, especially TikTok, has become in shaping public perception and driving voter engagement. As voters prepare to make their final selections for president, these approaches highlight the lasting impact social media will have on the future of political campaigns and voter engagement.