For influencers to influence, they must create content. On Monday night, the Democratic National Convention (DNC), hosted this year in Chicago, gave them everything they needed and more.
If you’ve ever been to a Democratic or Republican (hopefully not) National Convention, then you’re familiar with who’s in the building. There are politicians and pundits galore, sprinkled in with delegates who are ready to treat the four-day event like a high school pep rally on steroids. Celebrity sightings are about as normal as excited constituents supporting their nominee.
But this year, a new group was invited to the party: the influencers.
If people on the internet can influence you to go places and buy things, why wouldn’t you ask them to help you win an election? It’s like having your own social media “street team.” But, instead of marketing an artist or selling an album, the Democratic Party is trying to get Vice President Kamala Harris to the Oval.
Sidebar: if you’re still trying to figure out what an influencer is, we used to call them “Tastemakers” back in the day. They’re curators of a digital world, and social media is their tool.
Over 200 digital content creators were granted credentials to attend this week’s DNC. In the 1990s, Bill Clinton went after young voters by showing up on MTV. In 2024, Vice President Harris is targeting the generation that gets their news via TikTok and Instagram.
There was an array of content for creators to choose from. Former Chicago Bulls star and Team USA Basketball head coach Steve Kerr gestured the Steph Curry “night-night” celebration. Shawn Fain, president of the United Auto Workers union, called Donald Trump a “scab.” Sen. Raphael Warnock took us to church. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was a crowd favorite. Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett proved that she’s a political star in the making. Former First Lady and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and President Joe Biden received long ovations for their decades of service. And Vice President Harris surprised the crowd not once but twice during the night.
It was the perfect night to engage the future through social media.
“With the way social media is going, political parties would be crazy not to get on this wave,” Jennifer Jones (@ThisAintSociety) told EBONY. “We have to continue to be innovative and rock with how the future unfolds. This is how you get the next generation’s attention so that they understand what’s important. They don’t want to see this on TV, they want it on their platforms.”
But for someone like Jones, this is bigger than just reaching a younger audience. As a Black woman with a brother who used to be incarcerated, she’s going after the ones who are far too often disregarded, making them sometimes feel as if voting doesn’t matter.
“I’m really trying to get them to understand how important their vote is. My brother’s story is what brings me so close to that group…because as we know, some states do not allow felons to vote in elections.”
If you’re wondering how politics and TikTok can work together, you’re not alone. Headlines have been filled over the last year about the social media platform potentially being banned in the United States.
“It’s fun. It’s very quick. Once you see a trend, it makes you want to participate and be involved,” is the way Jones described TikTok’s appeal to audiences. “It’s so cool because it’s easily accessible. Anyone can make a video, and then you’re in the mix with everyone else.”
A new law could shut down American users unless the company divests from its China-based parent company. According to a recent report from NPR, the company argues that a ban would represent “the most sweeping speech restriction in the country’s history.” With the Justice Department defending a law that President Biden signed in April to ban TikTok unless it’s sold, it’s quite ironic that many of the content creators first experience with the DNC is on the very same evening that’s being dedicated to Biden’s career in politics.
“As Black content creators, we yearn for access to a big enterprise like this,” Cory Proctor (@CoryMProctor) told EBONY. “So, to see a large production like this from the inside out, it’s major, especially since we’ve traditionally lacked this level of access.”
For Black influencers like Jones and Proctor, they want to use this opportunity to show the good social media can do and how it can reach the ones who too often feel like politicians forget about them.
“We have a lot of eyes on us, and situations like this allow us to speak up and say things we’re passionate about without feeling like we’re going to get thrown under the bus,” said Jones. “I want people to see and know that my posts from this week aren’t about the average portrayal of who we are as a people or who you may be as an individual,” Proctor explained. “Seeing this, I want people to be confident in who we are and who they are. I’m someone from the same places they are, and look at us now — we’re all in the same spaces.”
