Case Study: TikTok Election Ad Campaign Partners With Influencers

Gen Z TikTok Influencers Rally for Fair Elections’ #DropOffChallenge

More than ever people are looking to social media for entertainment, updates, and to voice their opinions. Even before the pandemic, a study revealed more than one in three Gen Zers and Millennials get news from social media sites rather than from TV and newspapers.

Social media has had a pivotal role in the 2020 election, especially as the nation is still undergoing COVID-19 lockdown. Celebrities have long endorsed their favorite political choices, but this year election has launched a new wave of social and political campaigning across social media, with influencer partnerships at the forefront.

Non-profits Fair Elections Center and Campus Vote Project partnered with an eclectic group of TikTok influencers to encourage mail-in ballot drop-offs among younger Gen Z users. Influencer selection for the campaign focuses on TikTok stars with expertise in popular campus hobbies like rollerblading, slack-lining, gymnastics and more.

Many companies are finding success with meaningful cause marketing through influencers. During March 2020, some of the first brands to launch coronavirus-related ad campaigns used influencers to do so.

Influencers can amplify a brand’s social or political cause messaging in a relatable and authentic way to their tight knit audiences and followers.

Campus Vote Project Campaigns On TikTok With Gen Z Influencers

Goals

• Amplify the program’s messaging and empower students with the resources and tools they need to vote.
• Increase voting rates among Gen Z and Millennial students.
• Reach Gen Z and Millennials to drive mail-in ballots.
• Leverage select TikTok influencers’ knowledge of their niche communities to authentically motivate users to vote.

Approach

• Channel: TikTok
• Influencers: 11 influencers — each representing a unique category niche on TikTok. In their sponsored video every influencer completed the #DropOffChallenge in a way that was akin to their popular content

Slack-lining and Signing Her Ballot, @yehslacks Breaks Engagement Record

Breannah Yeh narrates the entertaining journey of her voter’s ballot to the dropbox all while suspended in the air! The slackline enthusiast demonstrates just how quick the process is and opts to fill out her ballot while balancing mid-air.

The video has received over 3.6 million views and her comment section quickly became a political conversation of candidates.

The post broke her record amount of comments on TikTok with 756,500 comments and counting. The sponsored video is also her fourth highest liked TikTok, all together receiving an engagement rate of 21%.

Jugglin Josh Trick Shots His Ballot To The Box

With three perfect trick shots, gold medalist juggler Josh Horton shows his TikTok viewers how he dunks, frisbees, and passes his ballot to the mailbox.

About 42% of Josh’s user base is 18-24-years-old while 81% of his 1.7 million followers are between 18 and 34 years-old. Josh’s follower demographics represent a great opportunity to reach the intended younger voter/Gen Z audience.

Josh beat out his average engagement rate of 14.77%, scoring over 24% engagement (the highest engagement rate of the campaign).

TikTok Election Ad Campaign Takeaways

• Partnering with influencers can help non-profit organizations, brands and advertisers alike improve their reach strategies and overall campaign effectiveness.
• By diversifying their roster of influencers and including influencers in notable category niches, brands are able to reach engagement segments of the population that may not available otherwise.
• Overall engagement and audience sentiment showed the successful integration of the campaign’s goals with each influencer’s messaging.

To learn more about TikTok influencer marketing, check out our comprehensive resource guide here.