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Harris vs. Trump: Weekly TikTok Tactics

 

@realdonaldtrump vs. @KamalaHQ on TikTok: Comparing analytics and social media strategy over a one-week period

Sunday, August 18 - Sunday, August 25

Total number of videos posted:

@KamalaHQ: 45

@realdonaldtrump: 1

Total (combined) views on new videos:

@KamalaHQ: 53.6 M

@realdonaldtrump: 5.4 M



In this week's news, the Democratic National Convention ran from August 19 through the 22, receiving mass media coverage due to notable speeches and celebrity guest appearances. Kamala Harris and Tim Walz officially received the Democratic nomination for president and vice president. Because of this publicity, I expected Harris's TikTok to have published more content in the last week when compared to Donald Trump, and I was correct. 

Trump's TikTok account only posted one video in the last week. The clip is just 9 seconds long and features the candidate standing in front of a police car, saying America is in decline and, "Nobody is safe, absolutely nobody," promising that, "we're gonna be a safe nation again." He then brandishes a pair of handcuffs and says, "This is safe." The Law and Order theme song can be heard playing in the background. While certainly a popular show, the video makes no references to popular trends or current events. Trump's TikTok received 515,000 likes and 41,000 comments. 

In the last week alone, Kamala Harris's official TikTok account published 45 videos, as of Sunday afternoon. In total, those 45 videos garnered approximately 53,596,200 views, according to my calculations. The most popular video amassed 8.1 million views, 1.6 million likes and 13,400 comments. The video is 2 minutes and 43 seconds long and features an ad shown at the DNC. A Beyonce song plays in the background of the ad while uplifting images of Americans flash across the screen. The video has a hopeful tone, and the TikTok ends with the sounds of applause from the audience. Many of Harris's TikToks posted in the last week fall into two categories: clips of speeches made at the DNC or popular trends. This video is neither; although it relates closer to the videos taken at the convention. However, it still incorporates pop culture by utilizing Beyonce's voice, seeing as she is an extremely popular musician among many generations, not just Generation Z. 

Although this week was certainly an outlier due to the publicity of the DNC, Kamala Harris's social media campaign strategy relies heavier on TikTok than Donald Trump's. Her team consistently posts clips from her campaign, speeches she has made, and topical jokes using trending formats, all of which appeal to the young voter demographic. Harris is gunning for the Gen Z vote in this election, and judging by the support she is receiving from them so far on social media, I think she might get it. 

Comments

  1. Vanna JacksonSeptember 18, 2024 at 5:53 PM

    Social media seems to be very important this election. Especially with the new generations being able to vote for the first time. Vice President Harris and her team surely understand how to reach the younger voters. They are keeping up with releasing content to keep engagement with viewers. They are trying new avenues to attract first time voters. This is important because their votes will decide the outcome of the election. Videos and post help new comers learn about the candidate and what they are representing. Plus posting about an event will draw attendees to bring other supporters or the same first voters to see how they feel and view things from their perspective.

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