No, this wasn’t the TikTok election
Much was said in the months preceding the election about how it would be defined, and by what.
Terms most widely used included the “TikTok election” and the “AI / deepfake election”, suggesting a narrative formed on one channel or a series of deepfakes or bot armies could alter the course of voting intention towards one set route.
Alas, neither was true. Yes, it was the first time TikTok was used widely in a political campaign and yes there moments where AI created deepfakes reared their ugly head. Yet the overall impact on the campaign in terms of swaying voters was likely minimal.
Engagement on TikTok was significant, particularly for Labour who amassed billions of views (as did Reform towards the latter stages of the election) with their meme driven content. However, with approximately 30% of TikTok users below voting age and another nearly 40% aged between 18-24, a demographic that generally skews left (41% voted labour; 8% Conservative), combined with voter apathy among younger audiences, it is unlikely this content will have had any significant sway on voting intention. All the better for the Tories who’s approach on the platform was critiqued by many as lacklustre at best.
And aside from a deepfake audio of Wes Streeting which was given limited media attention and was quickly debunked, there was little in the way of fake content that was able to control or shift any narrative. Though with a narrow victory of 528 votes, it was certainly a headache Streeting could have done without.
So what made the difference?
This was by no means the first social media election. It was however arguably the first “digital-first” election, whereby digital campaigning played a crucial role in engaging voters across the UK - in particular paid advertising.
Over the course of the election, Labour significantly outspent all other parties with highly targeted ads across Meta and Google, accounting for more than 80% of spend share for Google (Search and YouTube) across major parties, while spending more than £3.9 million on Meta, across all pages spread across both Facebook and Instagram - well ahead of second highest spenders the Conservative Party which spent just over £2 million on the platform.
Labour’s strategy? Understanding where you can win votes and target them with content which can help sway them in the right direction. Simple yet incredibly effective.
Part of Labour’s charm was its ability to remain primarily focused on Illustrating its own vision for the future of Britian, emphasising the Party’s 6 steps for Change and Keir Starmer as the leader to deliver this change for the UK. While there was of course content which warned against a vote for the tories, it was far from the doom mongering of the Conservative party ad library, which focused on the supposed apocalypse that would arrive at everyone’s door on the first day of a Labour Government. Hope not hate.
That’s not to say other parties were not also effective in their targeting. Reform, while spending a significantly lower figure than both Labour and Conservatives of £620k, focused their targeting on what they viewed as winnable seats with ads outlining their policy approach with 5 key pledges. The result? They won the seats they targeted.
It’s impossible to say exactly how many voters will have voted for any particular party based on the ads they saw during the election period, and while there are a multitude of components that make up a successful campaign, the impact of digital campaigning is undeniable.
What to take from all of this
Know who your audience is
Know whey they are
Learn what resonates with them most
Target them with relevant content
Win them over