THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Factoring in the social sites’ unmistakable sway over mainstream society, political parties in the state have tweaked their campaign strategy to reach out to voters via the social media platforms. In the era of Facebook and WhatsApp - to mention just two of the more popular platforms - influencer marketing has turned out to be the new mantra for parties, besides relying on sponsored posts and memes to get their message across.
Influencer marketing focuses on individuals who hold sway over potential customers, voters in this case, and does a positive spin tailored around these individuals. They convey the message of voting for a particular candidate or political party to a wider social media audience. According to Anil Antony, who oversees the Congress’ social media campaign in the state, “In Kerala, we take local issues and turn it into creative content for social media. So far, we received a great response. Similarly, we have contacted some ‘influential’ people to share party-related posts to attract certain target audience”. The CPM and the BJP too have been milking the social media for all their worth.
“Apart from memes, we make short films which are circulated onWhatsApp and Facebook. This will reach out to the younger audience. Similarly, video clips with parodies, film dialogues and music will convey the message to the common man easily,” said Riyaz Ahmed, a social media content maker working for Left parties. Social media campaigners said first- time voters are a decisive factor.
Jothish Nair, who is handling social media handle of Ernakulam BJP candidate Alphons Kannanthanam, said. “We publish articles and videos on Facebook highlighting merits of NDA Government. We use WhatsApp and Tik Tok. We have 5 lakh-strong WhatsApp group backing BJP in the state.”