The Labour Party’s victory in the General Election was thanks, at least in part, to their use of social media.
Celbe Silcock, Social Media Manager at JE Consulting, claims that their use of digital marketing had a “major effect” on their campaign.
“Labour spoke directly to young voters, primarily through their Instagram and TikTok channels, where they posted relevant and genuinely entertaining content.”
One post that Celbe thinks typifies Labour’s strategy included an image of then Prime Minister Rishi Sunak lying in bed, staring deep into the camera, with the caption “Don’t wake up to 5 more years of the Tories.”
Another, which Celbe points out, is an image of Mr Sunak giving his now infamous speech in the rain with the simple caption: “Weak, Weak, Weak.”
At the time of writing these have over 7,500 and 8,700 likes respectively.
Equally, some of their more provocative videos have received around half a million views in some cases.
(Their video referencing Sunak’s Sky TV comments hit 5 million views recently).
“It’s clear that Labour have tapped into some sort of success with their social media channels.
“They’ve worked out how to utilise platforms for political gain at a time when social media is the main point of contact for brands and young people,” says Celbe.
A new age of political marketing?
Political parties using social media might be a sign of things to come in future political footraces, claims Celbe.
“Social media is clearly the way forward in terms of marketing and JE Consulting is always looking into new ways to engage with individuals through it.
“Our clients see some great ROI when it comes to social media and evidently political parties have realised its value too.
“I’m sure that parties across the political spectrum are now hiring more and more social media managers, content creators and copywriters in the wake of the success of social media in the election.”
The Lib Dems indeed had their own social media successes – notably some of leader Ed Davey’s stunts which garnered much public attention.
These included Mr Davey paddleboarding on Lake Windermere and launching his manifesto at Thorpe Park where he was videoed and photographed on numerous rides.
This is, admittedly, a bold strategy and may indeed have had some effect on his party winning a record number of seats.
“I think this kind of content is good for two reasons,” comments Celbe. “The first is that they show he’s a real person, with real emotions and it lets people get to know his character.
“The second is more nuanced. They show that the party is looking to engage with younger voters and attempting to reach people by social media channels that they recognise and understand.”
According to analysis performed by 
, it was actually Reform UK that saw the greatest number of social media interactions of any party.
Whilst this is sometimes a good thing, it’s important to remember that not all interactions are positive.
“Just because a social media post is doing well on the statistics side, doesn’t mean it’s having a positive effect on your audience,” says Celbe.
“If you have 1,000 interactions and 800 of them are complaining about your message or disagreeing with your arguments, this isn’t necessarily a success in my opinion.
“Political parties, and brands, need to find a balance between creating content that just gets interactions and content that creates genuine possibilities for conversion of the target audience or market.
“It’s a tough game to play and finding that balance is not easy with complex and often contentious issues.”
One thing is certain however, social media is now an integral part of the political process and as a marketing professional, Celbe thinks it’s about time everyone recognised its merit.
Lessons learned
“We’re trying to be bold in our social media strategy now,” says Celbe. “It has worked for the politicians, and we strongly believe it can work for our clients too.
“Many of them are solicitors and accountants who, traditionally, played it safe when it came to marketing. Now, more and more clients are embracing campaigns that push the boundaries, and they’re reaping the rewards!”
Having a bold social media strategy that genuinely grips and engages individuals is going to be the future of marketing and brands are increasingly realising that it genuinely creates leads.
“My motto is that social media has to be social – if the audience is calling out for a bolder strategy and more provocative content, we have to listen to that.
“My advice to brands is: Don’t get left behind!”
Get up to speed with social media – speak to one of JE Consulting’s directors today.
