Candidates for the 2024 election are using digital advertising to reach first-time voters

41 million members of Generation Z will vote in the 2024 election, including 8.3 million new voters since the 2022 midterms Tufts University.

Because of this influx of new voters, candidates are now investing heavily in digital advertising to reach Gen Z voters through social media. According to a report published by, it was predicted that digital advertising for the 2024 presidential election would increase by 156% compared to the 2020 presidential election, bringing the total spending to $3.46 billion Inside information Predicting the amount of money spent on political advertising in the US.

Politicians need to start using digital advertising, said Michele Lashley, a strategic communications professor.

“You can’t afford not to do it,” Lashley said. “Young voters get the majority of their news not from television, but from social media. You have to advertise where your audience already is.”

Aside from reaching younger voters, digital advertising is more cost-effective than traditional advertising, Lashley said. But digital advertising still has problems, Lashley said.

“There’s so much being thrown at people that the campaign ads are also competing with everything else that’s filling our social media feeds,” Lashley said. “It’s not like you can just put an ad on social media and think it’s going to get attention.”

In addition to the competitiveness of digital advertising, social media algorithms play a large role in what content you see on social media. Junior Lily Nordheimer said she likes how candidates are using social media to connect with young voters.

“Obviously they didn’t grow up with it,” Nordheimer said. “This is the best way to reach the younger generations who are new to voting, so I think it’s really smart.”

Lashley said she believes candidates’ use of social media allows them to connect with their voters on a human level rather than broadcasting advertisements.

According to Lashley, these content channels for politicians shift the focus of advertising to the politician and their current work. This is different from traditional advertising, which may promote the candidate, attack his opponent, or create a contrast between the two. Kamala HQ, a content channel created by Vice President Harris’ campaign, features memes about political events, statistics about Harris’ campaign, and statements from other pro-Harris politicians.

“Content channels like Kamala HQ give candidates the opportunity to express their human side,” Lashley said. “They can go online and do fun things that make them seem more human and tell their stories.”

Kamala Headquarters is not the only example of politician content channels. North Carolina State Representative Jeff Jackson, a Democrat, has 2.2 million followers on TikTok and creates content detailing current issues in America’s government and House of Representatives, including government shutdowns, Supreme Court decisions and, most recently, relief for Hurricane Helene.

Biotech CEO Vivek Ramaswamy, one of the former Republican presidential candidates who is currently supporting the Republican Party, is also using TikTok to reach younger voters. With 694,200 followers on TikTok, Ramaswamy creates content that supports other candidates, brands himself and talks about his personal life.

“We are in the process of reaching out to young people, motivating young people,” Ramaswamy said in his first TikTok announcing his campaign for the 2024 presidential election. “You can’t participate in the game and then not play it anymore.”

Aside from the humanity that social media can provide candidates, Lashley says social media and digital advertising can also be used to spread unintentional branding.

“Whether it’s a scandal or leaked video or audio, or a candidate saying something, maybe they shouldn’t have done it,” Lashley said. “Then these can be taken out of context and go viral.”

Junior Kayla Berkoff said she believes social media is a better platform for campaign advertising than broadcast advertising.

“These commercials where they’re just trying to attack each other are so pointless and so annoying to have to watch over and over again,” Berkoff said. “Social media is so big now, especially with Generation Z. This is their first choice and this is a way to reach them and spread information.”

Despite the amount of money the Harris and Trump campaigns are spending on digital advertising for social media platforms, Lashley believes traditional advertising will never completely disappear.

“As long as there are potential voters who use traditional media like broadcast television, newspapers and talk radio, I think it will be necessary for campaigns to continue pouring money into ads on these platforms,” Lashley said.

However, Lashley said she expects a future election where as much money will be spent on digital advertising as on traditional advertising.

“I think we’ll move more and more to digital formats, but I don’t think we’re there yet, maybe in three cycles,” Lashley said. “I think it might be equivalent to putting the same amount of resources into traditional advertising with traditional media and the same amount into digital media.”

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