Is 2016 the Snapchat Election?

Social media has become the primary source of news for young people in America. Social media serves purposes that go beyond entertainment and can be a important tool for mobilizing and engaging voters in an election or for a campaign. Snapchat is one social media platform that is really having its moment this election cycle. 

                                                                                                           

 While Snapchat has been previously categorized as an application that facilitates inappropriate or explicit content between young people, fueled by its feature that the content 'disappears' after a certain duration. Snapchat now has activity from nearly 100 million people a day and more than 60% of the smartphone users who are between the ages of 18 and 34 in America. These is a key demographic to reach politically, as young people are passionate and have issues they care about, but are likely not turning out to vote in large numbers. 

A screen grab from Snapchat during the most recent GOP debate shows how users can engage

Recently, Snapchat has added new features that allow companies and organizations to make short interactive stories that users can click through. These stories may contain news and frequently feature bright images and fun video, maybe a silly question or a fun sound bite. Media outlets such as the Wall Street Journal and Vanity Fair use Snapchat story feature to bolster their digital content and engaging users that may not be traditional users of their products. Political campaigns and political organizations have begun to do the same thing. Organizations like the White House, Hillary Clinton's campaign for President and a series of United States Senators like Cory Booker of New Jersey have utilized Snapchat as a way to connect with their constituents and the American public. 

A portion of a Snapchat story about the issues 

From an early Democrat debate

Candidates for president have used Snapchat to film clips from their rallies, highlight parts of their speeches, show footage from the behind the scenes of a campaign and perhaps most importantly, have used the platform to create and distribute political advertisements. The short and user friendly features can allow the mobilization and inclusion of millions of users to see content from candidates that is more personal and intimate and tailored to what they want to see on the particular platform. 

Political institutions have a unique challenge in the new frontier that is Snapchat and that is making content that is fun and engaging, while also serious enough to remain politically legitimate. Snapchat is a great opportunity to reach young people and users who may not have voted before or who are still new to the political process.