KamalaHQ, Harris’ official TikTok account, has quickly become a largely followed platform; currently sitting at 4.6 million followers after posting her first video on July 25th.
Other TikTok users noticed how quickly Harris’ marketing team jumped on the current trends that are circulating the platform, with many making jokes and enjoying the entertainment that the account has to offer.
Young voter turnout has been historically low, for example in the 2020 general election only 55% of voters from the ages 18-29 voted. So if any candidate was able to encourage and get that number up it could greatly affect the results of the election. Due to Harris’ approach, I would not be surprised if the numbers were to rise.
TikTok’s main users’ age groups are within 18-24 year olds taking up 38.4%, and 25-34 year olds creating 32.5% of the overall users on TikTok, making the younger generation the main demographic on this platform, so her use and time spent promoting her campaign is mainly directed towards the younger generations.
One of the first marketing strategies that were used early on was participation in the trend of “brat summer” created from artist Charlie XCX’s album, Brat.
With Charlie herself posting on X, “Kamala IS Brat.”, this whole trend’s goal was to promote having a fun and chaotic summer, so her marketing team’s choice to post videos with songs from the album and go along with the inside joke shows their goal to catch the younger generation’s eye.
Another trend the KamalaHQ posted that caught my attention was the trend of people using the song “Symphony” by Clean Bandit with a drawing of joyful, Lisa Frank-inspired, colorful dolphins, accompanied by a seemingly random text.
Harris’ post says “Donald Trump’s project 2025 is a threat to our democracy.” Users in the comments seem to enjoy this more light-hearted propaganda, making jokes and appreciating the entertainment.
The tactic to appeal to the younger voters who use TikTok and understand these jokes shows that her marketing team is taking the time to understand what these voters are interested in.
As a result, she has gained a lot of attention and I have seen more talk and engagement with the election on both sides. Along with people becoming more aware of both sides forming opinions and conducting research to gain a better understanding.
Her account has also shown celebrity appearances, for instance, there was a video posted on her account of Bill Nye discussing his support for Harris. He talks about the importance of climate change and states Trump is a “climate change denier.” He also states that with President Biden and Vice President Harris in office, they made the “biggest climate investments in history.” This TikTok is currently sitting at 3.7 million views.
This approach of using TikTok to promote her campaign and provide information on her plans, opinions, and flaws she sees with her opponent Donald Trump’s campaign, has gotten a large amount of traction and engagement from the younger demographic, and young voters.
Because of this, I will not be shocked if she gains votes from the younger voters due to this incredibly smart marketing tactic controlled by her marketing team.
