Social media and elections: How to navigate political turbulence

This year’s presidential election in America looks to be one of the most contentious contests in recent history. And the numbers back that up. Talkwalker data shows that on average, social media users mentioned the election almost one million times each day in September alone. The large majority of those mentions leaned negative.

Unsurprisingly, this turbulence is creating a real dilemma for social media managers navigating the intersection of social media and elections.

Should you capitalize on the heightened social media attention paid to politics before an election? Or will jumping into the political fray place risk on your brand safety? As the effect of social media continues to escalate, understanding the role of reliable media outlets and fact-checking becomes essential.

So, it’ll take some West Wing-level strategizing to navigate social media during such a polarized election campaign year, but don’t sweat it. In this guide, we’ll explain how to create an election-year social media playbook and share examples of brands that do it well.

Plus, we’ll share expert tips from Pat Timmons, Webflow’s Social Marketing Manager, on how to implement safeguards and come out ahead in this political climate.

Should your brand engage in election-year social media?

A few years ago, political activism was all the rage for big brands like Nike, Starbucks, and Spotify. But as Ad Age notes, many of those brands have been largely silent during this election cycle.

A lot of that has to do with a shift in consumer tolerance. In a 2023 CNBC poll, 58% of Americans said it’s inappropriate for companies to take a stand on issues. Gallup’s 2024 study found that fewer people (38%) want to hear from businesses on current events than in 2022 (48%).

Timmons said he’s seeing brands play it safe this year, too. “I honestly have seen way less conversation in general and appetite to have conversations about politics at a high level.”

He added that although several TV and media brands promote things like voter registration, they’re “keeping it very broad.”

Does that mean you should shutter your social media feeds for the months leading up to a big election? Definitely not. But it does mean you’ll need to consider the outcomes of how you engage and keep a close watch on your audience’s reaction.

Understand the political impact

Taking your political stance to social media is a risky move. Over 60% of consumers say they’d ditch a brand they were previously loyal to if it endorsed a political candidate they didn’t like.

Even those who fall on your side of the political aisle could be annoyed if you add to the noise. There’s a growing trend of people who say the volume of political ads and discussions wears them out. And with political ad spending set to jump by 30% in 2024 compared to 2020, expect that trend to continue.

However, sitting it out may not be a safe option, either. For example, when several brands that market to African Americans stayed quiet after high-profile police shootings, popular influencer Jackie Asomoah called them out in an Instagram Reel.

Source: Marianne

Timmons said this is why you need to ask, “Does your brand have stakes in the conversation?” If not, he suggests tuning out and moving on. But, “if you are a brand that is relevant in the election, then feel free to engage,” he shares.

It comes down to knowing if your audience expects you to post and how they feel about it when you do, which leads us to the next point.

Lean into listening tools

You can’t read your audience’s mind, and there aren’t enough focus groups in the world to keep up with the sudden sentiment shifts during a turbulent election year. That’s where a social listening tool like Hootsuite Listening comes in.

The tool lets you monitor the mentions of your brand, other organizations, and keywords in real-time. This will help you determine which topics are worth discussing and how they affect your brand.

For example, say one of your value propositions is sustainability. You want to know which themes are most popular on social media for that topic and how they compare to a related term, like climate change.

You find a popular theme that aligns with your brand and publish a post. Then, you check to see if there’s a spike in brand mentions and if the sentiment analysis shows them to be positive or negative.

Armed with that info, you’ll make a data-driven decision to either go all in on the opinion or recalibrate your approach.

“Stay tuned into what is happening in the election,” Timmons said. “If the conversation gets too intense overall and you notice other brands taking a step back, absolutely do that as well.”

How to create your political playbook in 3 steps

The old axiom of “fail to plan and plan to fail” is never more true than when managing social media accounts during a contentious election year. One rogue post or mis-tuned message can put your brand safety at risk.

Even though the stakes are high, creating your election-year social media plan isn’t complex. You just need to decide on your position, make sure everyone’s on the same page, and plan out what you’ll post. Oh, and leave some wiggle room to pivot as things change.

Step 1: Assess your brand’s position

Step one in creating your social media political playbook is evaluating if and how your brand should engage with political topics.

This includes choosing which topics to discuss, your stance, and your tone.

Here’s a three-part framework you can use to complete this evaluation:

• Brand alignment: Does the topic align with your brand and mission? For example, an outspoken stance on climate change makes sense for a brand that talks about sustainability.
• Audience expectation: Do your customers and followers expect and want you to weigh in? If you primarily sell to a specific community, they may notice your absence on topics they care about.
• Communication effectiveness: Can you make a difference? If your social media platforms can’t move the needle, a hard stance may not be worth the risk to your brand.

Use the clues you get from customer sentiment analysis and past interactions with your audience to help fill out the framework.

Step 2: Set clear guidelines

Political messaging is rife with potential risks that don’t exist for other types of content. Even if you already have a social media policy in place, it’s important to create guidelines specific to an election year.

These guidelines will be unique to each brand. As you craft yours, consider the following questions:

• Who: Who is allowed to post and comment? Who will approve messages before they’re shared publicly?
• What: What types of messages will you share (comments, memes, video posts, etc.)? Which topics or issues will you address?
• Where: Where will you post political issue content? For example, you might share your brand’s political stance on X (Twitter), while keeping Instagram and LinkedIn more neutral.
• When: How often will you post political content? What percentage of your overall content will address your chosen issues?

Make sure to include rules for how and when to comment on politically charged posts from other accounts. Set rules for dealing with questionable content that may land on or adjacent to your feeds. And have a contingency plan for who should respond in the event of a social media crisis.

Now’s a great time to establish an approval process in your social media management tool, too.

Most importantly, keep your brand values and overall social media strategy in view while you create your election-year guidelines.

Step 3: Plan your content

If you’ve established your brand’s stance and put in adequate guardrails, all that’s left is to build your content calendar.

This part may feel a bit scary since what you share can have real repercussions. But if you follow these tips, you’ll make it through just fine.

Mind your mission

Whatever brand values you expressed before the election cycle should be what your audience sees from you during it.

Patagonia is well-known for championing sustainability causes, so its posts promoting voter education on that topic will seem genuine to its followers.

Source: Patagonia

Likewise, if your brand hasn’t taken a stance in the past, it’ll look performative if you suddenly do so in an election year.

Find the right way to engage

You don’t want to lose the momentum you’ve built on your social channels. And with a little creativity and forethought, you can keep posting without polarization. Ideally, try to engage “in a light-hearted, neutral way,” Timmons said.

Leading up to the 2020 American general election, Levi’s produced a video encouraging young voters to get to the polls.

Source: Levi’s

The goal wasn’t to promote one side of an issue. Instead, several well-known content creators offered education and inspiration to help the target demographic exercise their voting rights.

A word of caution: Keep an eye on conversations and movements that evolve on social media. Misusing a hashtag or catchphrase can place you in the middle of a heated conversation.

Prepare to pivot

Like piloting a boat in rough water, you can expect to be knocked off course in the uncertainty of an election year. You may need to pause posting, block bad actors, or edit content.

“There is not a strong playbook for us to follow as elections have been so intense lately,” Timmons said. “Be ready to throw away your plans. Or at least save them for later.”

Make pivoting a part of your plan instead of an interruption of it.

How to tap into election-year opportunities

There’s plenty of negativity on social media leading up to an election. But there’s also a lot of attention and passionate engagement from the people you want to reach.

Here are a few ways to generate awareness and affinity for your brand while implementing safeguards on election day.

Maintain a positive, authentic presence

Tension is high, and the tolerance for manipulative messaging is low before an election. There’ll be plenty of opportunistic brands jumping on the election-year bandwagon.

Your audience will appreciate intentional, transparent civic engagement like promoting voter registration or sharing non-partisan educational content.

And when everything else feels negative and nasty, do the opposite to stand out, Timmons said. “To keep engagement up, I’d recommend sharing entertaining content that makes people feel heard, safe, and supported. If you go to social, you usually seek inspiration, entertainment, or education. Provide that and be that distraction.”

Partner up!

76% of consumers said they’re open to influencers discussing politics. While your audience may not want to see your hot take on social issues, you can still engage them through influencer partnerships.

“I do notice a lot more personal brands, individual people talking about voting and issues that matter on their social channels,” Timmons said.

Here’s a great example of how a brand, a non-profit, and an influencer can work together.

Support and feed, a non-profit that promotes plant-based diets, partnered with the Miss Jones Baking Company and influencer Genesis Butler.

Source: Supportandfeed

Butler’s content focuses on fighting for animals, and Miss Jones sells organic baking products. The three share similar messages and an overlapping audience, so the partnership is perfect.

Here are a few things to consider when looking for your election-year influencer partner:

• Look for alignment: Review any political content and interviews from the influencer, and if possible, chat with them to make sure they align with your brand’s intentions.
• Go deep into their content: Your brand will be associated with that influencer, so check the last year or more of their posts to make sure they haven’t posted anything that could damage your reputation.
• Pick the right platform: Choose an influencer with an engaged audience on social apps that best fits your message.

Just don’t

Not every brand needs to take a stance, especially during such a polarizing time. There’s an opportunity to simply maintain your brand’s integrity outside of the political arena.

“Unless your brand has stakes in the election, you don’t need to be involved in the conversation,” Timmons said.

Instead, focus on promoting your brand and your products. Shoppers still search social media for solutions, learn about new products, and buy things. It’s perfectly OK to support them in those endeavors. Those exhausted by political messaging will thank you.

5 ways brands handled political cycles brilliantly

There’s nothing better than practical examples to inspire action. These five brands figured out the right way to engage in civic discourse and politics on social media.

1. Tony’s Chocolonely kept the right vibe

Tony Chocolonely doesn’t just make delicious sweet treats. The brand also works hard to end exploitation in the cocoa industry.

Even though the mission is serious, the tone of the business’ social posts is lighthearted and funny. It would have been a little weird if their election-themed content suddenly got dark.

Luckily, the social media team knew the assignment and continued with the right vibe.

Source: Tony’s Cholonly

Notice that the brand also anchored this message to a popular event, the Video Music Awards. That’ll help this post reach people looking for that content.

The takeaway

The topics you discuss might change in an election year, but your brand voice doesn’t have to. Keep the same relationship you have with your followers, and they’ll stick with you.

2. Liquid Death made it funny

When you sell water labeled “Liquid Death,” you better have a sense of humor. It’s clear the brand has fun in whatever conversation it dives into.

This post is the perfect example. It features a fictional character from the show The Boys attempting to talk about conservation and ocean health to a class full of kids.

Source: Liquid Death

Anyone who watches the show will know it’s deeply rooted in satire, as is this post. Yet, it still manages to get the important message across.

The takeaway

Serious topics don’t always need a serious presentation. Of course, read the room so you’re not horribly off-pitch. But a little well-placed humor may be just what your politics-fatigued audience needs.

3. Tommy Hilfiger found the perfect partner

Tommy Hilfiger is an iconic clothing brand with millions of devoted customers and followers. It’s not known for educating the masses on important topics.

That’s why it was such a smart move to partner with Future Learn, an online learning platform, for a series of political activism courses.

Source: Tommy Hilfiger

Future Learn brought the platform and educational know-how, while Tommy Hilfiger brought the promotional prowess and attracted big-name activists.

The takeaway

Do what you do best and find a partner to do the rest. That’ll keep your brand clear of clutter while still allowing you to take part in election-year discourse.

4. Ben and Jerry’s stayed true to their roots

Ben and Jerry’s is known as much for its political activism as for its funky frozen treat flavors. Given that history, it would be more noticeable if the brand didn’t take a stance in an election year.

This post promotes an episode of the brand’s podcast dealing with voter rights.

Source: Ben and Jerry’s

The comments are strongly polarized, but that’s nothing new for Ben and Jerry’s. The company’s followers keep it afloat, and its detractors keep the conversations lively.

Takeaway

Online discourse can get ugly in an election year. But if your devoted followers are used to your brand taking a stance, it’s not the time to stop.

5. Johns Hopkins made the message fit the mission

Johns Hopkins is one of the world’s most well-known and respected healthcare facilities. Since healthcare is a common topic during an election year, it makes sense that the team there would have a say.

Notice how this post stays focused on the topic at hand.

Source: Johns Hopkins

The people at Johns Hopkins may have strong opinions about the economy or foreign policy. But social media users follow the organization for healthcare information. Other topics would be a confusing distraction.

Takeaway

If you decide to post about political topics on social networks, make sure they align with your brand. Save the other discussions for your personal social media feeds.

Use Hootsuite to schedule all of your social media posts, engage with your followers, and track the success of your social marketing efforts. Sign up for a free trial today.

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