A Gen Z view on the General Election

With all the General Election excitement at the moment, campaigning parties are turning to different social channels to captivate new audiences and spread their message far and wide – encouraging a new wave of voters. The channel in question? TikTok.

Views on politics have changed enormously over the years, with Millennials and Gen Z being more politically engaged than ever before, taking an active and progressive approach to social issues.

We sat down with our very own Gen Z Orlonian, Cerys Davies, to find out her views and see whether this new method of campaigning really is effective…

Yes, I am a TikTok user – I actually use it every day. It’s mostly for entertainment purposes, sharing videos with friends and family that they might find interesting or funny, or keeping on top of current and possibly upcoming trends. I also use it as a search engine so I can see physical examples of products that I’m looking to buy, concepts, anything really! I’m quite a visual person so it’s good being able to see things properly to understand them, and in short, digestible video form.

Yes, even before it was TikTok! I’ve been using the app since it was musical.ly, which was mostly for short lip-syncing videos, before it  merged with TikTok. I mean, that’s how TikTok got big really, with the lip-syncing videos, which then turned into dances, and then it turned into the mainstream social media platform that we know today.

Surprisingly there has! What I will say is that I don’t usually engage with content that’s political on TikTok but certain videos and video styles have been making their way onto my feed so I’ve been seeing more than I thought I would originally. It’s not the type of content that I would have expected to see from political parties, if I’m perfectly honest.

Well, a lot of it is in line with the different TikTok trends at the moment, but… you just wouldn’t expect that type of content from the main political parties! It’s definitely engaging content but the videos seem, to me at least, a bit like they’re just there to grab your attention – especially the younger audience.

I wish the parties spoke more about themselves rather than dissecting the opponents’ policies – like I said, I don’t know much about the parties at the moment so that would definitely help with that. Also, based on the content, I don’t feel like I can trust the parties at the moment. I wish there was more openness and transparency, especially because at the moment I find the comment sections on TikTok more trustworthy than the actual content… It just feels like an attempt to be funny and appeal to Gen Z more than anything else. I’d much rather make my own decisions on who to vote for, and with anything else, than be persuaded by something on social media, so I do look to other platforms and compare the content that’s posted on there to make informed decisions.

I guess so, and on TikTok especially. But I wish the content that the parties were posting was much more informative. At the moment it feels like the videos are designed to get people having conversations in the comment sections – which is great, I really like that people are using their voices and getting into discussions – but it does worry me a little bit. I’d say the comment sections can be quite biased but there is still a variety of opinions in there, rather than being exposed to only one way of thinking at least! And with politics, people want to voice their opinions as much as they can which is great, we should all be involved in the conversation.

There’s a lot of younger users on TikTok, people that aren’t even old enough to vote yet. So in the comment sections it feels like the conversations are there to sway the young voters to vote a particular way, even though they’re not properly informed. People my age probably won’t do their own research and likely just take what’s on TikTok at face value, so if there’s much younger users seeing this content then this can shape their future ideas without them thinking that there are other options out there, if that makes sense. There’s not even TikToks pointing users in the direction of helpful resources, it’s just the “funny content”.

Yeah, and of course this is all personal experience so might be different for other friendship groups. But a lot of my friends also don’t know much about the parties. So if you think about it from that perspective, it’s great that politicians are managing to reach the younger audience and young voters through TikTok. I do wish that the parties were being clearer with their messaging and policy information, because the content at present isn’t educational and my friends have said the same.

Develop a clear strategy

Objectives: Define clear goals such as increasing voter turnout, educating the public, or simply keeping people in the know.

Audience: Identify and understand your target audience, tailoring content to preferences and behaviours.

Platforms: Choose appropriate platforms where your target audience is most active.

Create engaging and informative content

Visuals: Use high-quality images, infographics, and videos to capture attention.

Clarity: Ensure that information is clear, concise, and easy to understand. Where possible, think about the wider narrative to make your content more engaging.

Ensure accuracy and transparency

Fact-checking: Always verify the accuracy of information before posting.

Transparency: Be transparent about the sources of your information and the processes involved.

Keep the public updated

Live coverage: Use live videos, updates, and threads to provide real-time information about election events and results.

Engagement: Encourage interaction through Q&A sessions, polls, and live chats.

Monitor and respond to feedback

Social listening: Use tools to monitor mentions, hashtags, and keywords related to the election.

Engagement: Respond promptly to questions, comments, and concerns from the public.

Promote voter education and participation

Educational campaigns: Run campaigns to educate the public about the importance of voting and how and where to vote.

Reminders: Use countdowns and reminders for important dates and deadlines.

Accessibility and inclusivity

Diverse content: Create content that is inclusive and accessible to all members of the community.

Translation: Provide translations and use language that is easily understood by different demographics.