Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign is all about keeping up with the times.
The Democratic presidential hopeful has been on the political scene for 30 years, but her latest endeavors to make herself seem more like a modern millennial queen are more apparent than ever in her latest ploy for political power.
Clinton hit the ground running with an increased Twitter presence when she kicked off her 2016 campaign. While she might not actually run the Twitter account, it’s a testament to Clinton’s commitment to engaging on a rapid basis with voters who can give her a pass to the Democratic nomination or kick her to the curb in the primaries.
On Twitter, she gets engaged -- she often dukes it out with Republicans like Jeb Bush in a war of tweets on policy, much akin to the way modern beefs are hashed out in the 21st century.
Clinton’s Instagram endeavors give a streamlined, photo-only glimpse at the Hillary Clinton not too many know about. On Throwback Thursday, Clinton’s followers can see throwback photos of her with her fifth-grade teacher. She selfies with supporters.
Clinton even decided to launch her own monthly box subscription service, much like the popular Birchbox beauty subscription box, which delivers subscribers a few different products each month.
For a monthly donation of $30 (on the pricier end of box subscriptions, which usually range from $10-$20 a month), subscribers will receive “exclusive merchandise” and notes from Hillary herself. As the promotional email puts it, some boxes will even be lucky enough to have “truly Instagram-worthy swag,” though it’s not quite certain what actually qualifies as Instagram-worthy since the email says the first box is supposed to be a surprise.
On Snapchat, Clinton speaks at events. Emojis don the screens of quick flashes of photos and videos. She even joked she loved the social media app so much because the messages went away on their own -- a statement on the email scandal plaguing Clinton on the daily. Her tongue-in-cheek statement didn’t resonate well with conservatives, many of whom criticized Clinton for taking what they see as a very serious matter so jovially.
Clinton apologized for the email controversy this week.
Clinton has stuck her hands deep into an evolving world of new media and its seemingly endless plethora of apps and websites. But social media has proved beneficial for politicians, especially Democrats. Dems harnessed the world of social media to mobilize young voters and get out the vote in 2008 when President Barack Obama ran for president the first time, a model which has generally been the goal of politicians ever since.
What’s more, a greater number of Americans use their smartphones to tune into the world around them each and every day. A Pew Research Center study found 64 percent of Americans own a smartphone of some kind.
With much more exposure than a typical political campaign, Clinton must be smart about her social media use. The Snapchat joke won’t be going away anytime soon. Twitter users have banded against Clinton after she announced she’d be running for president, beginning a hashtag campaign #WhyImNotVotingForHillary which slammed her for being “dishonest” and privileged.
In the meantime, Clinton isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. Her approach is very targeted in an attempt to appeal to younger voters. On Tuesday, she tweeted at beloved comedian Ellen DeGeneres about their mutual love of pantsuits. But Clinton recalls an instance in which a mother told her she was counting on her to know what it’s like to be a working mother, reeling her audience back into her greater message of trying to be the nation’s next top political leader.
Reach Tampa-based reporter Allison Nielsen by email at allison@sunshinestatenews.com or follow her on Twitter: @AllisonNielsen
