Labour targets TikTok microinfluencers ahead of election

During previous British elections, political parties often asked big-name celebrities to send a supportive tweet or attempted to win over YouTubers with millions of followers.

Candidates are now being promised support from HQ in wooing influencers, with the party recently hiring a dedicated creator outreach manager – a standard role in many private-sector advertising campaigns.

Marco Ricci from influencer agency Takumi said this reflected how consumption habits have changed since the 2019 general election, with people spending hours a day on apps such as TikTok.

Thomas Walters, of digital influencer agency Billion Dollar Boy, said it made sense for political parties to target TikTok as voters increasingly switch off traditional media outlets.

A botched attempt to reach out to an influencer could result in private messages being made public and negative headlines, meaning parties have to accept a degree of risk when offering access.

Labour’s policy on Israel’s invasion of Gaza has also been strongly criticised by many younger online audiences, creating a potential risk for any content creators who want to align themselves with Starmer’s party.