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Social Media Utilized for Vaccination Efforts

    On August 10th, 2021, Press Secretary Jen Psaki announced new efforts from the Biden administration that were aimed at boosting vaccinations. For the month of August (2021), Dr. Anthony Fauci was set to conduct weekly Q&A sessions with "notable influencers" through the social media platforms Instagram and TikTok.
    This tactic was used in order to reach new audiences who may not have been exposed to the information otherwise. There's a layer of trust from the audience since the information is coming from a respected doctor who's deemed credible.
    Source:https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/2021/08/10/press-briefing-by-press-secretary-jen-psaki-august-10-2021/ 



    In the same year, 2021, President Biden himself utilized Instagram to promote vaccinations by collaborating with user @dudewithsign. The man behind the account, Seth Phillips posted a photo of himself with President Biden to his then 7.5 million followers, while the Presidential account @potus posted the photo to its then 18 million followers. 
    This tactic shows how influencers with an established following can be utilized in political efforts. Seth Phillips may not be the most qualified person to talk about vaccines, but he has a following that likes and trusts his opinions. This tactic differs from the first since it doesn't aim to reach new audiences, but rather established ones
    Source: https://mashable.com/article/dudewithsign-vaccine-post-president-biden








Comments

  1. Valerie MapleJanuary 24, 2024 at 11:40 AM

    I have noticed that President Biden has utilized other popular social media trends as well. For example, during the 2022 FIFA World Cup, President Biden shared a video in which he said "It's called soccer!", a popular trend online among young Americans at the time. I feel like he does this to stay connected to his younger voters, because let's face it, he's going to need them this year.

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  2. Nina PJanuary 30, 2024 at 12:58 PM

    You definitely see an increasing amount of politicians using social media as a means to talk to the masses, engage with a younger crowds, and connect with people on a more "personal" level. It seemed that prior to the social media age, talking to or engaging with a president was a far fetched idea. However, Trump in 2020 liked tweets by random people, retweeting memes, posted his own outlandish things and seemingly was more "reachable" than any other president. I'm curious to see how social media will be utilized in the upcoming election.

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