As I watched the 2024 Presidential election unfold the past few months, it became increasingly clear that influencers play a complex role in shaping public opinion. Now as I digest the results, it’s even more evident that their reach may not actually have had the intended impact.
A look back to 2016 shows nearly 1,000 celebrities publicly endorsed Hillary Clinton, names like Beyonce, Jay-Z, and Leonardo DiCaprio. And while Clinton didn’t win the electoral vote, she did win the popular vote. So one could argue that influencers did their job.
2024 had a different outcome. Harris received endorsements from the most powerful A-list celebrities one could imagine (e.g., Oprah, Beyoncé, Taylor Swift) – and it didn’t produce a win. As a brand marketer, it’s hard to imagine such a thing. But at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter who endorses you if their message isn’t received by the right people.
A powerful rhetoric worked against these celebrity endorsers – one that attacks Hollywood (and traditional news organizations that report on them) and ultimately diminished any influence on voting behavior.
In our industry, we often measure “reach” as the holy grail of influence. But reach without genuine impact is simply a metric, an impressive-looking number that can fail to sway opinions or inspire action. The real magic of influence lies in something harder to quantify: authentic engagement and meaningful conversation.
Trump won with grassroots support, targeted communications, and direct dialogue. In particular, he won over young men, and a greater share of the under-30 vote than any Republican presidential candidate since 2008. He did this by meeting them where they are (e.g., podcasts) and engaging with influential voices they know and trust (Joe Rogan, Theo Von, Logan Paul).
They connected through conversations that embraced masculinity and traditional values and prioritized the economy over social issues – a message that resonated. Supporters, in turn, amplified his message through their own networks, creating a web of influence that was personal, community-driven and powerful.
So, what can brands and marketers learn from this?
We need to challenge the conventional definition of an “influencer.” In today’s audience-centric world, people want real, relatable voices to speak to them on their level, in plain language, in channels where they hang out.
Influence simply isn’t top down anymore. In 2024, the real influencers may just be the people next door.