NextGen America’s 2022 Voter Impact Study
Our Latest Research: Measuring The Influence of Influencers
At NextGen America, we know the power of young voters. That’s why in 2022, we began our Voter Impact Study — innovative research on the impact of Instagram influencers on the youth vote. As a first-of-its-kind study, our research sought to understand if influencers posting a get-out-the-vote (GOTV) post on Instagram affected their followers’ voter turnout.
Continue reading for our topline findings, and find the full report attached below.
Influencers and the Youth Vote
Our study shows that the treatment group — or influencers who posted a GOTV message on November 3 — produced a higher rate of first-time voters than influencers who did not.
From the data, we can gather that influencers can help reach crucial demographics that may not be contacted through more traditional outreach methods.
Our study shows that 20% of the voters contacted through influencer posts had never voted prior to the 2022 midterms, underscoring how much potential there is to convert even more new voters through this method.
Impact of Posts on Mobilizing First-Time Voters
| Category | Experiment Group | First Time Voter % |
|---|---|---|
| Micros | Control | 5.47% |
| Macros | Control | 4.48% |
| Micros | Treatment | 7.11% |
| Macros | Treatment | 6.16% |
Overall, the Voter Impact Study shows us how innovative strategies can be to turn out young, first-time voters, and we’re committed to continuing these strategies into 2024.
Through our commitment to this research, our social media influencer program became one of the largest influencer programs in the country. The Voter Impact Study’s data proves that influencers are a trusted source with huge reach to the young, diverse voter demographic, and it’s critical that youth vote organizations continue to invest in and create dynamic influencer programs as part of the overall youth voter mobilization strategy.
For more details and the entire study, download the PDF version below.