Written by Marcela Balart

If it feels like your socials have been overtaken by political rhetoric, you’re not imagining it.  

From the delivery of Labor’s third consecutive federal budget to the calling of the next Federal Election, it’s been a big fortnight in Australian politics, and the algorithm is responding accordingly, thanks to a shift in the Australian media landscape.   

For the first time, content creators were invited into this year’s federal budget media lock-up – an invitation usually afforded to traditional media.   

The reality is that while creators may not have the millions of eyeballs achieved through broadcast media or mastheads, their followings are substantial and, more importantly, highly engaged.   

This is something IMPACT understands through our work with hundreds of content creators (formerly influencers who were formerly bloggers) for more than a decade.

Our annual Influencer Pulse Check also highlights the changes in the evolving social media landscape, the growing appetite for influencer campaigns, and power of the aforementioned algorithm.   

As Bob Dylan aptly put it, “the times they are a-changin’”.  

The age of the ‘newsfluencer’   

We are well and truly in the ‘newsfluencer’ era, where news is accessed on socials from podcasters and creators alike.   

The 2024 Digital News Report by the University of Canberra’s News and Media Research Centre (N&MRC) shows almost half of Australians now use social media to access news. A quarter (25%) use social media as their main source of news. While this number increases to a third (33%) for Millennials, it more than doubles to 60 per cent when looking solely at Gen Z.   

Reflecting the growth of TikTok and Instagram Reels, video news consumption is increasingly popular, especially short form news videos.  

For Australian politicians, whose votes are dependent on awareness, engagement and influence, this is a truth they can no longer deny.     

As communication professionals, we’re tasked with crafting compelling narratives to reach target audiences, but this is only half the battle. No matter how clever the messaging, if the right channels aren’t utilised, it’s a waste of time.    

With the May election expected to be the first where Millennials and Gen Z will outnumber Baby Boomers, targeting the next generation is imperative. Perhaps this election will not be won in the swinging seats, per se, but instead in the social feeds of young voters.   

To that end, the Australian Labor Party has openly admitted its “ongoing engagement program” with content creators, while Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton have been leaning into podcasts.   

When the Australian Communications and Media Authority’s election blackout period stops broadcasting political advertising on television and radio three days out before Australians head to the polls, it would be fair to say that new media is where the action will be.   

How businesses can prepare for the election  

When it comes to election campaigning, constituents should be aware that unlike commercial advertising laws, Australia’s political advertising laws do not prohibit misleading or deceptive claims. It’s alarming, but true, especially when you consider the growing misinformation and disinformation emerging across the world.   

Australia is not immune to this issue. The Digital News Report cited that concerns about misinformation spiked to 75 per cent, up 11 percentage points since 2022. The majority of these cases surrounded political topics.  

IMPACT’s government relations consultant, Brent Knevett, said: “I think it depends on what media sources you follow. Both sides (of politics) are clearly highlighting what they see as the negatives in the other side’s policies, and there is some disinformation there.”  

For businesses, this can be an uncertain time, particularly when the forming of a minority government is a possibility.   

“It would complicate the government relations and lobbying function for businesses since they would need to engage with the various members of the crossbench,” Brent continued. 

“Once a new government is formed, any company potentially impacted by government policy will need to map out relevant ministers and their policies. They will then need to consider how their interests might be impacted and, if so, look at developing a lobbying strategy with the new government,” he advised.  

To understand how to leverage the influence of a content creator collaboration or learn more about IMPACT’s Influencer Pulse Check report, contact Trish McGee at trish@impactagency.com.au.