Social-Media
Biden Initiative provides an Instagram account for teenagers to network online.
Joe Biden 's campaign is taking over the famous Instagram account of a teen supporter who created a big one during their summer break. Formerly a fan site, the @VoteJoe site will now act as the main grassroots outreach point of the movement on Instagram, complementing Biden's personal account.
The account started as @TeamJoeBiden and was launched earlier this year by a 15-year-old California supporter. The young supporter spent the summer creating content for the site, which rapidly grew to over 85,000 followers. Earlier this year, the campaign approached the account owner asking if they could obtain it and turn it over as an official campaign channel.
Today, the former owner of the account will be volunteering for the initiative and will continue to create content after school alongside Biden's Social Media and Audience Growth team.
The @VoteJoe account now has more than 93,000 followers to post.
Before entering the campaign, the account mainly posted quasi-official content such as clips from Billie Eilish's DNC appearance and information-based Instagram feed galleries that could easily be mistaken for official campaign messaging. Now, the campaign says it aims to use the account to promote user-generated content from supporters of Biden, whether it's videos or tweet screenshots.
The campaign is also planning Instagram stories that reflect the powerpoint-style activism that has become popular with Instagram over the last few months.
"What we've seen blowing up in and out of politics is an emphasis on shared content," said Sarah J. Galvez, Director of Social Development and Public Policy for the Biden Campaign. "In the past, you would have these conversations with your friends, your colleagues, and your family in person. But as a result of COVID, we 're going to have these political debates online.
This is not the first time a campaign has made use of organic online support. Progressives like Bernie Sanders and Sen. Ed Markey launched TikTok accounts earlier this year, which allowed supporters to upload videos to the official site. The Markey campaign workers have often communicated with their supporters and the memes they have generated during their 2020 primary run against Rep. Joe Kennedy III (D-MA).
Over the last week, the Biden Movement has stepped up its online organizing efforts. Last Tuesday, the campaign announced the launch of official designs for Animal Crossing: New Horizons for voters seeking to place virtual yard signs in front of their island homes to display their support. The initiative also collaborated with the Cameo Celebrity Video Network as part of its wider online fundraising effort. In July, the Biden team collaborated with Hollywood celebrities to conduct official Instagram Live chats with campaign officials and supporters, according to Axios.
