Convention influencers aim to lure disengaged conservatives to GOP

• Republicans are adopting two political tools more associated with Democrats: social media influencers and get-out-the-vote organizations.
• "Welcome to the first-ever creator program at the Republican National Convention," said an email to participants from RNC marketing and digital director Maria Giannopoulos.

State of play: The RNC influencer program, overseen by the convention's digital team, has about 75 participants.

• Each creator has about 30 minutes a day to go to the floor and make content such as reels or interviews.
• Participants otherwise spend most of their time in a suite called the Creator Hub, which has been visited by lawmakers including Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.).
• "We are excited to have you on the ground at convention to make unique content and have an impact online like we have never seen before," the welcome email said.

Zoom in: Another 20 influencers who partner with Vote4America — a nonpartisan voter registration group that tries to reach gun owners, farmers, homeschoolers and veterans — also have been in Milwaukee this week.

• The group started pushing content and voter registration drives through influencers back in June. They've reached tens of millions of viewers and registered tens of thousands of voters through that content, so far, founder Stephen Aaron told Axios.
• Aaron said he believes there are significant numbers of conservatives who distrust politicians and the media, and are not motivated to vote.
• Those same people would be more likely to listen to their favorite social media influencer who speaks to their world — such as fellow ranchers, veterans or homeschoolers.

What they're saying: Brooke Ence is a rancher and social media influencer with 1.5 million Instagram followers, and she is one of the scores of influencers who agreed to attend the convention.

• She told Axios in a phone interview that she was nervous to jump into the political space, unsure how people would respond.
• Concern for her nieces and nephews especially over schooling policies during the pandemic as well as her passion to be honest with her followers about what she cares about propelled her to work with Vote 4 America.
• "I think because I am an authentic person and I’ve never been anything but myself, they can trust me," Ence said. "They can trust what I’m saying, and that I’m not just getting paychecks... I came because its important."

• Ence went live during Donald Trump Jr.'s speech Wednesday night, and again shortly afterward, racking up hundreds of thousands of views.

Between the lines: The embrace of social media is also aimed at winning younger voters, who are disillusioned going into the 2024 presidential election.

• Polling shows former President Trump within striking distance of winning young voters as he rolls out some youth-friendly positions.
• Brilyn Hollyhand, 18-year-old chair of the GOP Youth Advisory Council, pitched the idea of inviting creators to the convention, The Information reported.
• Trump, "the ultimate influencer," supported the idea, he said.

The other side: President Biden's re-election bid, from the start, harnessed the influence of social media creators.

• The campaign's goal was to reach voters who have tuned out mainstream media or who don't follow government accounts on social media.
• The Biden campaign launched a TikTok account in February and stayed on the platform even after the president signed a bill that could lead to a ban of the app.

Go deeper: Exclusive: Donald Trump Jr. says he's been blacklisted by Fox News