Exclusive: Campaign targets Latino voters through YouTube influencers

• An estimated 36.2 million U.S. Latinos are eligible to vote this year, a record-high.
• While Republicans and Democrats have been deploying influencers in their quest for victory this November, most have focused on TikTok and Instagram.

Zoom in: Priorities USA and Somos Votantes this week launched a new campaign featuring four YouTube influencers sending political and get-out-the vote messages (clearly marked as sponsored content).

• The lifestyle and entertainment influencers were picked in part because they don't typically post political messages and the organizations are trying to build trust with what they call low-propensity Latino voters — those who don't vote consistently.
• One video features Daniela Legarda, a YouTuber with 1.6 million followers, cooking patacones, a traditional Latin American recipe, while talking about abortion rights.
• While most of the videos produced so far promote progressive policies or the current administration, the influencers were allowed to choose the content they felt most comfortable with.
• A video by comedian Christian Maldonado, who has 1.8 million followers on YouTube, is focused on making plans to take the time to vote.

What they're saying: Danielle Butterfield, executive director of Priorities USA, says the organization's top goal is for the influencers to deliver "an authentic message that is going to be relevant and powerful for their audience."

• Butterfield adds that the messenger — and not just message — matters a lot.
• "Having these content creators who have a very authentic and an intentional relationship with their followers being the ones that deliver a political message can be really powerful," she says.
• "We see that corporate brands are using content creators and influencers to get their message across, and there's no reason why we can't deploy that same tactic in politics."

The other side: Republicans have effectively leveraged YouTube in previous elections, creating a presence they continue to build on.

• Turning Point USA, for example, launched its influencer media campaign in 2019 with personalities like conservative YouTuber Alex Clark, who has 386,000 followers.
• "[W]e need to catch up quickly," Butterfield says.

For Leal-Santillan, the influencers campaign is a testing ground to see what works best when communicating with Latinos who spend a lot of time online. Somos Votantes' outreach efforts also include large-scale door-to-door and traditional ad operations.

• "There is not a formula out there that can inform anyone" on how to best reach Latinos on YouTube, he says.
• "That's what we set out to do with this program."

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