After a survey carried out, new data has been released from HypeAuditor, the AI analytics platform for brands seeking fair, transparent, and effective influencer marketing, showing Instagram has become the new playground for Australia’s top politicians.
2021 has been an eventful year filled with tension on the political front with state premiers each running their own race and/or political agenda to mitigate the effects of the pandemic from ordering snap lockdowns to state border closures, and other restrictions.
Communicating directly with the public has never been more frequent than it was in 2021.
Whether it was NSW’s former Premier Gladys Berejiklian’s daily media conferences live streamed on Facebook or One Nation Senator Malcolm Roberts taking straight to Instagram Live videos for his anti-vaxx campaign, there is change in the dynamics on communication.
But having recognised the potential of social media platforms, many politicians and campaigners are also jumping on the Instagram bandwagon in the hope of winning support from social media-savvy millennials ahead of the next federal election.
Politicians aspire to relate with the Australian population
Alex Frolov, CEO and Co-Founder, HypeAuditor had the following insights.
“2021 was an important time for Australian politicians to be present and visible across social media platforms in order to reach the the population, particularly younger Aussies.”
“The growth some key politicians experienced in 2021 alone was quite significant and testament to an increase in social media activity on their part.”
Below are the Top 10 fastest growing politicians on Instagram in 2021;
Name |
Growth |
Followers |
Engagement Rate |
63.9% |
101,000 |
6.19% |
|
54.8% |
87,500 |
0.9% |
|
54.7% |
284,000 |
2.24 |
|
42.7% |
221,000 |
3.4 |
|
38% |
86,000 |
6.49 |
|
23.3% |
34,500 |
1.57 |
|
15.8% |
65,500 |
1.52 |
|
14.6% |
54,500 |
4.45 |
|
12.1% |
36,600 |
1.52 |
|
9% |
40,100 |
1.59 |
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern however leaves all Australian politicians in the dust leading with a 117.9% growth in 2021 and 1.7 million followers.
When it comes to Engagement Rate (ER), most politicians rate below average or very high. ER helps to measure the effectiveness of the influencers’ actions in order to better understand how frequently their audience engages with their content.
Live video technology at the heart of social interaction
Instagram interaction rate shows how good the quality of the posts is. A good Instagram engagement rate is between 2-3% and anything above 3% is considered high engagement.
“While only one politician has good ER – Prime Minister Scott Morrison at 2.24%, four out of the 10 politicians rate excellent ER, with Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan leading the pack with an ER of 6.49%, followed by former NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian at 6.19%.”
“The data presented means followers are actively engaging with their content and these politicians are reaching the right audience through the right channel.”