Α 24-year-old YouTuber from Cyprus, managed one of the biggest upsets in recent election history: with zero support from political parties, or anyone in the establishment, Fidias Panayiotou managed to get elected to the European Parliament with a whopping 19.3% of the vote.
While one may disagree with his politics – or lack thereof – and his tendency towards populism, one simply cannot ignore the effectiveness of his campaign.
One that was based solely on social media, and with a minimal budget.
Political newcomers can get a substantial boost in support by using social media channels, which cost much less than traditional media and are easily tapped by anyone with an internet connection.In Europe, TikTok (where Fidias maintains a strong presence) has rapidly gained popularity and now boasts more than 150 million monthly users. Meta (Facebook and Instagram) still exceeds that, with some 408 million monthly users across the continent. An average of 59% of EU
citizens are active on social media, according to the EU statistical service, Eurostat. And in Cyprus, that number is considerably higher.
An estimated 83% of Cypriots can be found on social media platforms, so it only follows that anyone with a strong social media presence has a precious asset in their hands. If they know how to leverage it.
There’s no arguing with the results of the effectiveness of Fidias’ methods: he went up against parties and candidates that had a campaign war chest filled with money, intended to buy publicity. For more than 3 months, candidates' faces were plastered on highway billboards and posters all over the island. Scores of candidate flyers littered mailboxes on a regular basis, and political ads jumped at you from every Google ad-related space available. Seasoned political
operatives met with high-powered communication strategists in boardrooms on high-rise offices, in an attempt to craft the perfect message, the perfect ad, that proverbial silver bullet. Millions were spent on advertising and promotion.
And they were bested by a newcomer 24-year-old with a free TikTok account. As with everything new, most people took the wrong lesson from Fidias’ success: “He was elected because people are dumb, and he exploited their ignorance”, writes one social media user. “That’s what the kids want these days, the problem is with social media”, writes another. “Now anyone with a YouTube channel can be an MEP,” says a third, clearly unaware of the fact
that only 0.25% of YouTube channels generate income. An in-depth analysis of the socio-economic confluence that favoured Fidias’ electoral success is
best left to experts, but people are already trying to mimic his success by blindly going full- steam ahead with social media campaigns. Instinctually, Fidias employed all the traits of a successful marketing campaign: he correctly identified his audience, moulded a persona that he believed would be most likeable, crafted a
message that catered to them, and never strayed away from it. He gave his audience what they wanted, and they rewarded him in kind by liking and sharing his content. He didn’t try to reach the undecideds, or those skeptical of him. He didn’t need to. As long as he was true to his fans, he had nothing to fear. And as far as spending on ads? No need. His fans would do that for him. For free.
Trying to duplicate that success is a mistake. Breaking it down, identifying what works and incorporating it into future campaigns is the right lesson to learn.
Those of us who live online were bombarded with candidate ads, but it was painfully obvious that a lot of those campaigns were just the candidates throwing money at the problem, a blind attempt to reach as many people as possible. However, if campaigns were just a matter of who spends the most, Fidias would not be where he is now. Properly identifying audiences and optimal reach is the way to go. In an age of mass information, micro-targeting is a far more effective way of communicating one’s message. Take the case of a mayoral candidate who posted and sponsored a video, one week before the elections. A whole week later, the video elicited a response from a single account. In the online world, the tools and techniques and amount of personal data available differ substantially from traditional advertising methods, and therefore have a greater potential impact. Failing to understand that, failing to adapt to the digital landscape and abandoning long-held practices in favour of what works now, is a recipe for disaster.
There is a lesson to be learned from Fidias’ campaign. Sadly, for most it will be the wrong one.
