Premier Steven Miles ramps up cringe-worthy social media posts in bid to grab young voters
He’s forged a cult online following that’s led to him being referred to as “the guy from TikTok” by younger generations, but we’ve asked the experts to weigh in on whether it bring him the votes.
QLD Politics
Don't miss out on the headlines from QLD Politics. Followed categories will be added to My News.
He’s successfully cultivated the suburban dad image, now Premier Steven Miles is proudly ramping up cringe-worthy social media posts in aim to win over young voters.
While it’s led to him being referred to as “the guy from TikTok” by younger generations, experts say his online cult following won’t come close to tipping the election scales.
Mr Miles has the undoubted advantage of having his three children to keep him updated on the latest social media trends and has surrounded himself with young staffers skilled in high content turnover.
His Instagram and TikTok platforms have jumped on trends and collaborating with influencers in a ploy eerily similar to that of US candidate Kamala Harris.
A key example of this was when the “very demure” trend hit socials last month, the Premier quickly jumped on the opportunity to reference the viral phrase while addressing parliament on women’s rights and then posted that clip to his social media accounts.
He has also collaborated with popular podcasters, and influencers including Amelia Dimoldenberg, host of the web series Chicken Shop Date, and sport fanatic duo Those Carter Boys.
Despite his efforts to engage the youth, political psychology expert Dr Frank Mols said Mr Miles’ online popularity would not change the minds of rusted on voters nor most swing voters, as social media messaging was too diluted to change behaviour at the booths.
“There’s too many steps between mere exposure to attitudes and the links to intention and then the link to behaviour, like voting,” he said.
“Even if you get messages that resonate with the younger audience, the 50 cent fares, a pre-emptive strike to the Greens in a way, that becomes more about the substance of the messages but still doesn’t mean they’re voter is switching.”
Dr Mols said most politicians, including Mr Miles were only on social media for fear of missing out.
“It’s the sense of we can’t afford not to be visible on TikTok where kids get their information from,” he said.
“They think they have to be in that space simply because they don’t know what happens when they’re not.”
With more than 100k combined followers across TikTok and Instagram and videos that rack up millions of views, Mr Miles’ social media game dwarfs that of Opposition Leader David Crisafulli, who has less than 50k followers and views in the tens of thousands at best.
His most outperforming post, by far, is a flood video spruiking the resilient homes fund which clocked 15.2 million views.
The announcement of the 50c public transport fares also garnered 1.5 million views, and the pledge to make the policy permanent if Labor wins the state election, over 500k views.
By comparison, Mr Crisafulli has taken a different approach, presenting himself in his professional environment and keeping his content politically focused, with the exception of sharing his favourite cooking recipes.
However, the LNP Leader appears to have slightly changed tact recently, offering more personal content including an insight into his family farm and his first interview piece – a blatant copycat of Mr Miles’ vox pop methods used over past months.
University of Queensland director of digital cultures and societies Associate Professor Nicholas Carah said Mr Miles had taken a note out of Kamala Harris’ playbook, using a gen z team of content creators to curate his relatable online image.
“It’s a shift content creators have been making over the last five years where they moved away from the hyper-polished, super aestheticised and into the messy, honest era,” he said.
“Miles is doing the politician version of that, the unpolished, middle-aged awkward dude on TikTok who’s using the platform to show he doesn’t really know what he’s doing.
“It’s a very strategically calculated move and there’s a risk there.”
Both parties will be forced to gravitate to online election campaigns in the near future, Prof Carah says, as younger voters who don’t watch TV news, read newspapers or listen to the radio begin to outweigh older voters.
“We’re only a couple of cycles away from that,” he said.
‘They’ll be bringing in Gen Z digital media people who run the machinery that does the engagement, gets the algorithm and who can make content very fast.
“Rudd did this in ‘07 with an unbelievable campaign on social media and so did Obama, while Trump’s killer move was copying the Meta data model for to dominate ads.
“Those younger people will then start to run the campaigns.”
Australia’s political landscape has already shifted towards favouring celebrity politicians, with voters preferring to judge their future leaders on character rather than policy.
But Dr Mols questioned whether the Premier had “that celebrity feel to him”.
Prof Carah said Miles’ TikTok success was based off one simple fact – he is one of the first to do it.
“It does pose an interesting question because voters are aware of these strategies and they would find it funny and amusing and see that’s he’s pulling it off, but they still know it’s calculated,” he said.
“So while it works in the sense of engagement and views, whether it works in the sense of building rapport with the politicians we are yet to see.
“Remember TikTok is entertainment, it’s showing in their feeds because it’s entertainment not because it’s direct engagement with the creator.”
Join the conversation
What happens in Vegas, could happen in Brisbane
Brisbane’s Olympic stadium conundrum has thrown up more questions than answers. A bold strategy which delivered Las Vegas this brand spanking beauty has been flagged as the answer.
Read more
Premier’s surprise, young gun savaged: How you rated Crisafulli govt
We gave our ratings of the Crisafulli government after 100 days – now you have had your say. SEE THE RATINGS
Read more