Labor spending up on social media advertising in key marginal electorates including NQ seats
Labor is spending tens of thousands of dollars on highly-targeted social media advertising in a bid to hold on in key battleground seats, including splashing a massive $12,000 across Townsville’s three marginal seats.
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LABOR is spending tens of thousands of dollars on highly-targeted social media advertising in a bid to hold on in key battleground seats, including splashing a massive $12,000 across Townsville’s three marginal seats.
Data gleaned from social media behemoth Facebook’s transparency platform revealed Labor and the LNP have ramped up their advertising spend in the final throes of the campaign, splashing $36,570 and $33,682 respectively in just seven days.
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Where the money is flowing online can show where parties are most worried, with Queensland University of Technology digital communication expert Associate Professor Dan Angus saying four of the five largest ad spends were from candidates in key battleground seats.
But the ability for political outfits to target specific genders, ages, postcodes and interests mean voters in regional areas won’t see the political messaging pushed to those in the inner-city.
The Greens have weaponised this, sharing Labor’s pro-mining ads in central and north Queensland to environment conscious voters in the southeast.
Since August 5, Labor and its three candidates in the seats of Mundingburra, Townsville, and Thuringowa have spent a combined $12,041 on social media advertising, more than double the approximately $4864 spent by the LNPs candidates in the same three seats.
In Thuringowa alone, where Labor’s margin is 4.1 per cent, the party and MP Aaron Harper have siphoned more than $6604 into social media ads in the same time frame in a bid to boost his chances.
The LNP and its Hinchinbrook candidate Scott Piper are spending big in the KAP held seat, splashing $2465 since August on social media ads, eclipsing MP Nick Dametto’s $1776.
By comparison, former Deputy Premier Jackie Trad and Labor have spent $26,485 on social media advertising in South Brisbane, significantly more than the $729 spent by The Greens’ Amy MacMahon.
Prof Angus, who lives in the battleground electorate, said he had been getting “absolutely hammered” with Ms Trad’s ads on Facebook.
“It’s really interesting that Labor has been spending so much on the Trad campaign … she’s like a cornered tiger in many ways,” he said.
Between them, the major parties have spent more than $164,000 boosting advertising on social media since August.
Under Queensland’s new political donation laws, the Electoral Commission of Queensland confirmed all spending, online or otherwise, needed to be disclosed and be within the limits of electorate and party spending caps.
Originally published as Labor spending up on social media advertising in key marginal electorates including NQ seats