Federal election: Top NSW electorates targeted in Facebook political ad spending spree

A staggering $600,000-plus has been forked out on social media adverts targeting NSW voters, with residents in Dave Sharma’s seat hit the hardest. See which other seats are under fire.

Blue ribbon Sydney suburbs and a handful of seats in regional New South Wales are the targets of an election ad spending spree on Facebook, with major parties and so-called “teal independents” waging fierce battles to win power.

Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull’s old seat of Wentworth is attracting the biggest share of online spending in the state, followed by several seats targeted by independents, including Mackellar, North Sydney and Hume.

The news comes as an analysis shows Labor is spending up big online, splashing four times as much cash on social media as the Liberal Party across multiple platforms, and even running 330 Facebook ads simultaneously.

And it’s New South Wales that has attracted the greatest share of Australia’s Facebook election spending so far, with a University of Queensland report showing voters in the state had been swamped by $646,000 worth of ads on the platform since the election was called.

Wentworth residents have been the biggest election ad targets so far, with the battle between Liberal MP Dave Sharma and Climate 200-backed independent Allegra Spender attracting more than $30,000 in Facebook spending, and Mr Sharma spending slightly more than his rival.

Liberal MP Dave Sharma and independent candidate Allegra Spender are battling for the seat of Wentworth. Each have forked out $30,000-plus on Facebook advertising. Picture: Richard Dobson

Meanwhile, independent candidate Dr Sophie Scamps outspent the Liberal’s Jason Falinski in Mackellar, while Energy Minister Angus Taylor spent more than double that of his independent rival Penny Ackery in Hume.

Other expensive election ad battles include high-profile seats North Sydney, Bennelong and Warringah.

UQ political scientist Dr Glenn Kefford, who created a tool to crunch Facebook ad data, said this election had seen much higher spending on social media due to its growing audience and the bigger budgets of independent candidates.

“The amount of money the independents are spending is really significant and unprecedented historically,” he said.

“Some of them are spending $4000 or $5000 a week on Instagram ads. Candidates from major parties don’t normally spend that.”

An analysis of the major political parties’ spending across both Facebook and Google platforms showed Labor had the deepest pockets by far, with the party and its leader paying more than $247,000 for Facebook ads and $223,000 on Google ads in a week.

Angus Taylor, Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction, spent more than double that of his independent rival Penny Ackery in Hume on Facebook advertising this election. Picture: NCA NewsWire

By comparison, the Liberal Party and Prime Minister Scott Morrison spent less than half that amount on its Google and Facebook ads combined, though many of their advertisements were more negative, using memes to mock leader Anthony Albanese.

Australian National University political marketing expert Dr Andrew Hughes said the parties’ online spending exposed different campaign strategies this election.

Labor was taking a “broad target” approach, Dr Hughes said, with big spending designed to spread its message nationwide, and lock in existing supporters.

Dr Hughes said Labor’s spending had been consistently high, though the party had invested in more negative ads towards the campaign’s halfway point.

“A lot of the negative ads started after Anzac Day, touting ‘no more mistakes, no more excuses’,” he said.

“They’re targeting undecided voters with these ads — they are Labor’s biggest fear — and according to these ads they’re targeting Queensland and New South Wales.”

Independent candidate Dr Sophie Scamps outspent the Liberal’s Jason Falinski in Mackellar on Facebook advertising. Picture: Supplied

But the Liberal Party’s move to run fewer but more targeted ads could be a solid strategy, Dr Hughes said, if the party aimed its message to the right audiences and in marginal seats.

“Just because you’re running hundreds of ads does not mean that it’s going to be successful and it does not mean you’re good at digital,” he said.

“It’s like getting 58 text messages from someone trying to ask you out on a date.”

But both major parties are being outspent by billionaire former MP Clive Palmer.

His United Australia Party has spent more than $15.2 million on election ads with Google, including $1 million in just one week.

10 MOST TARGETED NSW ELECTORATES BY FACEBOOK ADS

1. Wentworth

Liberal: $18,885

Labor: $1595

Independent: $18,937

Liberal Democrats: $694

United Australia Party: $622

2. Mackellar

Independent: $24,096

Liberal: $8457

3. Hume

Greens: $1876

Independent: $7,799

Labor: $991

Liberal: $20, 330

United Australia Party: $1240

4. North Sydney

Independent: $27,270

Labor: $1973

Liberal: $1595

5. Bennelong

Labor: $15,000

Liberal: $12,000

6. Cowper

Greens: $1195

Nationals: $2309

United Australia Party: $891

Labor: $1782

Independent: $9758

7. Warringah

Liberal: $8590

Independent: $7775

8. Macquarie

Labor: $3375

Liberal: $12,262

9. Bradfield

Greens: $807

Liberal: $1653

Independent: $9775

Labor: $970

10. Hughes

Independent: $11,699

Liberal: $2598

Source: UQ Election Ad Data Dashboard

Originally published as Federal election: Top NSW electorates targeted in Facebook political ad spending spree