Previously, campaigns for politicians have particularly noticed one thing that works particularly well online.

Among group meetings, poster campaigns, negotiations, and TV appearances, politicians today are also forced to think in other directions to stay relevant and popular among voters. Digital directions to be more precise.

Increasingly, both time, resources, and money are being invested in the game that takes place on social media.

Politicians can no longer shake their heads in confusion at internet trends and tendencies, for "a good meme can spread faster than a press release."

This is what Katrine Krogh Pedersen, a ph.d. scholar at the University of Copenhagen but stationed at the University of Washington, where she researches children and youth's role in democracy, believes.

As a result, more and more politicians are now trying to gain votes on TikTok (https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/indland/fra-vaelgermoeder-til-virale-videoer-lokalpolitikere-danser-paa-tiktok-naa-de-unge-vaelgere) - some apparently with more success than others.

Chris Olesen (V), mayor candidate in Lemvig, makes TikTok recordings on the street. (Photo: © Michael Lyck Poulsen, DR)

When TikTok seems to have become such a significant part of the political battleground, the question arises, is the traditional press advisor still worth their wage.

Entirely so sharp lines cannot be drawn, says Krogh Pedersen. However, there is power to be gained, if the person masters the digital art. Or hires someone who does.

"Attention's rulebook has become a power factor," says the researcher, and if one wants a part of that power, one must understand internet logic.

- It's about understanding that popular culture and politics are intertwined, says Katrine Krogh Pedersen, who in a column in Altinget (https://www.altinget.dk/artikel/forsker-virale-memes-og-populaerkultur-er-blevet-vaaben-i-moderne-politisk-kommunikation) last week described the importance of SoMe presence.

As a result, it can be an advantage for many politicians to ally themselves with someone who understands that. For the young digital strategists, as the researcher calls them, see something that the politician does not.

- They are closer to the stream of popular culture and trends that drive the political conversation, says she.

- It's not just about target groups, but it's also about catching the algorithm's interest.

The Danish People's Party has long understood that there is power to be gained on TikTok. Here is a screenshot of the party's profile.

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Daddy Vanopslagh

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Mads Korsholm understood this when he, as one of the main architects behind the project, helped ensure success for the Liberal Alliance and the party's leader, Alex Vanopslagh, or simply "daddy Vanopslagh," as more began to call him. (https://echo.tv2.dk/politik/2022-10-14-alex-vanopslagh-kaldes-daddy-paa-tiktok-og-tiltraekker-unge-vaelgere)

After that, Korsholm became campaign chief in the Danish People's Party, where formand Morten Messerschmidt and grand old lady Pia Kjærsgaard on many occasions were rebranded on TikTok. This is done through quick videos with clear subtitles, so everything can be understood without sound.

- Mads has shown a unique ability to get political messages out over the ramp. With humor and sharp messages, he has repeatedly managed to create a lot of attention with his campaigns, it was said from Messerschmidt in connection with Korsholms appointment.

>

> It's harder to bully the thick kid in the schoolyard if he himself

> says he's thick. Self-irony suits politicians very well, for it makes them more mortal

> Mads Korsholm, former advisor for LA and DF

What was once a predictable press release about the party's stance on Palestine's Square in Copenhagen became instead a tiktok-video (https://www.tiktok.com/@danskfolkeparti/video/7478978889210072322) with Messerschmidt in front.

- Here at Palestine's Square, you can live out your Islamist dream scenario, and you can go down to the local municipal office, where you have to apply for your early retirement, sounds like the video, which, according to Mads Korsholm, was seen around a million times.

Something works, for at the last month's measurement, the Danish People's Party was left as the largest blue party (https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/politik/ny-maaling-goer-df-til-landets-stoerste-blaa-parti).

Today, Mads Korsholm is communications chief for the interest organization Skattebetalere.

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'There is someone who needs to attract customers'

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The competition for attention is tough, but the political landscape can be described as a large marketplace, according to Mads Korsholm.

- There is someone who needs to attract customers to their table. That's what they can do, says he about the young strategists.

On the internet, it is difficult to say exactly what works. But one thing has Mads Korsholm paid attention to: Self-irony.

- It has always worked. I think it's just gone a little late for the politician, says he.

- It's harder to bully the thick kid in the schoolyard if he himself says he's thick. Self-irony suits politicians very well, for it makes them more mortal. It shows that the opponents' attacks bounce off.

In this context, it is almost impossible not to talk about Trump, says both Mads Korsholm and Katrine Krogh Pedersen. The press team behind the American president has, in fact, discovered that it can pay to make fun of themselves.

For example, it went viral quickly when Trump took photos of himself in a dump truck. The photo flourished the day after Biden called Trump's voters "trash."

- You can think what you want about him, but it's the best campaign I've ever seen, says Mads Korsholm.

Trump in the dump truck during his campaign last year. A negative comment from Biden was turned into an advantage. (Photo: © Brendan Mcdermid, Reuters/Ritzau Scanpix)

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The spin doctor cannot be avoided

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But even though the campaign is moving more and more onto social media, it would be life-threatening for the politician to fire the good old spin doctor, according to Korsholm and Krogh Pedersen.

- It's not either or, it's rather both and. The press release is still important, and it is still important, perhaps even more important, with the journalistic media. The political communications advisor is still important for the politician, says Katrine Krogh Pedersen.

The traditional press advisor is far from replaced, writes Krogh Pedersen in the column in Altinget. She believes, however, that the press corps stands on one side, where politics is communicated through examples such as interviews, while internet publicity, where attention is "the decisive currency," stands on the other side.

Mads Korsholm is in agreement. He is not a state scholar or, in his own words, a "political oracle." He has never read a financial law. Therefore, there is still a need for someone "who can do all the boring stuff."

- Politics, how to build a deal, and all that kind of stuff, says he.

And here comes the TikTok oracle into play?

- Completely. It's important that one has a clearly defined role division, so they don't think they have to make politics.

Warning: This article was translated by a Large Language Model, in case of doubt, you can always visit the original source.