Win the Popular Vote: Reaching Open-Minded Voters on Snapchat

As political campaigns and civic organizations plan their strategies for the midterm elections, finding receptive audiences becomes the top priority. With voters increasingly fatigued by traditional political ads, marketers must identify channels where audiences are genuinely engaged, open-minded, and ready to act.

Research commissioned by Snapchat in partnership with Alter Agents surveyed 1,021 daily social media users aged 18-45 in the U.S. to understand how voters approach their political decisions and civic engagement. Findings reveal Snapchatters are far more receptive to political content than non-Snapchatters and significantly more likely to translate that message into civic action.

The Snapchat Voter: Ready for the Ballot Box

In a complex political landscape, Snapchatters are uniquely open-minded in their political approach, seeking out viewpoints before choosing how to vote and open to changing their positions:

Snapchatters’ desire to be politically informed translates into real political action. When asked about their civic actions over the past two years:

And Snapchatters have their eyes set on the midterms. Over three-quarters (78%) of Snapchatters plan to vote in the upcoming midterm elections, making them 1.2x more likely than non-Snapchatters. ¹

The Group Chat Effect: How The Inner Circle Fuels Civic Engagement

While Snapchatters overindex in personal civic action, their engagement doesn't stop at the individual level. For this audience, politics is inherently social, deeply embedded in their real-world relationships with friends and family.

Two-thirds (66%) of Snapchatters actively discover information about political and social issues through direct conversations within those close circles, and 72% view friends and family as an essential civic information source, making them 1.4x more likely than non-Snapchatters. ¹

Critically, these personal connections carry far more weight than top-down messaging: 64% of Snapchatters trust direct peer and community perspectives more than traditional news networks, making them 1.5x more likely to rely on community trust than non-Snapchatters. ¹

Far from being a one-off gateway for initial awareness, Snapchatters’ personal networks drive an ongoing cycle of civic dialogue. 78% regularly share news articles or social posts about current events with their inner circle, 1.3x more likely than non-Snapchatters (59%). ¹

From Impression to Impact: Turning Attention into Action

When campaigns combine an engaged audience with a peer-driven network, political messaging gets noticed, researched, and shared. While many voters tune out traditional advertising, Daily Snapchatters are actively paying attention to civic content and using political ads as a catalyst for real-world action.

An overwhelming 83% of Snapchatters report they are likely to pay attention to ads regarding social causes, candidates, or voter initiatives, 1.4x more likely than non-Snapchatters. ¹

Far from being a passive impression, political ads on Snapchat trigger active discovery and research:

• 80% of Snapchatters agree digital ads effectively introduce them to candidates or causes they didn't know about, 1.3x more likely than non-Snapchatters.

• 79% seek out more information after seeing civic content on social media, 1.3x more likely than non-Snapchatters.

• 74% say they’re more likely to look up candidates after seeing ads on platform I use to message my inner circle, 1.4x more likely than non-Snapchatters. ¹

Most importantly, this ad exposure feeds directly back into the engine of peer influence. Nearly three-quarters (74%) of Daily Snapchatters agree they share interesting political ads with family or friends, 1.3x more likely than non-Snapchatters. ¹

When those conversations start, they move the needle: 65% say they are more likely to support a cause or candidate if their peers are talking about it online, making Snapchatters nearly twice as likely (1.9x) to be influenced by peer discussions compared to non-Snapchatters. ¹

Key Takeaways for Advertisers

For campaigns looking to drive real momentum, political ads on Snapchat do far more than raise top-of-mind awareness - they ignite research, spark peer conversations, and convert digital attention into tangible political support.

• Lead with Data-Driven Storytelling: Craft creative, informative ads that highlight data-backed evidence with relatable themes. Snapchat voters consider various viewpoints prior to casting their ballots, with clear and relatable messaging proving most impactful.

• Build for the Group Chat: Design shareable, bite-sized content tailored for peer-to-peer forwarding. Framing content around real-world community impact encourages organic word-of-mouth validation across voters' inner circles.

• Connect Awareness to Direct Action: Pair engaging formats on Snapchat with direct access to digital voter guides and official candidate pages, allowing voters to dive deeper as soon as an ad captures their interest. 

For more information on how to activate on Snapchat, please contact your sales rep.