On Insta, TikTok, "X"

EU election campaign online: FPÖ ahead in terms of reach

The election to the European Parliament will take place on June 9, 2024.

(Bild: Karl Grammer)

Before the EU election campaign enters the hot phase in a few weeks, the candidates are already busy canvassing for votes on social media. The Blue Party's Harald Vilimsky is far ahead in terms of reach. Green activist Lena Schilling is reaching potential voters with Instagram reels, while NEOS candidate Helmut Brandstätter is using "X" (formerly Twitter) to target voters. The ÖVP and SPÖ candidates have not yet found a really successful way onto the Internet.

What distinguishes Vilimsky and the FPÖ most clearly from the other parties in terms of content is their active EU scepticism. Although the party repeatedly assures that it is not planning an "Öxit", it hardly leaves a good hair on the EU's head during the election campaign. "The EU is turning into a censorship machine" or "The EU is drifting into a planned economy with climate protection" can be read on Vilimky's Instagram account, usually accompanied by links to relevant news articles. Corruption of the Commission President is also brought up: "Once again von der Leyen: did she give her party friend a lucrative post?".

FPÖ dominates social media election campaign
Surveys currently put the FPÖ in first place with a clear lead over the SPÖ and ÖVP. At least in terms of reach on social media, the lead is probably unassailable. With 274,000 interactions, Vilimsky is clearly ahead of Brandstätter (64,000) and Schilling (61,000), as an analysis of posts from the beginning of February to mid-April by the social media market research agency Buzzvalue shows. Far behind are SPÖ candidate Andreas Schieder (32,000) and Reinhold Lopatka (ÖVP, 18,000). But: "Not every Like means a vote," emphasizes Managing Director Markus Zimmer.

Surprisingly, the candidates reached the most people via the "social media dinosaur" Facebook, emphasized Zimmer. For Vilimsky, this is more or less a home game. Since Heinz-Christian Strache, the FPÖ has had the strongest presence on Facebook, reaches the most people and also spends the most resources on it. The financing of accounts has become increasingly important in recent years, as only three to five percent are reached via "organic reach", according to Zimmer. Unsurprisingly, the most clicked post of all candidates came from Vilimsky. After the EPP chose its top candidate, he demanded: "Please no second term for Ursula von der Leyen!".

Schilling is particularly successful on Instagram
The only woman apart from the four top candidates, Lena Schilling, reaches potential voters best via Instagram, with reels (short videos), mostly with feminist demands, for example on Women's Day/Feminist Fight Day or Valentine's Day. The activist and neo-politician can be seen brushing her teeth on the train to the European Green Party congress, holding a protest sign ("G'haltets euch die Blumen, wir wollen fairer Lohn") or a "Falter" cover adorned with her likeness on the subway.

The pink top candidate Brandstätter, on the other hand, relies primarily on text. Twitter (X) is still the most important channel for forming political opinions, said Zimmer. "What's on Twitter today could be in the newspaper tomorrow".

Andreas Schieder (SPÖ) and Reinhold Lopatka (ÖVP) are not yet playing a major role in the online election campaign. Vilimsky has so far achieved ten times as many interactions as the SPÖ candidate and almost fifteen times as many as the ÖVP candidate. So far, all five parties have been reluctant to spend on advertising. However, Zimmer is convinced that they will all invest in their social media presence in the hot phase of the election campaign.

Tiktok use not yet so widespread
The top candidates are currently using Tiktok much less than Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. "It would be a great channel to communicate content in the most exciting and humorous way possible, especially to set yourself apart from other candidates." The fact that the Chinese video portal has not yet fully arrived in the EU election campaign also surprised the expert: "It will become more popular in the coming weeks and months and will be a major topic in the National Council elections."

The poster campaign will also start soon. The NEOS, SPÖ and FPÖ presented their first subjects this week, and the ÖVP will do the same soon. The Social Democrats did not want to reinvent the election campaign: Schieder presents himself in a classic suit behind slogans such as "Make Europe fair" or "Put an end to tax loopholes".

Brandstätter is not to be seen on the NEOS posters for the time being; the focus is on questions such as "What protects against Trump?" and "What stops Putin?". The answer, namely a united Europe, will be given in the second wave next week, then also with Brandstätter's picture. A photo of Vilimsky can also only be found with the NEOS: with a picture of the FPÖ lead candidate, they want to warn against an "Öxit", but only on an online subject. The FPÖ itself uses the slogan "Stop EU madness", backed by black and white images of EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selenskyj in a photo in which they are hugging each other in greeting and look as if they are kissing. Next to it is a refugee boat, a tank, a syringe under the heading "Corona chaos" and wind turbines next to "eco-communism".