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Comparison shows: Kickl is the social media chancellor

FPÖ federal party leader Herbert Kickl

(Bild: AFP)

As is almost traditional in this election campaign, no one can beat the FPÖ on social media. Herbert Kickl's party reaches by far the most people, not only on Facebook, but also on YouTube, TikTok and Instagram. Only on X are the blue party comparatively less well represented.

With 2.4 million interactions in July and August on his channels and those of the federal party, Kickl outperforms his two rivals in the race for the chancellorship, Andreas Babler (603,000) and Karl Nehammer (464,000), many times over, as an analysis by the social media market research agency Buzzvalue shows.

The fact that the FPÖ is ahead here comes as no surprise to Managing Director Markus Zimmer, as it is well known that the Freedom Party was an early adopter of social media under Heinz-Christian Strache. The Blue Party's recipe for success is: "Simple messages, very polarizing, sometimes completely exaggerated and exaggerated. But that's exactly what the supporters want."

It is precisely this deliberate emotionalization, including the stirring up of enemy images, that has worked for the FPÖ for many years and has led to Kickl and the FPÖ having almost one million followers, three times as many as Nehammer or Babler. On Kickl's Instagram account, for example, you can read in "bleeding" letters "consistently deport stabbers" or "the horror continues" (after Ursula Von der Leyen's second election as EU Commission President).

Images of political opponents, such as Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen or Climate Protection Minister Leonore Gewessler, can also be seen in black and white with a menacing look. And a fixture of the blue election campaign - the art of rhyming - is not to be missed, albeit less creatively than in previous election campaigns: "Be smart, vote blue". In his private life, Kickl can be seen hiking or climbing.

Close to the people at Kirtag and soccer
Nehammer and Babler try to appear as close to the people as possible on Instagram. The former can be seen at the Neustifter Kirtag, a "fixed date" in his calendar, the latter at various events on the "Herz und Hirn" tour or with spray candles in his hand at a soccer match of the Wiener Sport-Club, known for its predominantly left-wing supporters. Almost all politicians jumped on the bandwagon of the national soccer team's performance at the European Championships in the summer, "whether this is credible is of course a fine line," says Zimmer.

Greens and NEOS lagging behind on social media
The expert does not want to decide whether a post is good or bad. However, it is clear that it is more difficult for parties in the "liberal center" such as the Greens or NEOS to convey their content than for those at the ends of the political spectrum. However, "more needs to happen" with these two parties, as they are far behind with 135,000 (Greens) and 80,000 (NEOS) interactions, "although they have actually already shown that they can campaign on social media."

Nehammer also has to contend with different challenges than Kickl: "As Federal Chancellor, I can't act like the Rumpelstiltskin there either."

Largest audience on Facebook
The most people are still reached on Facebook (2.3 million interactions on the channels of the parties and top candidates), followed by Instagram (750,000) and X (450,000). All parties use their channels to share interview sequences with their top candidates. Only the FPÖ does not post excerpts from ORF or private broadcaster formats, but instead relies on FPÖ-TV. The FPÖ's own channel also reaches many people on YouTube, with over 200,000 people subscribing to the channel.

Uncharted territory on TikTok
The Austrian parties have not yet arrived on TikTok. Although individual politicians, such as the ministers Karoline Edtstadler (ÖVP), Gewessler and Alma Zadić (Greens), have managed to generate a certain reach there, TikTok is generally still treated too neglected in Austria, unlike in the USA, where the Chinese platform has almost become a "key channel" in the election campaign.

Zimmer believes this is a mistake: "You don't just reach 13-year-olds who sing and dance, but 75 percent of young voters.

ÖVP has so far spent the most on online advertising
A look at the spending of the campaigning parties shows that they were all still cautious in the summer months. At just under 45,000 euros, the ÖVP dug deepest into its pockets, followed by the FPÖ (38,000), NEOS (33,500), SPÖ (24,000), Greens (18,000) and KPÖ (11,000 invested, 100,000 interactions). Especially for parties with limited financial and organizational capacities, election advertising on social media is an efficient method of reaching their own target group.

The Beer Party shows that it also works without money. So far, it has achieved 170,000 interactions purely through "organic reach", which is more than the Greens or NEOS represented in parliament. "The Beer Party is not new to social media campaigning, it already worked well for Dominik Wlazny's presidential candidacy," said Zimmer. The movement, which believes it has a serious chance of entering the National Council, knows how to use the channels and, above all, how to reach a younger audience.

However, Zimmer is convinced that the others will still receive a lot of money in the three weeks or so until the National Council elections. In 2019, for example, the SPÖ under Pamela Rendi-Wagner paid over 250,000 euros for social media advertising, the FPÖ with Norbert Hofer as its lead candidate 115,000 euros and the People's Party with Sebastian Kurz around 100,000 euros.