#IVoted: Social Media strives to engage Millennials on Election Day, and Instagram is killing it!

Oh Canada, it is time to stand up, and go and cast your vote today! Election Day is here, and its important to have our voices heard for the country’s future. Did you know, that Canadians between the ages of 18 and 38 (today’s Millennials) are the country’s largest block of eligible voters in this election? YUP! And social media platforms are here to help engage them — along with some help from party leaders, like Jagmeet Singh.

The recent launch of the “I Voted” stickers on Instagram encourages voters to inform their followers with the Stories feature that they’ve cast their vote. The sticker also has a link to the Elections Canada website, where users can avail of all types of information regarding voting. Canadian Instagram users have been posting about heading to the ballot box and encouraging their followers to do the same.

In addition, Facebook users will see a voter registration reminder on their newsfeed. Users can also access the feature to share the reminder with those on their friends list. According to Facebook, the platform isn’t targeting a specific age group, with the reminders being sent to any user over the age of 18. The feature is a part of the social media platforms’ work with Elections Canada to increase voter turnout.

Today, throughout Election Day, users will see a “We Voted!” story at the front of their Stories bar when several of their friends post a story with the “I Voted” sticker. Users can simply tap the “We Voted!” story to see their friends’ voting excitement all in one place.

Bumble users also get to be a part of the movement. The company has partnered with voting organization, Apathy is Boring, to encourage young Canadians to go out and vote. Users can add the new “I am a voter” badge to their Bumble Date or BFF profile. For every user in Canada that adds the “I am a voter” badge to their profile, Bumble will make a donation up to $10,000 to Apathy is Boring!

On Facebook, you may be prompted to share if you’ve voted with your audience, as well as a running count of how many other Canadians have shared they’ve voted too.

It’s great to see the various political party leaders embracing these platforms to reach constituents — particularly the younger demographic. Jagmeet Singh took to Tik Tok to share some meme rap video sharing his campaign highlights, as well as his delicious Curry Poutine recipe video on Twitter, to get people’s attention. Justin Trudeau also embraced the new Instagram stickers posting a story with it this morning showcasing him casting his vote.

To share an “I Voted” sticker, simply take a picture in Instagram Stories, tap the sticker icon and select the “I Voted” sticker. There are two different stickers to choose from, and they appear in both English and French.

Head over to https://www.elections.ca for everything you need to know about the voting process.

Credits:

Instagram screenshots courtesy of the respective users.