Inside Josh Shapiro’s Social Media Machine

After deflecting speculation about the vice president at a Friday news conference at Cheyney University, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro hurried from the reception desk to the basement library to film a video promoting his education initiatives. His cameras were already waiting.

Unfortunately for Shapiro, a group of drummers invited by the school were playing upstairs. His assistants sent someone to shut them down, but time was running out. By the time the assistant returned, orders had been given to move production outside.

Once the cameras were warmed up, Shapiro recited his lines, without any notes. Filming was over within a minute.

“He’s a well-oiled machine,” said state Sen. John Kane (D., Del.). “The man is an incredible public speaker, loves being in front of a microphone and a camera.”

Of the leading contenders for the Democratic vice presidential nomination, only Shapiro is trying to cash in on the memes and trends that are fueling the campaign of his potential vice presidential running mate, Vice President Kamala Harris.

“It’s not their job to figure out how to find me,” Shapiro said of his voters in a brief interview. “It’s my job to figure out how to find them.”

Shapiro’s “meet people where they are” sentiment is scarce among other governors. About a half-dozen of his colleagues, all Democrats, have TikTok accounts run by their offices, even though two thirds of Americans aged 18 to 29 apply the platform.

Shapiro, unlike many of his peers, steps in front of the camera and follows trends, which can lead to a kind of dichotomy between content and setting.

In a May video on Shapiro’s official TikTok account, recorded in his oak-paneled office, the governor responds to a 26-year-old influencer who says she doesn’t like store-bought pesto, responding that he doesn’t like Pennsylvania’s $7.25 minimum wageOut of frame are portraits of mostly long-dead former governors hanging above him.

However, the comments section is full of praise, typical of Shapiro’s TikToks.

“I think he’s super woke because he’s surrounded by people who keep him in the loop,” said Lindsay Anderson, 28, a Philadelphia-based co-host of the podcast Between Us Girlies. Shapiro I joined the podcast as a guest in March and declared himself a “creator, not a scroller.”

Shapiro’s team is mostly made up of 20-somethings dedicated to “digital strategy,” which is unique among governor’s offices, he said. The team is well-paid—Shapiro’s digital strategy director, Annie Newman, draws a salary of $187,000, more than the leaders of the Pennsylvania House or Senate.

“The investment is critical because you have to meet Pennsylvanians where they are,” Shapiro said.

As many Americans shift away from time-honored media in favor of social media, politicians like Shapiro are using social media as a gateway to convey more critical information that was once only possible through print or broadcast media.

“A press release is not the answer,” said Drew Henderson, 27, Kane’s communications director. Kane is the most popular TikTok user in the state Senate.

Shapiro inherited a relatively compact digital operation from his predecessor, former Gov. Tom Wolf, a fellow Democrat who rarely released anything beyond official photographs or screenshots of his tweets. When Wolf stepped away from the formalities of being governor, he usually express an opinion on something like sizzling dogs.

All the vertical videos Wolf posted were often amateur in quality: think unsteady hand, no cuts Or sound problems.

This is not the case with Shapiro.

After visiting Philadelphia Youth Basketball on Tuesday, Shapiro’s social media team produced two slick movies showing a shot he took right at the free throw line. What the team didn’t show was three missed shots.

When he served as attorney general from 2017 to 2023, when he wore a tie, Shapiro’s social media presence was a low-budget affair. stand in front of a white board or during the COVID-19 pandemic, jump on the COVID beard live stream to explain the events in his office.

Today, Shapiro has not only his dedicated digital team, but also a compact army of influencers who spread his message throughout the community. He even has an influencer liaison on the payroll, earning a salary of $97,467.

“Content creation is about hope,” liaison Gavin Lichtenstein told a crowd of about 50 influencers at a “Democracy Summer Camp” sponsored by Shapiro’s office in July. Lichtenstein implored influencers to educate their audiences about the election and combat misinformation.

Anderson, a “Between Us Girlies” co-host and summer camp attendee, said content creators love Shapiro.

“We think you’re really genuine and really cool, honestly,” Anderson told Shapiro at the end of the podcast episode he joined.

“Really?” Shapiro replied. “I hope someone recorded that part.”

Trebor Maitin is an intern at the Pennsylvania Legislative Correspondents Association. He can be reached at trebormmaitin@gmail.com.

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