Eight years ago, Hillary Clinton cracked the glass ceiling. Earlier this week, she took a bat to it, becoming the first woman to win a major political party’s nomination for president.
This historic moment has spawned a lot of conversation, but it’s not the only thing people are talking about. The nation is paying close attention to the DNC as a whole, discussing the myriad speakers and the national issues that are top of mind this election season.
This week we teamed up with Twitter to monitor the social conversation, and uncover what the digital electorate cares about most.
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The emojis associated with the DNC are very different than those that were popular during the RNC—perhaps because of the more hopeful, positive messaging at this week’s event.
Date Range: 7/24 – 7/27
Similar to the RNC, however, the most popular topics on Twitter as of Tuesday were foreign affairs, terrorism, and racial issues—accounting for more than 50% of the conversation.
Date Range: 7/23 – 7/26
By Wednesday, national security emerged as a key issue in Philadelphia, which drove considerable, related discussion on Twitter.
Date Range: 7/24 – 7/27
The chart below shows how conversation topics changed over the first three days of the convention.
Date Range: 7/25 – 7/28
The conversation on Thursday night varied more than the previous night, with the economy, gun control, and terrorism spiking in share of voice–perhaps in response to Hillary’s mentions of these issues in her acceptance speech.
Date Range: 7/26 – 7/29
The speaker lineup at the DNC featured some of the most important political figures in the country. Not surprisingly though, Hillary Clinton drove the bulk of the online conversation.
Date Range: 7/25 – 7/28
Date Range: 7/25 – 7/28
Candidate share of voice: Hillary is 46 for 50.
Despite the ample chatter about Donald Trump calling on Russia to hack Clinton’s email server, Hillary dominated the conversation in nearly every state.
Date Range: 7/25 – 7/28
But during Clinton’s acceptance speech on Thursday night, everyone was focused on her.
Date Range: 7/28 at 11:30pm, 2 hr view
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Now that Twitter has played a central role in an actual convention speech, and with the candidates trading digital barbs on a daily basis, it’s clear just how important the platform is to the election. As the campaign hits the home stretch, observers (including brands) can use Twitter for a strategic advantage of their own: up-to-the-minute insights on who, and what, the country is talking about at any given time.
