Social Media & Influencers
The Herald Group builds and manages social media solutions and influencer partnerships that extend your message—reaching policymakers, their constituents, journalists, and key stakeholders through the organic channels and credible voices they trust most.
THE PROBLEM
Some of the most consequential policy conversations are happening on social media, and most organizations aren't part of them.
Policy debates are no longer siloed to committee rooms or on cable news. They begin in X threads, YouTube channels, TikTok, and the comment sections of outlets that policymakers, regulators, and their staff read every single day. The voices that frame those conversations—journalists, advocates, content creators, and community leaders with authentic followings—have become as influential as traditional earned media placements.
Campaigns without a disciplined social presence an influencer activation plan leave gaps and allow opponents to define the narrative with a wide audience that decision-makers listen to.
Policymakers scroll just like regular consumers. You need to be present where they consume content.
Todd Van Etten
Chief Digital Strategist at The Herald Group
WHAT WE DO
Innovative Strategies + Extensive Capabilities
THG develops and executes integrated social media and influencer engagement programs—designed to build owned-channel authority, activate credible third-party voices, and reinforce earned and paid media across every platform shaping your campaign.
Designed to Fit Your Needs
THG's integrated approach ensures that owned channels, influencer networks, and social media intelligence programs amplify everything else the campaign is doing and reach audiences where the conversation is happening.
Build a Lasting Owned Media Presence
The social channels THG builds and the influencer networks we develop become durable campaign assets that increase in value.
Establish Authentic Third-Party Credibility
THG activates influencers and content creators whose endorsements and commentary carry genuine weight.
Reach Policymakers Where They Actually Consume Content
THG builds organic programs and influencer networks that ensure your message appears in the feeds and channels they rely on daily.
Extend the Reach of Every Earned Media Placement
Influencer programs and social amplification strategies that extend every earned media win across platforms.
Fill the Narrative Gaps Opponents Exploit
THG builds the content programs and monitoring infrastructure that keep your narrative in front of key audiences.
Within the Broader Campaign Ecosystem
THG integrates social and influencer strategy across the full campaign architecture to build the surround-sound effect that moves decisions.
Our Team
Meet the team behind THG's social media and influencer engagement practice. Our digital strategists and communications professionals combine deep public affairs expertise with the platform knowledge, content capabilities, and influencer networks that modern campaigns require.
Todd Van Etten
Chief Digital Strategist and Partner
Todd leads The Herald Group's digital department, building organic social and influencer programs that reach policymakers where they scroll, drawing on two decades at the intersection of technology and politics.
Sharon Copeland
Vice President
Sharon specializes in digital strategy across social, email, and web channels, translating client missions into content that educates and activates target audiences online.
Malyia Kelley
Account Manager
Malyia specializes in digital and influencer campaign execution, drawing on experience managing TV, radio, and digital media buys for consumer brands before joining The Herald Group.
Meet the Entire THG Team
Meet our entire team of political campaign mentalities, MBA acumen, and more.
Organic Social Media Strategy & Management
Build authoritative, campaign-ready channels that reach policymakers and key stakeholders where they engage every day.
THG develops full organic social media programs across LinkedIn, X (Twitter), Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, and Truth Social—establishing a credible, consistent presence that keeps your issue in the feeds of the audiences that matter.
We build editorial calendars, manage day-to-day channel operations, and optimize performance to ensure your own channels are assets that grow in value across the campaign timeline.
Influencer Identification
Maps the online voices that hold genuine influence with your priority audiences.
THG conducts comprehensive influencer landscape analysis to identify the right social media creators—like subject-matter voices, political commentators, and local community leaders—whose audiences overlap with campaign targets.
We evaluate influence by reach, engagement, credibility, and relevance, ensuring that every partner activated has genuine sway with the people your campaign needs to move.
Influencer Outreach & Partnership Management
Activates credible voices to organically extend campaign reach and reinforce messages beyond paid channels.
THG manages influencer partnerships on behalf of clients by building relationships with creators so they can be activated quickly and reliably with managed risk.
We develop briefing materials, coordinate content partnerships, manage disclosure compliance, and ensure every influencer engagement reinforces the broader campaign narrative. From individual content placements to ongoing ambassador programs, THG manages the full lifecycle of influencer partnerships.
Social Media Content Development
Creates compelling, platform-native content designed to educate, engage, and activate target audiences.
THG develops the full range of social content needed to sustain a high-impact organic program including long-form LinkedIn articles, visual infographics, short-form video scripts, X thread sequences, and shareable explainers.
Every piece of content is crafted to resonate with the specific audience on each platform, align with the campaign narrative, and reinforce what stakeholders are hearing from earned media, paid advertising, and other campaign channels.
Social Listening & Online Intelligence
Monitors the social and digital landscape in real time.
THG deploys social listening and monitoring programs that track conversations about your issue, your organization, and your opponents across social platforms, news outlets, and online communities.
We identify who is driving narratives, where they are gaining traction, and what influencers and journalists are amplifying—delivering actionable intelligence that informs strategy at every stage of the campaign.
Executive Communications & Spokesperson Social Strategy
Builds the personal brands and digital presence of executives.
THG develops individual social media strategies for executives and spokespeople, positioning them as credible, authoritative thought leaders on the issues their organizations care about.
We develop platform profiles, content plans, and posting cadences that build authentic followings and make every executive a campaign asset.
Crisis Monitoring & Rapid Response
Detects negative social narratives before they spread.
THG monitors online conversations continuously for early-warning signals—emerging criticism, coordinated opposition activity. This allows us to determine which stories are a blip on the news landscape and can be safely monitored with minimal response and which narratives are picking up speed and require rebuttal.
From there we can deploy rapid response content, influencer outreach, and counter-narrative strategies to prevent social-media threats from crossing into mainstream press coverage.
Social Analytics & Performance Reporting
Measures what matters and delivers clear performance data.
THG provides regular social media analytics reports across organic and influencer channels—tracking audience growth, engagement rates, content performance, reach among priority audiences, and sentiment trends. Reporting is designed to be decision-ready: clear, actionable, and connected directly to client objectives rather than surface-level metrics.
This data informs ongoing optimization within campaigns and across the account as a whole so we know what works and what doesn’t when inflection points arise.