The Not-So-Subtle Reason Bush Uses Snapchat

One way to set yourself apart in a very crowded Republican nominee pool is to make your campaign announcement as hip as possible. Like a social-media-savvy college undergrad with a penchant for late-night selfies, Jeb Bush announced his presidential campaign on Snapchat on Monday, after months of anticipation. Bush's announcement speech took place at Miami Dade College, where he told the crowd that "America deserves better." If his announcement style is any indication, then Bush will make every effort to stand out in the Republican primary.

Technically, Bush wasn't Snapchatting himself; rather, his supporters at Miami Dade College used Snapchat's Live Stories feature, which allows multiple users to post snaps from the same location and event, to upload photos and videos of his campaign launch. Still, it's a pretty clever move on Bush's part.

As Bush prepared for his scheduled 3 p.m. announcement at the university's Theodore R. Gibson Health Center, the crowd enthusiastically snapped pics and videos of the event, each contributing a piece of the Snapchat Live Story. The user-generated content was then reviewed and curated by Snapchat staff before being uploaded to the platform in a live feed.

Tim Miller, Bush's communications director, told Yahoo! News:

Everyone was excited about the opportunity to reach a broad, younger audience, give people a more authentic view of what happens at an announcement. Jeb is a tech nerd of sorts, so he is always wanting to use the freshest tools.

What better way to exhibit your techie side than with a wildly popular social app? But the goal is not merely to show off his social media skills.

Bush's announcement strategy also aims to appeal to a younger constituency, consisting of 18- to 34-year-olds, aka the same demographic who uses apps like Snapchat.

As the 220th candidate to declare his run for a Republican nominee, Bush is joining an already crowded field and was smart to set himself apart with an unorthodox announcement. Many of his party opponents have made similar attempts to take advantage of hip, contemporary social media platforms to appeal to younger voters. Like Bush, Rand Paul also utilized Snapchat to conduct user interviews, while Marco Rubio has created a Pinterest page with boards like "Marco on the Issues," "Marco's Quotes," and "Announcement Day." Now what would really set a candidate apart is a Pinterest page of his or her best DIY craft ideas, or better yet, a Pinterest page called "Presidential Food Porn."

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