The director of digital strategy for the Democratic National Convention Committee, Cayana Mackey-Nance, previously said that the role of creators is to “multiply our reach” and bring the DNC to homes that would not pay attention to the convention.

Reaching audiences outside of politics

Miller, 40, said she wouldn’t consider herself a political influencer and has mostly stuck to promoting places around Atlanta and women and Black-owned businesses in the metro area. But that’s what makes influencers such as Miller so essential at the convention: They have the opportunity to reach audiences that may not engage in politics.

“Once Kamala (Harris) became the main nominee, I think that really opened people up. Because even other influencers who aren’t political influencers — it’s like everyone — this is so much bigger than that. This is history,” she said.

Influencer and publicist Brandy Star Merriweather, who goes by the name “The Gen Z Publicist” on social media, said people want to see information that is relatable. She believes influencers can do that by providing raw footage of their experience at the convention. The 25-year-old Atlanta resident said news media and social media often work together, with content creators sharing articles with their viewers and the media reacting to influencers.

Georgia is well represented among influencers, but they are just a subset of all those invited. Synclaire Warren, who is based out of New York City, is one of many others.

She says Gen Z and younger populations don’t always consume news, and she thinks having content creators at the convention bridges the gap between politics and people who normally don’t care about politics or don’t have the resources to access TV or subscription-based newspapers.

“I know that people around my age aren’t really interested in voting and don’t believe that their voice matters, and I really want to let people know that voting is your superpower,” Warren said.

Politicians, DNC attendees who look like us

For Miller and Merriweather, the DNC once felt “untouchable.” As Black women, they worried that there would be a lack of diversity, but that hasn’t been the case. Since the start of the convention, they have tried to show their audiences that they are not excluded from politics.

By highlighting the diversity at the DNC and showing that Black voters stand with the Democratic Party, Merriweather is trying to turn Black voters blue. She said she was impressed by the range of speakers at the convention.

“People of all ages, I saw people with disabilities, I saw veterans. I’m seeing everybody, not even just on the stage, but just to see the programming that they have lined up. To me, it shows that they’re prioritizing everybody being represented, and that’s exactly what I wanted to see,” Merriweather said.

Miller was also impressed by the speakers’ diversity but was more surprised to see countless locals who are not politicians attending, volunteering and serving as delegates at the convention. She previously felt that attending the DNC was unachievable, and she wanted to show her viewers that they too can be involved and make a difference in politics.

Highlighting policies that hit close to home

Warren, who is a 24-year-old human rights researcher at Fordham University, said she began using her social media platform to promote her modeling work and now also promotes reproductive rights.

“I think a lot of things evolving in that space, whether it’s gender-based violence, reproductive rights, menstrual equity, all those things I work on, can be unfortunately very taboo and hard for people to talk about, so I’ve really implemented it on my social media,” she said.

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Warren, who had an abortion when she was 20 years old, said she plans to share a variety of content including her outfit for each day, spreading awareness for reproductive rights, and speaking to politicians who align with her views.

Merriweather said she is most interested in talking about policies that affect the Black community in Atlanta and other parts of the South, such as health care, mass incarceration and the justice system.

“I want to make sure that people understand what are some of the things and policies that are directly affecting the Black community,” Merriweather said.