Hillary Clinton Is Following YouTube Star Tyler Oakley On Twitter

Earlier in August, Hillary Clinton’s official Twitter account did something that caught our eye. The presidential frontrunner (or, more likely, one of her social media interns) decided to follow YouTube star Tyler Oakley. This seemingly minor move could end up being utterly meaningless; on the other hand, it could be a hint about the Clinton campaign’s forthcoming social media strategy.

For many politicians, a Twitter follow is indicative of nothing. President Barack Obama, for example, follows more than 641,000 people on his official account. Clinton, however, has been much stingier with the size of her Twitter network. She only follows 126 people, most of whom are her campaign staffers. Oakley is one of only a handful of celebrities among that 126; others include singer Katy Perry and actress Chloe Grace Moretz.

Therefore, I’m inclined to believe that the Twitter connection between the former First Lady and the YouTube vlogger is significant. Oakley, after all, has already established himself as a potent ally for the Obama administration.

He was one of the YouTube stars who came to the White House to discuss the President’s digital strategy, and he also collaborated with First Lady Michelle Obama in one of his videos. Clinton could be planning her own partnerships with YouTube stars as a way of reaching younger voters. If you still aren’t convinced, consider that Oakley’s video with Michelle Obama concerned higher education, which Clinton has made a key part of her platform.

Once again, I want to stress that the Clinton Twitter’s decision to follow of Oakley could mean absolutely nothing. Perhaps the intern who runs the account is just a big fan. But a partnership between Clinton and Oakley makes a lot of sense. It would help appeal to young voters and would fit into Clinton’s youthful social media presence (she has already set up a Snapchat account and put Jeb Bush on blast.) We’ll keep an eye on Clinton and Oakley’s respective YouTube channels to see if anything develops.