Use of Social Technology for Political Communication: Influence of TikTok on Voter Engagement

In this article a digital ethnographic analysis of the TikTok social media as an electoral campaign tool is made during the presidential elections of Ecuador in 2021. Through the application of a mixed methodology with an inductive focus, the indicators of social media are analyzed in order to know the public’s answer through the engagement of each candidate, contrasting it with the percentage of votes evidenced by the National Electoral Council of Ecuador (CNE). The results show that candidates Hervas, Arauz, and Lasso caused and obtained different results through their electoral campaigns by using this platform. It is concluded that TikTok works as a window to society when making a person, product, or service visible. In this case, the social network launched the outsider candidate Xavier Hervas and marked an important difference in the campaign for the second round of the winning candidate Guillermo Lasso. The use of TikTok as an electoral campaign tool produces favorable results in the function of diffused content acceptance, allowing a bigger and more sensitive reach of the voters.