Political ads on social media are typically designed to grab the interest of a particular voter segment. Some try to catch the interest of young people. Some play to a single issue. Some just blanket any online page belonging to people in a particular geographic area.

However, campaign ads on X aren’t purchased with the intent of attracting voters to candidates and causes. They are bought by Republicans who want to use the increasingly conservative-friendly platform as a hype machine. Research from the Washington Post and AdImpact found that Republican accounts spent three times as much on X political ads from March 6 to October 1 as Democrats. In fact, Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign hasn’t bought a single ad on X.

The Republican-heavy advertising on X makes sense in some ways. Although X executives insist its users are roughly evenly divided as far as politics go, the changes Elon Musk made when he purchased the platform formerly known as Twitter in 2022 drove away many users that were more on the left or middle of the ideological spectrum. Musk, who has endorsed Republican former President Donald Trump, eliminated much of the platform’s content moderation and reinstated accounts that had been suspended for promoting misinformation or conspiracy theories. Many X users who remain are politically active conservatives who agree with many of the right-wing views promoted by Musk and other users, even if they may not be firmly grounded in truth. So getting political ads in front of this audience can drive fundraising and content sharing, potentially off of the platform, political communication experts told Forbes.

Trump’s official X account is the biggest political ad buyer on X, but Musk’s own America PAC, founded to back the former president, is also ramping up spending on the platform. Outside of X, however, Harris’s campaign is spending more. The Harris Victory Fund has spent $33.6 million on Meta’s platforms, compared with the Trump National Committee’s $8 million. On Google platforms, Harris’s campaign is the biggest spender with $53.1 million, more than double Trump’s $23.1 million.

Looking at advertising dollars alone, Harris is doing more to spread her message among a wide cross-section of voters. Trump and other Republicans are spending more to amplify their beliefs in an echo chamber. Both of these strategies could deliver desired results. Harris’s more widespread message can bring more people to the polls, but Trump’s concentrated message can build deeper enthusiasm and funding for his campaign, which could bring him a more dedicated following for whatever happens after Election Day.

Hispanic Heritage Month is September 15 to October 15, and it’s important to remember that community’s contributions to the United States, both in the past and present. Today, the Hispanic market is about 20% of the U.S. population and represents about $3.2 trillion in GDP, but many marketing campaigns don’t specifically target them. I talked to Jose Villa, founder and president of cross-cultural marketing........

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