Downing Street is hosting its first reception for social media influencers and between 70 and 90 creators are expected at the event this afternoon PoliticsHome reported that the invited creators operate across niches including personal finance education and lifestyle and are said to collectively reach a following of roughly a quarter of a billion people.  Labour leader Keir Starmer will address the gathered influencers in what PoliticsHome described as part of a strategy to meet audiences on the platforms where they already consume content rather than sticking solely to traditional media outlets.  The move comes as the Financial Times highlighted that consumption via online video platforms including YouTube is now significant across demographic groups including older age brackets according to the latest Ofcom Media Nations data. The event follows recent criticism of Labour’s digital communications strategy and coincides with government plans to modernise outreach under its new communications chief former Sun editor David Dinsmore who begins in the role later this year. This marks an explicit adaptation of historic political outreach methods such as targeting popular magazines but applied to digital creators The FT commentary noted the first influencer reception echoes earlier efforts by politicians to reach beyond traditional media sources.

(Photo by Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images)...