When Giuseppe Conte became premier in June 2018, he had about 250,000 followers on Facebook. Today the leader of the 5 Star Movement has 4.6 million. Behind this growth there is also Dario Adamo, who for two and a half years followed Conte like a shadow: “At Palazzo Chigi I was more in his office than in mine”, he told us. Adam, 36 years, of which 9 spent in Parliament as an M5S social media strategist, he now dreams of bringing the lawyer back to the most coveted building.
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How do you think you can do it?
“We are investing a lot of resources on TikTok and Twitch. With TikTok I was very cautious at first, I preferred to wait. But now is the right time. This is demonstrated by the effective use that Mélenchon and Macron made of it in the recent race for the Elysée ”.
What changes compared to Facebook?
“When Il Sole 24 Ore dedicated the first page to super bonuses, with a positive title, we made a video just for Facebook. It was the commentary on political news. The same day, in the evening, we made another one for TikTok in which Conte criticized a proposal by Giorgia Meloni that interests students. And we shared it with adequate music ”.
Because of TikTok, now she has to do the deejay too …
“Yes, I also need to be updated on trending music. And it’s a problem: 35-year-olds on TikTok are already considered elderly ”.
What about Twitch instead?
“We don’t have our own channel on the live streaming social network. Conte, however, has often been a guest of twitchers, already twice by Ivan Grieco for example (popular streamer and youtuber, ed). We realized that the young people who follow these events are active and fierce. And they want to deal directly with politicians ”.
What else have you learned from the French presidential campaigns?
“I liked Mélenchon’s style on social media: aggressive but not unpleasant. He is also influencing our campaign ”.
How is Conte’s style on social media?
“Thoughtful, never impulsive. But it happened that he suddenly called me to publish something. The day Silvia Romano was released, for example ”.
Which channel do you use the least?
“Twitter. Because it is the place of insiders, traditional politicians and journalists: a traditional and very old channel. And then it is crossed by a negative feeling widespread, little inclined to comparison “.
What about Facebook?
“It remains our largest basin, it is a question of age, older people continue to use it. But also on Instagram we have a large audience: 1.75 million followers (data from the official profile of Giuseppe Conte, ed.) “.
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How many people work with you?
“Our digital team is made up of 5 people”.
Does Rocco Casalino often knock on his office?
“With Rocco we started the adventure in the Movement together, in 2013. We discuss animatedly but we trust each other. From the beginning he took care of the TV and I from digital. It is still like this today, without invasions of the field ”.
What was your most successful post?
“The one about Conte’s greeting at Palazzo Chigi, on February 13, 2021. He collected 1.2 million likes on Facebook, a record for an Italian politician”.
And the most wrong one?
“The photo of Conte eating a hamburger in New York. He received criticism because the premier did not eat Italian food. But I would do it again ”.
Do you have time for your private social networks?
“I can’t handle them consistently, of course. My days are complicated: I wake up early, I even work until one in the morning. I don’t follow office hours, as well as social networks no longer follow the best time slots, for the publication of posts. Now the only thing that matters is to give the news ”.