Along with signing a $61 billion state budget, Governor Maura Healey this summer posted not one but two Instagram photos referencing the reality show "Love Island USA."
Already this month, she was filmed flying through the air on a 50-foot-high slingshot at Camp Harbor View and was also shown sitting awkwardly in front of the camera with nothing to say, deadpanning that “my digital team ran out of ideas for social media.”
“but my ban on broker fees goes into effect today,” the text read.
Politicians might not often be considered in tune with the latest social media trends, but the governor’s account has often featured the latest pop culture references and trendy video styles.
In February, Healey tapped into Kendrick Lamar’s “Not Like Us” to tout the large number of top rankings Massachusetts receives as a state. And in April, Healey joked about a drone show sending the Sons of Liberty into a coma.
While Healey’s Instagram content is not limited to popular trends, they have been a regular presence, drawing both affection and grumbling from readers.
“Suddenly I love the government,” one person commented on a “Love Island”-themed post touting Healey’s capital investment plan for the next five years.
“OMG!!!! Ready to pull the staffer with these memes for a chat!! Brilliant!!” another person commented on a post heralding the end of renter-paid broker fees wrapped into a popular “Love Island USA” meme.
The person behind the Instagram page, which has more than 85,000 followers, is Allison Mitchell, 28, Healey’s digital director since she took office.
Mitchell’s goal for the social media account is to meet people where they are.
“People, they care about what they care about, and if we can get them to care about something with a ‘Love Island’ post, that’s great,” she said. “[The posts] cause people to stop and be like, ‘Who posted that? Oh, the governor did.’”
Politicians have long tried to capitalize on social media trends in hopes of building support among young voters. Presidential candidate Kamala Harris used Charlie XCX‘s chart-topping “brat” album to draw national attention, and Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy has joined journalists who do upbeat, casual interviews with people on the street.
“Social media, in particular, is really important for politicians and political organizations because it allows them to communicate directly to the public without having to go through a newspaper,” said Katherine Haenschen, an assistant professor of communication studies and political science at Northeastern University.
Haenschen, who researches the intersection of digital media and politics, said many voters now get the bulk of their information through social media.
“That’s where you’ve got to be,” she said.
Instagram is used by about 50 percent of American adults, she said, citing Pew Research data. That includes 76 percent of people age 18 to 29, and 66 percent of people 30 to 49.
With a Timothée Chalamet meme, a play on Spotify Wrapped, a roast of Pennsylvania, and a nod to Hozier’s yell, Mitchell said she tries to make “eye-catching” posts that “resonate” with viewers.
In an April post that received 170,000 views and more than 6,000 likes, Healey rode a horse in downtown Boston, part of an “unhinged” social media trend.
“i’m bored,” the post read. “tell me the most unhinged way you’re celebrating Massachusetts 250 this weekend. and i don’t mean like ‘wearing a tricorne hat,’ i mean like ‘riding a horse around downtown boston.’”
“I love the video of her riding the horse down Beacon Street,” Mitchell said. “That was such an unexpected moment for everyone involved.”
Mitchell gets her ideas the way people might expect, scrolling through different forms of social media daily and late at night.
“There’s no hack,” Mitchell said. “There’s no secret. It’s just me probably up way later than I should be scrolling on my own phone, and that’s how the ideas come to life.”
The posts are part of a “collaborative process” that includes Healey’s entire communications team, Mitchell said. A lot of the time, members of the team will bounce ideas off each other with the goal of being “as authentic as possible.” Healey is also involved in the process, she said, and of course, stars in the posts.
“It’s really organic,” Mitchell said of the discussions.
Mitchell grew up in Somerset and attended Emerson College originally as a film major. She developed a passion for short-form videos and became immersed in politics.
She switched her major to political communications and after a couple of internships in the field began working for the state’s Democratic Party in 2019. She moved over to Healey’s team at the attorney general’s office in 2022.
“I never thought when I was in college that this would be the route that I took,” she said. But “I have no plans to do anything else anytime soon.”
Social media is a divisive place, and while many commenters seem to enjoy the account’s light-hearted tone, there are many skeptics.
“You need to fire your social media manager,” one person commented on the “Love Island”-themed capital investment post.
“Did AI generate this for you, that’s the only excuse,” another said.
Haenschen said social media posts will inevitably receive “a range of feedback, some of it positive, some of it negative.”
“Her communication staff is going to look at what they post and what gets engagement, in terms of numbers, but also look at the tone and the tenor of that engagement, right? And ultimately, is this a net positive?” she said.
Thad Kousser, a political science professor at the University of California, San Diego, said the negative comments speak more to the culture of social media than public opinion toward the governor.
“People are used to both liking and disliking things on social media,” said Kousser, who studies politicians’ use of social media. “Both raving about it and ranting in the comments. Just because someone criticized something doesn’t mean that this will change their vote.”
Even critics, he said, “are at least paying attention to what she’s saying.“
“What’s most important is that it’s captured their eyeballs,’ he said.
Still, striking the right tone is crucial, he said.
“What she really wants to avoid is viral backlash,” Kousser said. “Anything where a governor needs to be gubernatorial, to have the solemnity of office. Those duties can’t be mixed with social media and pop culture.”
The trendy posts also extend to TikTok, with Healey running through the streets during Boston’s Pride parade in June, and with Healey explaining her budget using basketball references.
But Instagram is the mainstay, featuring a variety of posts with different tones. Since July 4, Healey has posted about the Boston Pops firework show, the 60th anniversary of Medicaid amid cuts from the Trump administration, and Wilmington Public Schools. There are also longer videos of Healey in action, events, announcements on policy, and pictures with her partner.
Mitchell said she appreciates the “immediate feedback” of social media and emphasized that the account features a variety of content for different types of voters.
“People shouldn’t hesitate to [comment], but you can’t please everybody,” Haenschen said. “The internet is full of haters.”
Haenschen said she doesn’t expect politicians’ use of social media to slow down anytime soon.
“Slowly but surely millennials and gen Z are running for and holding elected office,” she said. “Of course, they would use [social media]. That’s just one of the natural ways they communicate.”
Healey is particularly fond of the “flip camera trend,” Mitchell said. It features users using the back camera of a phone and writing congratulatory messages about themselves on the screen, only for the camera to flip to show the people taking the video.
The beginning of one video shows a conference hall with young people and the words: “I love being on the Governor’s Youth Council because I get to hang out with Maura Healey and Kim Driscoll.”
The video ends with Healey and Driscoll “accidentally” flipping the camera, revealing their laughing faces.
“The formula hasn’t changed since newspapers were delivered in the mail by a horse and buggy,” Haenschen said. “You have to communicate to the public through the channels they are already using.”
Ava Berger can be reached at ava.berger@globe.com. Follow her @Ava_Berger_.