Donald Trump has captured America’s attention, whether it be for the wrong or right reasons is up to you. But, the numbers don’t lie. And as of late May, the Trump Train pushed full-steam ahead as the conductor, Mr. Trump, reached the number of delegates needed for the GOP nomination.
On the heels of Trump’s nomination, this got our team thinking: who’s actually riding the Trump Train? And will the Trump Train reach its final the destination, the White House?
While it is undetermined whether the Trump Train will keep cruising ahead or get derailed along the way…what we can tell you is who the riders are, their culture, and what makes them tick.
Using Affinio, we analyzed those that mentioned #TrumpTrain on Twitter over the past 30 days in the USA. Affinio’s algorithm takes a look at each of these individuals, then groups them into clusters based on their shared interests.
We uncovered several culture-based clusters ranging from “Sports Dads” to even a small cluster of “Bernie Fans”. Each cluster is unique and likely has a different reason for buying a Trump Train ticket, or abandoning it. It is important to note, that by looking at the relevant influencers, trending content, hashtags, mentions, topics, and more within each cluster, we can understand what context the hashtag #TrumpTrain has been used.
But let’s focus our attention on the cluster and culture of the “Hardcore Trump Supporters”. These are the individuals, based on their interests, influences, etc. that are buying a first-class, one-way ticket on the Trump Train.
Top Interests of the “Hardcore Trump Supporters”:
Above are the top 200 interests of the Hardcore Trump Supporters (HTS). Do some of the faces look familiar? Well, you can basically find the entire Trump clan in the top interests of the HTS. From his sons Eric and Donald Jr; daughters Ivanka and Tiffany; ex-wife Marla Maples; to current wife, Melania Trump; all these individuals are easily found.
But for a little fun, let’s break these interests down even further:
What brands do the HTS care about?
Aside from their love for Starbucks, Ford, and Kohl’s, Trump Hotels seems to be a favourite accommodation for this group.
What governmental societies and organizations matter most to HTS?
Organizations like NASA, the NRA, and the U.S. Department of Defense are high on the priority list for this crowd.
What media do they rely on?
A mixture of FOX media sources and entertainment-based news resonate highly with this audience.
Now that we understand the interests of this audience, how do they view themselves? Let’s look at their top bio keywords:
What about what they’re talking about? Here are the top hashtags used:
Where are they located? Take a look at the top locations:
What domains are they sourcing and sharing content from?
And for fun, what about their favourite emojis? (There appears to be a clear favourite!)
What does this all mean?
So whether you’re boarding the Trump Train or getting the first train out of town, it can be seen that Mr. Trump has built a strong, passionate following who support his every move.
With tools like Affinio it is now possible to inject yourself into the very center of a community’s culture, even if it’s one you don’t quite understand.
Originally posted on the Affinio blog, “Who’s Riding the #TrumpTrain? Using Social Data to Understand Trump’s Audience.“