It’s already 2020 and the biggest political election of our time is just ramping up. Across the country, political campaigns are gearing up to make sure that their candidates claim the prize - the big win. Things are surely heating up across the different states. Right now it’s crunch time. However, if you find yourself in a pickle wondering how on Earth are you going to secure you or your candidate’s next political win, then you’re in luck. Listed below are 10 tips that you can use right now to turn the tides of any election in your favor.
Let’s start with the obvious…
Tip #1 Your Potential Voters Are Searching For Information About You Online Right Now. What Will They Find?
This shouldn’t be surprising given that most Americans are connected to the internet. The more tech-savvy young voter is searching online for your information, Technology in the 2020 Election is playing a huge role in how voters are learning about each candidate. They want to go beyond the bio that you have given them. Your achievements and accolades aren’t the only things that interest them. In fact, more and more people are turning to the internet to help them to choose the candidate to vote for.
Given that your potential voters are already searching for every bit of information that they can find about you, you need to pay attention to your digital footprint. The truth is that if you’re not putting out information about you in front of your voters then your competitors are. That’s not something that you want to happen under any circumstance. It’s time to think like a marketer and get your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy in order.
SEO can get pretty complicated so it’s best to either hire an SEO expert or have one volunteer for your election campaign.
Tip #2 Use the free resources available to you
We understand that bidding for office requires a financial investment; however, there are some free resources that you can take advantage of. Every bit counts and if it helps your campaign then why ignore it. Most states have services and websites that provide information about political candidates without charging them. These free services can give you much-needed exposure by allowing you to share your website with their viewers.
Tip #3 Why Buy Media That You Can Get For Free
First things first, good press doesn’t come without its price. However, you don’t always have to pay big bucks for it. You might be tempted to spend big bucks on paid TV, radio and newspaper ads. But, before you pay for media coverage consider earning that coverage instead.
Elections are newsworthy events. Media outlets want to stay informed and share everything about the upcoming elections with their viewers. They will eagerly cover and feature you if you play your cards right. You need to be creating camera-friendly events that will attract the local TV, radio and newspaper journalists to your event. You should have someone on your team whose job is to come up with camera-friendly events that are both interesting and aligned with your values and objectives.
If you’re running to improve the school system, then a good way to get free publicity is to gather a group of parents and teachers in front of a school that isn’t doing so great. Share your plans about how you will improve the school system once you’re elected. Remember that media houses are looking for a story, all you have to do is to give them the right one. They might not have noticed you before, but in an election year where the media needs to be current, you can bet your bottom dollar that they will cover interesting events.
As an added bonus you can use RoboCent, a Political RoboCall Company, to send out information via SMS messaging to your potential voters to either attend these events or check it out online after it’s happened.
Tip #4 Gather Your Political Allies
Your potential voters are important and so are your allies. Especially those allies that have the ability to rally the crowd. Why do you think aspiring politicians like Mike Bloomberg have developed ads that show how former President Barack Obama gave him high praise? It’s because they know that people will most likely follow the advice of someone they know, like and trust.
Are you endorsed by a local business organization? If so, then reach out to them and have them name drop you to their members.
The same thing goes for local neighborhoods that endorse you. You could ask them to canvas their members for you. Since they have direct contact with their members they could call or text them with a specific message from you. Or even better, you can streamline this process by utilizing the services of a professional RoboCall company such as RoboCent.
Tip # 5 Prepare for Battle
“All is fair in Love, War and Politics”
It’s an election and everyone is out to win. Be prepared for your opponent(s) to make attacks on your character and your policies. One of the things that can make or break your political aspirations is how you respond to these attacks. You are being judged harshly by voters, so your response matters. Prepare yourself. Think about all the ways that you can get attacked and come up with possible rebuttals. People are watching to see if you are defensive or you’re losing your cool. You will be more respected if you can keep your cool.
Tip #6 Create and Write Your Email Schedule
Use emails to remind your supporters about upcoming events, ask for donations, share happenings about your campaign performance and events or even ask for volunteers. It won’t get the amazing open rates that you can get by sending a political text message to potential voters, but, it shouldn’t be ignored as email is still widely used.
Tip #7 Use Video
People are watching videos more than they are reading blog posts so start making those campaign videos before the big day. Remember to keep them short and sweet. Nobody wants to watch an hour-long video detailing every single issue that you plan to address. So, if you’re campaigning on 5 to 6 core issues, create 5 to 6 short videos speaking to each issue individually. You can then post them to the various social media platforms for maximum exposure.
Additionally, if you have an SEO expert on staff, they can make sure that each video gets the maximum chance of being seen. Even better, send out these videos via an SMS message to your list of supporters.
Tip #8 Go Digital
Digital media and tools are changing the way that political campaigns are run. Political campaigns are taking advantage of this avenue because of its cost, speed and the ability to zone in on your target audience. It can also be viewed as a direct response medium as you can ask your supporters to register for an event or to give a donation to your campaign with just 1 click.
You are putting your election victory at risk if you are not making use of targeted digital media. Much like SEO you should seek the services of a Digital Marketing expert to guide you on how to use targeted digital media strategies to your advantage.
Tip #9 Text Your Voters Now
Last but not least send out those political SMS messages for Political Campaign. They work so use them. You might think that they are annoying or that people do not want them,and that they are illegal , but you’d be surprised at how thankful some people are for receiving that text message from your campaign informing them about an event that they couldn’t attend or about a vital election day update.
With RoboCall technology improving, and companies such as RoboCent making it easier to engage your supporters via text, there’s no excuse to not use this critical election campaign tool and follow each of these tips. Let them know about an upcoming event, share a popular write-up about you with them or inform them of any last-minute election day changes.
Make sure to not overwhelm your supporters with too many messages. By segmenting your list you can send different information to different groups. For example, one subset of your list might care more about your education policies, whereas the other might be more interested in your climate change plans. Instead of blasting out everything to your entire list, send the education updates to the ones interested in education and the climate change one to the others.
If you would like to learn more about how political text messaging can tip the scales in your favor,reach out to the experts at RoboCent and let us guide you along the campaign trail.