To run a political campaign, you’ll need to connect with voters, communicate your message, build a fundraising base, and keep the momentum moving. To do that, you’ll need a modern political campaign strategy that’s both effective and efficient. Below, we do our best to distill five lessons we’ve learned from marketing political campaigns.
Build a Sleek Website
It’s easy to buy a domain and tape together some talking points and call the whole thing a website. But to build a website that’s attractive to voters in this political and technological climate, you’ll need to go beyond that. Your website should have an intuitive design that keeps people clicking for more.
To ensure your website is speaking your campaign’s message, you should ensure the website contains several key elements:
- A list of issues you care about most
- Funnels that point supports to donation or volunteer forms
- Links to social media posts
- Photos of the candidate
- Viral videos and campaign commercials
Connect with Newsletters
Newsletters are a cost-effective way of reaching both potential and die-hard supporters. In a way, it’s like pushing the best aspects of your campaign’s website to someone’s mailbox instead of waiting for them to plug the campaign’s URL into their web browser.
You can capture email addresses in several ways. A sign-up form on your website will not only help get you supporters’ and prospective supporters’ email addresses, but you can also design the form to collect any demographic information that may be relevant to your campaign. This can help you discern who your base is and who is interested in your message.
Craft a Slogan
Many supporters’ first interaction with a campaign will be through its brand. Namely, they’ll either hear the campaign’s slogan far before they ever have the chance to meet the candidate in person. Therefore, it’s essential to build a brand that speaks to the candidate’s strength and vision.
Campaign slogans have been effective since the dawn of democratic elections. Perhaps the most famous slogan in American political history dates back to 1840. “Tippecanoe and Tyler Too” was both a song and a slogan that spoke of the hero of Tippecanoe, William Henry Harrison, who was running for President with his ticket-partner John Tyler. This slogan helped push a positive narrative about Harrison, leading him to win the election.
Dominate Social Media
Social media, per its name, is a two-way communication device that allows you to do more than just broadcast the candidate’s message. It can help you foster relationships with supporters, prospective supporters, and even local or national media. Social media should be considered part of the candidate’s brand, and any messaging done through social media should be in the candidate’s voice.
However, social media is also an information collection device. You can pinpoint your message to specific demographics to test how it’s being received by different groups of people. This allows you to track your campaign’s engagement with voters and adjust messaging so it appeals to whoever you’re attempting to communicate with.
Text Your Supporters
Text messaging is an inexpensive and impactful way to mass communicate with supporters and mobilize voters. Volunteers may be more likely to spread your campaign’s message if they can text, rather than call. SMS messaging also provides better access to voters, who often check every text message that passes through but may only open their email inbox a couple of times a day.
This form of communication is an ideal way to put your campaign’s daily messages in front of supporters’ eyes. These messages could include calls for fundraising, election day reminders, and media appearance updates.
Work with KOB Advertising
KOB Advertising is a full-service marketing company that can help your campaign compete. We can develop a political campaign media strategy, dig deep with voter insights, and help broadcast your message. Contact us today by calling 505-764-2403.