How Can SMS Marketing Be Used in Elections?
It was former president Barack Obama who used the SMS Marketing technique for his political campaigns. It was back in 2008 that the former president reached out to almost 3 million Americans through text messaging. Since then, bulk SMS swiftly secured his position in political campaigning.
SMS marketing is an effective tool for political campaigns. It is an economical way to reach out to a large number of people. Many people tend to stay away from all things political. They don’t take out time to read about the manifesto of different political candidates and parties. With text messaging, there are higher chances of your message being read.
Why Should You Use SMS Marketing for Your Political Campaigns
For candidates, it is virtually impossible to hold a large number of rallies or to conduct a door-to-door campaign and reach out to millions of people. Candidates use other channels such as Op-ed pieces, podcasts, or TV appearances, to spread their message far and wide. In today’s time, however, this is also an obsolete way of marketing.
Today, most people don’t spend much time watching TV or listening to a podcast. They are also quite lazy when it comes to reading formal Op-ed pieces. But, the same people are responsive to text messages and spend a considerable amount of time on their phones. This is why many candidates – whether running for presidency or other position – are now using the benefits of SMS marketing to reach out to their voters.
In addition, the political environment of any country is fast-paced. Decisions are taken in a blink of an eye and politicians find it necessary to let their supporters know what their stance is regarding a particular situation.
How Should You Opt for SMS Marketing
You cannot use your number to send bulk SMS to your supporters. What you should do is to hire a service provider who can take care of your messaging needs. Then, draft a message that you are considering to send to your supporters.
You might be sending a message with a proper call-to-action as well. For that, make sure that you provide complete information to your supporters so that they know what they can do if they are willing to act. When writing messages, make sure that your message is short and crisp. Even though people are responsive to text messages, they don’t appreciate lengthy messages.
How Can SMS Marketing Be Used in Elections
Political campaigns should embrace the change that society has to offer. During the period when the TV was in its infancy, campaigns were run on the TV to reach out to a large number of people. Now that a large number of Americans have mobile phones of some kind, it is understandable why people should use this effective tool to communicate with their supporters. In this section, we’ll have a look at some of the best practices of politicians when it comes to reaching out to their supporters via text messaging.
1. Voting Day Reminder
People are trapped in a busy life that makes it difficult to keep track on important dates. It is understandable for a person to completely forget about the Election Day. The forgetful nature of a person means one less vote – which, in elections, cost a lot. Through texting, you can send a polite reminder to people and get them participate in the voting process – regardless of whichever party they support, it is important for people to exercise their right to vote.
2. Reach out to Volunteers
Election campaigns need the support of voters and supporters of a party. An individual politician – even with their dedicated team – cannot run a campaign by themselves. Just like they need sponsors to donate money for their campaigns, they need people to donate an even greater resource – time. And for reaching out to potential volunteers, SMS marketing is the best way. Send texts to constituents and encourage them to donate their time and participate in election campaigns. In the text, add a link where interested volunteers can sign up.
3. Important Announcements
Text messages can also be used to make important announcements. By releasing critical information, politicians have a better chance of involving the supporters. Some of the common political announcements that people make via text messages are event reminders, debate highlights, Election Day vote counts, etc.
4. Keep Supporters Informed
Neither a supporter nor a potential candidate can spend hours in front of and behind the TV to give critical information about. For rallies and town hall meetings, text messaging serves as a great tool that helps reach out to a wider audience. Text messages are personal and encourage voters to interact with their party on an interpersonal level. For politicians, SMS marketing is indeed a great way to communicate effectively with their vote base.
5. For Feedback
How is the campaigning going on in a specific area? What do constituents have to say about a particular candidate? These questions are always on the minds of people when they are campaigning during elections. The feedback of voters – whose votes matter the most – is also of prime importance. Text messaging can be a perfect way to encourage constituents to share their experiences and identify the areas that need improvement.
6. Replies to Texts
If you are allowing people to share their opinions and experiences with you, you should also work on ensuring that all the texts are responded to in a timely manner. Whether you have to set a dedicated team for that or not, it is of prime importance that you keep the communication flow open, allowing constituents to feel more connected to the party they are aspiring to vote for.
The Final Word
Election campaigns are the time when politicians have to be on their toes, trying to reach out to as many people as possible. If your supporters don’t come to the polling station to vote for them, there is literally no use of having a giant support base. To mobilize the voters and to make sure that they don’t miss out on Election Day, you should consider utilizing the many benefits of SMS marketing. If you’re in charge of managing an upcoming campaign and would like a free consult on implementing SMS to enhance communication, feel free to contact us!
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