The Secret Sauce to Your Political Campaign: Finding the Right Mix of Digital Advertising

Digital advertising is essential for political campaigns in this modern age. Currently, it is the most effective way of reaching and mobilizing constituents, donors, and volunteers, and in the age of coronavirus when traditional campaign tactics are almost obsolete, digital advertising can easily become your campaign’s lifeline. Your MFStrategies team is here to help you find the right mix of digital ads in order to get your campaign off the ground and running.

Campaigns are demanding more digital engagement nowadays than in years prior. They’re seeking ways to increase outreach and donations, while also trying to fine-tune strategies that they can use to make a lasting impact. Campaigns are dealing with increasingly limited resources and a fractured political landscape, making it difficult to effectively target constituents and keep their message relevant. Digital advertising can be used to level the playing field, and when handled correctly, it can be one of the most powerful tools in a campaign’s arsenal.

For campaigns, digital advertising can range from something as simple and cost-effective as email campaigns to more costly and complex strategies, such as social media campaigns, Google Ads, and digital outreach. Here’s what you should consider when building a digital advertising plan.

1. Reach and Targeting: Who are you trying to reach? Are you targeting voters in a specific area or demographic? Make sure your campaign knows what targeting options your chosen platform/s offer.

2. Message: Do you have a strong message that appeals to your target audience? Make sure your messaging resonates with your donors, voters, and other stakeholders.

3. Frequency: How often will you be deployed? Will you use ongoing daily campaigns or occasional boosts?

4. Measurement: How can you track and measure success? Each platform offers unique tracking, monitoring, and optimization capabilities.

5. Budget: How much can you afford to spend per month? Knowing your budget will allow you to give the right attention to each of your strategies, and help you determine what other strategies you may want to add.

While digital advertising can be complex and expensive, it can also be cost-effective and bring great results when done correctly. It is best to start off by understanding the marketing basics before diving into the more complicated strategies. Once you have a grasp on the basics and what platforms you’ll be using, you can explore popular strategies such as audience segmentation, look-alike modeling, retargeting, and geofencing to increase the reach of your ads and build a large pool of donors and volunteers.

Many political campaigns are hesitant to invest in digital advertising and think that it can’t work for a grassroots campaign. However, the combination of digital tactics and traditional grassroots organizing techniques, such as direct mail and door-to-door canvassing, can have an incredibly powerful effect. Don’t disregard the power of digital ads and the audience they can reach.

It is important to understand your target audience and the factors that motivate them. Focus on engaging messaging, creative content, and data-driven decisions to gain the maximum impact in the most cost-effective way while remaining compliant with election laws. Your team may also utilize personalization, laser targeting, and audience segmentation to best ensure your messages reach the right audiences in the right places.