5 essential tips for creating the best messages for political campaigns (2023)

In 2008, Obama introduced the campaign slogan "Yes We Can" to great effect. It was clear from the crowds singing it at the rallies that this was a message that really resonated with the public.

Why was it so effective?

The slogan appealed to personal responsibility. He asked supporters to stop waiting for the change and propose it. This inspired people to get involved in the campaign and make a difference. And it was uniquely suited to its base.

That's not to say a similar campaign message won't work for you. But finding the right message means getting your audience measurement and figuring out what would work for you.for them.

To find the right political message, you need to measure your audience and find out what would work for them.click to tweet

So what are political campaign messages?

A voter's decision-making process is linked to their perception and desires. It is often not a logical wayJudgment,but rather guided by their impression of a candidate. Obviously, your campaign needs to leverage this to create a candidate profile that appeals to voters.

It does this through the use of electoral communication materials such as speeches, literature, correspondence and texts aimed at voters. All of these communication methods must adhere to a single message. It's the message that contains your candidate's ideas and needs to be shared with your constituents.

In this article, you'll learn how to create the best campaign messages, test them inside and outside your constituency, and deliver them across all channels (eg, text messages for political campaigns)..

What makes a good campaign message?

Political campaign messages have always reflected the times.To craft a political campaign message that resonates with voters' perceptions and helps them choose their candidate, it must be relevant and appealing to their basic human needs and values.These values ​​and needs are:

• Security against human elements (crime, terrorism) and natural elements (global warming, environmental degradation)
• state of life and health
• Financial security: job security, pension provision, training costs
• Morality: How honorable are the leaders in society? Is the state following a reasonable path?
• Next generation prospects for education and employment

Certainly you want to discuss a specific policy change or issue that is affecting the community. However, it is necessary to relate the problem to the human values ​​that it triggers.

That way, you'll get the voter's attention by showing that you care about the same things they do.

The campaign message is not just about explaining why the candidate is better than the opponent. The voter does not make objective comparisons to decide who to vote for. Instead, you must show that you share their values, are willing to solve problems that affect those values, and are qualified by experience and ideology to do so.

If you are running for re-election, you need to refocus your message on the progress made in the previous term and the need to maintain that momentum.

Keep reading:Our complete A-Z guide to boosting your election efforts

How to develop a political campaign message??

Now that you understand what a political campaign message should contain, you can develop one for your next campaign.

Let's take the first steps to finding the right message for the followers you want to attract:

Meet the demographic majority

Check census data, past voter registrations, andelectoral rollsof previous candidates.

From the data collected, you should learn as much as possible about your voters' demographics, including age, gender, occupation, race, home ownership, party record,jprevious voting history

From that,Create an ideal voter personawho would agree with your position on the issues.

Know your problems and interests.

You have to find out what the concerns and interests of the average target selector are. If you don't already have an idea of ​​what issues are important to your constituents, it might take a while.

Stand among voters at meetings and address them directly. Alternatively, you coulddo a basic searchto find out what matters to these voters. Survey results and demographics combine to show areas you need to address based on aligned interests.

tell them what you would do

The message should address what you will do to create positive change for voters.

Have toconvince voters, don't just educate them with new information.Voters care less about you than what you will do for them.If the message doesn't say so, it won't get their attention.

Draw contrasts with the opponent

Finally, remember that the race is against your opponent, who would send his own message to the same voter. Therefore, it must be pitted against the opponent in such a way that he is the obvious choice.

The campaign message should pit your strengths against your opponent's weaknesses.

Note these points:

• The candidate's strengths and weaknesses, including experience, integrity, compassion, and stability.
• ideology and political orientation
• The current state and philosophy, such as change versus status quo, reform versus old principles, etc.

All this allows you to choose a perfect campaign message to speak to your ideal voter.

The campaign message is what you offer voters to position your candidacy. That's why you race to get ahead of your opponent. Consult the right people and choose a message that will help voters in their decision-making process. That way, you can get more followers and be on your way to profit.

test your messages

It's a good idea to make sure your message is working early on in your campaign.

You can do this through qualitative and quantitative testing.

you can runquantitative testsUsing opinion polls to find hard numbers on how your messages are performing. A great way to do this among your followers is throughtelephone political pollsto understand fan behavior on specific issues.

Another option is to sendpoint to point SMSwith quick follower searches.

By logging these responses into your CRM software, you can get a quantitative view of the effectiveness of your messages.

TrySMS to vote todaywith CallHub.

qualitative testsIt's as simple as judging the audience reaction at a rally when you're making your debut with aMessage,or ask them about a town hall.

It's about going the extra mile to find out what drives followers to a message and asking more specific questions.

stay tuned in the message

Make sure voters have a clear idea of ​​your campaign's main message. Yourcampaign communication strategyit's about directing important discussions to the message. Any communication from your campaign to a constituent must be grounded in the message.

The way to make voters instantly recognize your message and associate them with your candidate is to constantly remind them of what you are about.

Voters forget what a candidate says in a speech. They won't remember specific policies or the candidate's background and how they came together. However, they will remember how you made them feel.

Keep reading:11 main features of a political SMS tool (+ SMS templates for election campaigns)

Stay in the minds of your voters

They arecampaign ads, press releases, mail andtext messagesthat you send directly to voters should remind them of the campaign's message and how it relates to their personal values.

Over time, they would form an instinctive bond with the candidate because they share similar beliefs. That way, voters would accept the candidate as the right person for their cause.

One way to do this is to have acatchy sloganIn short. Taglines are short and memorable. It is also important that the chosen slogan clearly conveys the main message of the campaign. An average voter should quickly understand what the message is about.

Just as important as the message itself is how you deliver it.

spread your message

It's safe to say that even great campaign messages that resonate with people won't help.Is it over there,if you can't give it to him.

• Older voters respond to more traditional campaign messages, such as TV and radio ads orposterse outdoors.
• For minority demographics, reaching out through your faith communities or unions is a good option.
• Younger voters tend to perceive communication through channels such astext messagejsocial networks.

One of the most impressive aspects of Obama's 2012 re-election campaign was the way in which his team was able to vary its message and convey it through different channels.

They arebellsthe use of social media and text messaging connecting with voters old and young, getting them to the polls.

Here are some ways your campaign can leveragetext messagesto communicate with followers.

Examples of political campaign text messages

The biggest advantages ofpolitical text messagesare that they are immediate, personalized, discreet and flexible. Let's look at some of the most common examples of political messages:

Fundraising Text Messaging

Reach your supporters in times of need with donation SMS. Below is the example campaign message:

You might like...A Quick Guide to Raising Money for a Campaign

Text messages for campaign ads

Famously used by Obama to announce his election for vice president in 2008, it canSend important campaign messages to supporters who opt in to receive your text messages.

GOTV-SMS

A text message can be a great way to remind supporters to show up at the polls.

political poll news

Get quick reactions from followers after a live stream via text message.

sms thank you

Send followers a quick thank you after a donation or after voting has ended.

So there you have it: some common examples of political campaign text messages.

Send political campaign messages with texts on CallHub

Sending political campaign messages to your followers is easy. The first thing you have to do isHave followers subscribe to your SMS system with an optional keyword:

1. Set up a keyword and shortcode

select theSMS subscription campaignon the CallHub dashboard.

To set up a text notification system for your campaign, you only need two elements:

1. a keyword
2. A short code or long code (acting as caller ID)

Example: "Send a text message containing the word 'VP' to 33339 for election updates and reminders."

Here the keyword is "VP" and the number is "33339".

You can set a keyword of your choice when setting up your campaign SMS system and renting one.speed dialÖlanger codeYour SMS service. if you can'tUse a cell phone number as caller ID.

Once you've completed the setup, go ahead and promote your keyword and shortcode.When people send their keyword to the number, it automatically gets added to your database.

2. Share your keyword and shortcode with your followers

Inform followers about theSMS System and advertise it where you can:

• Ask your candidate to promote you during a rally or debate.
• Promote your shortcode and keyword onsocial networksand through advertising.
• Send it in your email communications with your followers.

Now you can start sending updates directly to your followers' phones.

3. Send your first message

You can send messages viaSMS broadcast campaignNa lousa.

Type the message you want to send, asking your followers for a donation, for example:

Select the list of follower numbers you want to send the message to.

Now schedule a time you want the message to be sent and press DONE.

It's very easy to send a group message to your followers.

Political campaign text messages are a powerful way to get your political campaign message out there. Learn how to scale them with the right use cases.8 ways to use texting and calling in your next campaign.