I’ve always marveled at how few politicians and candidates actually connect with the people they serve, and especially their supporters. Whether it’s explaining a key vote that might not be so popular or a simple moment of joy, being genuine is often less important than being “on message.”
Many are more comfortable speaking to the media than speaking to the people who put them in office.
Senator Al Franken is one of those rare exceptions. Whether you voted for him or otherwise, he’s never shied away from connecting on a human level.
Nor has he been afraid to make part of his personal life public. Case in point is the brief email below (which was nicely optimized for my mobile phone):
Congratulations on becoming a grandpa, Senator Franken.
If you don’t know who Ted Cruz is, you’re about to. Last weekend, Sen. Cruz (R-TX) gave the keynote address at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), and walked away with 16,000 of the most conservative political activists in the country.
Here’s how:
With one simple request, the senator invited these activists spread his message and amassed a powerful list to support his leadership PAC: Jobs Growth & Freedom Fund. After repeating his call-to-action, the senator’s Facebook and Twitter page included. Within 24 hours, the SMS list over 17,000.
What can we learn from this?
- Most Speeches Are Forgettable: Of the thousands of people that heard his speech on-site or online, few people will remember exactly what he said. Using speeches is an effective platform for building your mobile list and remaining connected to your supporters.
- Nothing Beats Personal Ask: There many ways to invite people to opt in to your mobile list, such as email, campaign collateral and social media. But nothing will beat person-to-person requests.
- Keep Keywords Simple: Sen. Cruz is the common word and is call-to-action to make it memorable and easy to answer. He could have used his name, but people could have easily misspelled it.
- Repeat Repeat Repeat: While not everyone can speak at national events like CPAC, repeating a call to action for social media and other tools can extend the return.
- Don’t Botch the Opt-in Reply: One mistake Sen. Cruz did make is sending a lackluster message to all those who opted in. The candidate should have sent the link to his PAC or requested further information from the subscribers like their zip code.
There’s a lot of noise in political channels.
Unfortunately, very little of it will help you win a campaign, reach out to constituents or support your advocacy efforts. That’s why we created PoliMinute, a once-a-week update on mobile and politics with articles from our blog and other sourced content.
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Here’s some of what you missed last month:
#1 Don’t Burn Your Mobile List!
Many supporters subscribe to e-mail lists for insights on campaign activities, wins and other information. What they don’t expect is the tsunami of donation asks – which effectively ‘burn’ email lists. It’s often the primary reason why e-mail open rates so low compared to other industries. Campaigns who think they can do the same with their SMS lists are sorely mistaken:
http://goo.gl/1CnRR
#2 Text2Give? It’s More like Text2Lose.
Text2Give campaigns, the tool used successfully by nonprofits, was heralded as the great fundraising equalizer against Super PACS. Supporters could donate to a campaign on impulse, $10 at a time, without filling out any forms. Though the FEC approved its use in early June, there’s still a lot of excitement. Unfortunately, the numbers aren’t just there yet from our own analysis. C&E has their own take on this fundraising method:
http://goo.gl/FgLBv
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#3 Looking for Mobile Examples? Look no further than the GOP.
While Obama use mobile tools with great effect in 2008, Democrats largely ignored them in 2010. There are more than a few examples of how GOP candidates and incumbents leveraged mobile to connect with voters and supporters. This article is a little dusty, but the work that Rep. Devin Nunes (campaign ad: http://goo.gl/VClAC) should generate some ideas. Mobile Marketer covered the Congressman’s efforts last fall:
http://goo.gl/U8MSm
Want to incorporate mobile tools in your campaign?
We’d be happy to sit down and brainstorm ideas with you. Contact us at 651-222-9201 or via email at info@polimobile.com.
