With the rise of social media, the role of the campaign website has shifted somewhat from being the bulk of a candidate‘s online presence to more of an informational hub. Even so, a website is still critical as both an online platform and a place to reference in your political advertising.
While a campaign website contains the core message and branding, people can still follow candidates and campaigns through a variety of methods, from social media to email to texting. Here are a few reasons why all political candidates should have a campaign website.
Social media is gated
Running your online presence from Facebook is possible, but it’s only fully interactive for Facebook members. Not everyone is on Facebook, and not everyone wants to join. Putting up digital barriers only excludes voters and potential supporters.
It’s weird without a domain name
You can technically point a domain name to anywhere on the web. It does not need to point to a website root; a domain name can resolve to a specific web page anywhere. Either way, a real, qualified domain name is professional. Who do you think has a better campaign? SmithForCongress.com or freewebsite.com/smith-for-congress? Which URL fits better on a political brochure?
Your opponent has a website
Candidates of all levels turn to the web to reach voters and build support. Even positions such as county coroners and clerks are building a web presence to help win votes. Voters rely on the web for election information and to learn candidate positions on the issues. If you are not where the voters are, how will you gain their support?
It’s a search result you can control
Go ahead, search for yourself in Google. What comes up? Is it something good? Something bad? A mix of results? A website tailored to your campaign will quickly rise to the top of the search results when voters search for your name. And if you control that result, then you control the message that people see when they click through.
It’s an actual hub
Between Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and all the options that being online offers, having a central location to promote the different elements of your campaign comes in handy. Cross-promote your delivery methods to strengthen your overall web presence.
Voters expect a website
Come on, it’s the third decade of the 21st century! It’s not that hard to get started. You wouldn’t campaign without printed materials, would you?
Candidates ignore the web at their own peril. People will be talking about you on the web, whether you are there or not.
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What Are The Goals Of Your Online Campaign? »
Tags: political social networking
