Q: My political campaign is very small, it will be over fairly soon, and our voter turnout is low. Do I really need to bother with online campaigning?
A: Absolutely. In fact, online campaigning can be more important for smaller, local elections. Using the web to get out the vote can make all the difference when a race is decided by a handful of votes.
Even so, there are candidates who, for one reason or another, are not comfortable using the web for campaigning. Here are some common arguments against online campaigning … and why they are wrong.
My race is too small to bother with online stuff
As we often say, “If you are not putting information about yourself online, then someone else will.”
If your opponent is defining you online, then you have a problem.
You can ignore the online aspect to political campaigning, but you are only hurting yourself. When voters search for information about a race, they expect to find information about the candidates. With your own campaign website and social media presence, you can take charge and present your own ideas and messaging.
Even the smallest campaigns are engaging voters online. Heck, just this year we had our first sorority president election candidate.
I don’t have the tech experience to run a website
The hub of your online campaign is your campaign website. You cannot effectively run a campaign from a Facebook page. Not everyone is on Facebook; your messaging only reaches a tiny sliver of your followers (unless you pay for each post), and you don’t control the platform. Branding yourself online begins with owning your own domain name and website.
As far as learning to manage and update your site, that depends on how your website is built. If your site uses a content management system (CMS), you are able to add and edit your own content. With any CMS, though, there is a learning curve. One thing you don’t want to do is put control of updating your site in another person’s hands. You need to be able to make your own site updates and to be able to react quickly to events.
My election isn’t worth promoting on social media
If you are already using Facebook, then you already have a good understanding of how it works. Create a campaign page, tell your friends, and start making updates. If you are familiar with Twitter, create a campaign account and begin using it.
One thing you don’t want to do is spread yourself too thin. Don’t start up a bunch of campaign social media accounts and just let them sit there. It’s better to start off with what you can handle and add to your efforts as your resources grow.
Don’t know what to post? There are plenty of things that you can mention and discuss. You can post about upcoming events, news articles, campaign trail photos, your latest ads, campaign achievements, and more. Use a mix of pre-planned and off-the-cuff posts to keep your communication both consistent and interesting. Creating your own social media schedule will help.
I can do all my online campaigning through my Facebook page
How could running an online campaign through Facebook be a bad idea? Facebook has hundreds of millions of users and is one of the most popular websites in existence. Not only that, it’s free!
Good points, but the reality is not as simple. Having a campaign Facebook page is a great idea, and if you are running, any serious political campaign, no matter how small, should create a Facebook page in order to reach out to supporters and voters.
Using Facebook as a replacement for an actual stand-alone campaign website is a mistake. Here’s why:
- Facebook is a closed network. In order for people to see your Facebook content, visitors are required to join. Not everyone is a member of Facebook, and some people will never become members.
- Your information is not your own. Your page is also subject to the generosity of Facebook, which can pretty much remove anything it wants at any time. If you are or if someone claims you are violating their Terms of Service, you could be in trouble.
Raising money online isn’t worth the effort
If you already have a campaign bank account, then you’ve already done the hard part. Yes, you can take online donations through PayPal, but you need to collect additional donor data (our system has a built-in form for collecting this information). Political-specific fundraising services make it extremely simple to set up an account, add forms to your campaign website and to take donations through social media and email.
Many online donation tools let donors set up recurring donations throughout the campaign.
Besides, many donors prefer to give online than to go through the hassle of writing a check. “Impulse donors” who are influenced by your campaign are also more likely to give. People are busy; make it easy for them to help you.
My online campaign will pull in tons of money
Can your political campaign raise a lot of money online? Absolutely, but it takes work and coordination. Use your offline events to drive people to your website and make good use of your email list. Make it easy to donate online and leverage your other sources of communication to make your supporters aware of how and when they should donate.
If done properly, the effort put into online fundraising will pay off.
It’s hard to get started
No, it’s not. Your greatest ally in becoming good at this ‘online stuff’ is time. Start early. Create and use personal social media accounts to figure out how they work. Learn about your options and take the time to plan your online campaign.
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