Create An Effective Voter Outreach Strategy

January 01, 2019

Your voters are out there but to win a local election, you need to reach and mobilize them. To do this, you need to build an effective voter outreach strategy. A good strategy informs and engages your voter base. It serves to educate them on your campaign, get them on your side, and get them out to vote.

We take a look at what it takes to create an effective voter outreach strategy:

Have Clear Messaging & Goals

Your message is only as good as your messaging. For an effective campaign, you need your message and goals to be easy to explain and understand.

“If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” – Albert Einstein

Poorly defined goals and concepts don’t just confuse potential voters. They can also reduce their confidence in you. Cluttered messaging makes it seem like you don’t have a clear idea of your plan or purpose.

While you should understand the complexities of your ideas and be able to back them up, your basic messaging should present them as simply as possible.

Targeting

The most effective marketing uses specific targeting. This should employ two methods: The first is to start by targeting your most likely supporters. Build your support before trying to convert fence-sitters or supporters of the opposition.

The second is to personalize your approach. Mobile voter outreach apps can provide detailed information on everyone you plan to contact. This helps provide the most effective messaging for each individual.

Use Neighbors For Door-To-Door Canvassing

If you plan on using door-to-door voter canvassing, your best bet is to use people who live in or represent the area. People are more receptive to canvassers who they are familiar with. They show them more trust and are more likely to take the desired action.

A study by the James Irvine Foundation shows that there is a higher voter turnout when neighbors are used in canvassing efforts:

Create a more personal touch with people voters know and trust. Using neighbors and local representatives for door-knocking engages more people and mobilizes your voters.

Leverage Mobile Canvassing

Mobile canvassing apps are the fastest growing voter outreach software. They make it possible for even the leanest teams to have a big outreach impact. They’re ideal for any size of campaign from presidential to local grassroots elections.

Mobile canvassing apps quite literally get rid of the legwork. Instead of spending all day knocking on doors, you get ten contacts loaded onto your phone. Each one comes with a description and a custom script.

Your team members and volunteers simply download the app on their Android or Apple phones and your canvassing capabilities instantly expand. Not only can you reach more people, but you can reach them effectively with individually targeted messaging.

Follow Up With Canvassing Leads

Whether you use traditional door-knocking, mobile canvassing, or some combination of the two, it’s important to follow up with leads. This is especially important if you start your canvassing early. Within the last four weeks before the election, you want to reach back out to make sure you stay top of mind and to get your voters out to the polls.

Follow-ups are easy with mobile-oriented voter outreach software. If you get interested voters to opt into text messaging, it’s fast to mass text reminders, updates, or even send out polls.

Use SMS & Social Media

We’ve talked before about how social media and SMS are the best ways to reach younger voters. But it’s not just for targeting youth. All demographics have a growing reliance on and trust in these platforms.

They’re more convenient and allow for rapid mobilization and dissemination of information. Text messaging has high user engagement because it is more personal and direct. Social media platforms allow for easy sharing by supporters and have their own built-in analytics.

Any modern election campaign should take advantage of both SMS and social media in their voter outreach strategy.

Recruit A Large Volunteer Base

Many hands make light work.

From voter canvassing to running events, the best voter outreach strategies are daunting tasks for small teams. The larger your volunteer base, the further and more effective your reach. While tools like election campaign apps make it easier for small teams to make an impact, adding more volunteers extends that reach.

When recruiting volunteers, be sure to train them effectively. This uses up time and resources, but it’s worth making sure they use the most effective messaging and tactics. You can cut down on training expenses by using intuitive voter outreach software.

Look for tools that integrate directly into mobile phones. These avoid expensive hardware buys and are easy for volunteers to learn and master.

Run Events

Local events and activities can help grow your influence in a community. These can be highly targeted by setting locations near polling stations. Hosting a community barbeque with music and food is a great opportunity to spread awareness and grow your support right where your voters are.

These activities grow your reputation locally as someone who cares about the people and truly represents their needs. As well, local events do a great job increasing voter turnout at a fraction of the cost of traditional advertising techniques like direct mail.

Take advantage of mobile voter outreach software to coordinate and mobilize volunteers and supporters at these events. This helps events run smoothly and ensures high attendance.

Try The Best Voter Outreach App Today

Grow your support and maximize voter turnout with the right voter outreach strategies. Election campaign apps get candidates and campaign managers the best bang for their buck in effectiveness, reach, and efficiency. Contact Ten More Votes today to set up your voter outreach software.